Mobile Publishing - How to Configure Background Location Tracking in a Branded NowMobile or Agent App - Support and Troubleshooting

Mobile Publishing - How to Configure Background Location Tracking in a Branded NowMobile or Agent App .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: #000000; } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: #000000; } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: black; } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: black; } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: black; } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: #00718F; } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: #024F69; } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: #032D42; } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: #00718f; } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } Summary This article explains how to enable background location tracking in a branded (white-label) NowMobile or Agent app published through ServiceNow Mobile Publishing. By default, NowMobile (Requestor) apps do not include the background location permission. Customers must request this capability during the Mobile Publishing submission process and complete additional instance-side configuration before the feature will function.

Background To use background location tracking on Android, an app must declare the ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION permission in its AndroidManifest.xml at build time. To use background location tracking on iOS, an app must declare the UIBackgroundModes=location in the info.plist.

The ServiceNow NowMobile (Requestor) app does not include this permission by default. The NowMobile (Requestor) app requires the explicit Android manifest permission to be added through the Mobile Publishing workflow.

The ServiceNow Agent (Fulfiller) app includes foreground and background location tracking by default.

Prerequisites Mobile Publishing Plugin v24.0.0 or later must be installed on your instance. Only v24.0.0+ supports the background location tracking toggle. If you are on an earlier version (e.g., v23.2.0), you must upgrade first. Part 1: Enable Background Location in Mobile Publishing Follow these steps to request the background location permission be included in your branded app build.

Upgrade the Mobile Publishing plugin on your instance to v24.0.0 or later. Navigate to System Applications → All Available Applications → All and search for the "Manage Mobile Publishing Apps". Only version 24.0.0+ exposes the background location tracking option. Submit an app update request for your branded app. Open your existing app record and click the Duplicate button to create a new submission. In the "Add app details" step, locate the Background location tracking section.

Figure 1: Mobile Publishing – "Add app details" page showing the Background location tracking section

Set the "Enable background tracking" toggle to ON before submitting the app request. This instructs the build pipeline to include the ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION permission in the AndroidManifest.xml.

Figure 2: Background location tracking toggle set to ON in the Mobile Publishing form

Submit the request. The newly built app version will include background location tracking support. Part 2: Google Play Background Location Permission Declaration Google Play requires a declaration justifying the use of background location. After receiving your updated app build, follow the steps in this ServiceNow KB article to complete the Google Play declaration:

KB1710255 – Google Play Background Location Permission Declaration

Failure to complete this declaration will result in Google Play rejecting the app update.

Part 3: Instance-Side Configuration Once you have a branded app build that includes the background location permission, complete the following configuration on your ServiceNow instance.

Step 1: Install Required Plugins Geolocation Plugin (com.snc.geolocation) – This is the core geolocation plugin. Navigate to System Applications → All Available Applications → All and search for it by name or plugin ID. Mobile Location Tracking Plugin (com.glide.sg.location.tracking) – This plugin is automatically installed when Field Service Management Mobile (com.sn_fsm_mobile) is activated. If you are not using FSM, install this plugin directly. Step 2: Enable Geolocation Tracking on User Records Navigate to the sys_user record for each user you want to track. Check the "Geolocation tracked" checkbox on the user record. This must be enabled for every individual user who needs background location tracking.

Figure 3: sys_user record with the "Geolocation tracked" checkbox enabled

Step 3: Enable Geolocation in Mobile App Config Navigate to the sys_sg_native_client table (also known as "Mobile App Config"). Locate the record for your NowMobile or Agent app and set the Geolocation enabled checkbox to true . You may need to switch to the NowMobile scope to be able to edit it, or add the field to the form.

Figure 4: Mobile App Config (sys_sg_native_client) showing "Geolocation enabled" checked for Now Mobile

Note: The Agent app has Geolocation enabled set to true by default. NowMobile apps require this to be manually enabled.

Part 4: End-User Device Verification Once the instance configuration is complete, each end user must enable location permissions on their mobile device. On Android, the user must grant "Allow all the time" location access to the app. On iOS, the user must grant "Always" location access. Without this device-level permission, background tracking will not function even if all server-side settings are correct.

Users can verify location tracking is active by navigating to Settings > Location tracking within the mobile app. The tracking status will display the active duration.

Figure 5: Settings screen showing

Location tracking active

Figure 6: Location tracking detail

showing tracking duration

Important Notes Plugin version matters: Only Mobile Publishing Plugin v24.0.0 and later supports the background location tracking toggle. Earlier versions (e.g., v23.2.0) do not have this option. Android-specific requirement: The ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION permission is an Android manifest requirement. iOS handles background location through UIBackgroundModels=location in the info.plist. Google Play compliance: Failing to submit the background location justification to Google Play will result in app rejection. Follow KB1710255 carefully. Apple AppStoreConnect compliance: Failing to submit the background location justification to Apple will result in app rejection. Existing app versions: App versions built before enabling this toggle do not include the background location permission and cannot support this feature without a new build. Related Resources KB1710255 – Google Play Background Location Permission Declaration