Source: https://docs.expo.dev/versions/v54.0.0/sdk/sensors

Hide navigation

Ctrl K

Home Guides EAS Reference Learn

Reference version

SDK 54

Archive Expo Snack Discord and Forums Newsletter

Expo Sensors

GitHub Changelog npm

A library that provides access to a device's accelerometer, barometer, motion, gyroscope, light, magnetometer, and pedometer.

GitHub Changelog npm

Android

iOS

Web

Bundled version:

~15.0.7

Copy page

expo-sensors provide various APIs for accessing device sensors to measure motion, orientation, pressure, magnetic fields, ambient light, and step count.

Installation

Terminal

Copy

- npx expo install expo-sensors

If you are installing this in an existing React Native app , make sure to install expo in your project.

Configuration in app config

You can configure expo-sensors using its built-in config plugin if you use config plugins in your project (Continuous Native Generation (CNG) ). The plugin allows you to configure various properties that cannot be set at runtime and require building a new app binary to take effect. If your app does not use CNG, then you'll need to manually configure the library.

Example app.json with config plugin

app.json

Copy

{ "expo": { "plugins": [ [ "expo-sensors", { "motionPermission": "Allow $(PRODUCT_NAME) to access your device motion" } ] ] } }

Configurable properties

| Name | Default | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | motionPermission | "Allow $(PRODUCT_NAME) to access your device motion" | Only for: iOS A string to set the NSMotionUsageDescription permission message or false to disable motion permissions. |

API

import * as Sensors from 'expo-sensors'; // OR import { Accelerometer, Barometer, DeviceMotion, Gyroscope, LightSensor, Magnetometer, MagnetometerUncalibrated, Pedometer, } from 'expo-sensors';

Permissions

Android

Starting in Android 12 (API level 31), the system has a 200Hz limit for each sensor updates.

If you need an update interval of greater than 200Hz, you must add the following permissions to your app.json inside the expo.android.permissions array.

| Android Permission | Description | | --- | --- | | HIGH_SAMPLING_RATE_SENSORS | Allows an app to access sensor data with a sampling rate greater than 200 Hz. |

Are you using this library in an existing React Native app?

If you're not using Continuous Native Generation (CNG ) or you're using native android project manually, add HIGH_SAMPLING_RATE_SENSORS permission to your project's android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.HIGH_SAMPLING_RATE_SENSORS" />

iOS

The following usage description keys are used by this library:

| Info.plist Key | Description | | --- | --- | | NSMotionUsageDescription | A message that tells the user why the app is requesting access to the device’s motion data. |

Available sensors

For more information, see the documentation for the sensor you are interested in:

Accelerometer

Measures device acceleration on all platforms. Barometer

Measures pressure on Android and iOS platforms. DeviceMotion

Measures device motion on all platforms. Gyroscope

Measures device rotation on all platforms. Magnetometer

Measures magnetic fields on Android and iOS platforms. LightSensor

Measures ambient light on Android platform. Pedometer

Measures steps count on Android and iOS platforms.