Auto-open permission enabled notification

Google recently made several changes to Android that required significant updates to the Tailwind app, as well as any other Android app that must track location in the background with precision, at certain times, and without any user intervention. Obviously the Tailwind app needs to do this to automatically open the garage door as you arrive home.

Any time an app is running in the background for longer than a few minutes, Android now requires  the app to notify the user that it is running / doing something. To comply with this, the Tailwind app will display a "silent notification" in the notification status bar that says "Auto-open permission enabled" or "Why am I seeing this?".

No action is required on your part. If you see this notification it means this particular notification permission was granted to the Tailwind app. Unfortunately Google does not allow you to turn it off without breaking features. If you DO NOT see this notification please grant this notification permission if you want the auto-open / close features.

If your first reaction is one of frustration and you don't want to see this notification, we are right there with you. One would instinctively think "What's the deal? I granted permission to track location, run in the background, etc. so why is this necessary?" Google feels that, in addition to a user granting the various permissions for an app to run in the background, they should also see a notification in the status bar when an app is running in the background for longer than a few minutes - something you are giving permission to do in the first place.

If you deny the permission to display the notification, Android interprets this as "You must not want it to run in the background even though you granted permission to do so". The result is that it stops the app and kills the auto-open feature.

It's getting out of hand in my opinion. A user must be presented with a screen telling them WHY an app needs a certain permission. They are informed if the permission may impact battery life, privacy, etc. The user has the choice of granting the permission to enable a feature they want, or denying the permission and disabling the feature. Seems pretty simple. However, the latest versions of Android can, and will stop an app from running in the background even though a user granted permission to do so. It can revoke permissions granted by a user to an app if the app is not opened / launched often enough, and this "feature" is turned on by default and must be turned off in the app permissions screen by the user. This can be especially problematic for apps that are often "set and forget" like Tailwind. Many customers rarely open / launch the app because  the auto-open is, well, automatic as are most other features. Our integrations with many smart home platforms further reduce the need for our app to be launched.

If we are able to find a reliable solution that only displays the silent notification while driving we will certainly implement it. In the meantime, if you don't want to see this notification, there are some options available:

​Option #1

Delete all vehicles in the Tailwind app and turn off "Always" location permission for the app as it is not needed. Then you can turn off the "auto-open enabled" notification permission. Doing so will remove the auto-open / close functionality but if these particular features are not important to you, it's an easy fix.

Option #2

Android offers a way to turn off / hide silent notifications. It has reportedly worked for some users but it did not work when we tested it (Go Figure). You are supposed to be able to hide silent notifications by going to Settings -> Notifications -> Turn on "Hide silent notifications in status bar". Also, some phone manufacturers like Samsung don't appear to have this option.

Option #3

Hang in there. We are trying to find a way to only have this notification in the status bar while driving, and perhaps intermittently / momentarily at other times. We have no idea if / when a reliable solution exists. At the time of this writing all Android apps we know of that must run in the background to keep critical features alive are using the same silent notification approach as it appears to be the only option available in more recent Android versions.