IssueTracker

Component used: WorkManager, CoroutineWorker
Version used: 2.9.0
Devices/Android versions reproduced on: API 34

When we target API 34, WorkManager is crashing our application on startup if the "location" permissions are removed whilst the application is running.

Everything works fine whilst the application has the "location" permissions. When the "location" permissions are removed (whilst the application is running), the OS is killing the application (OS behaviour) and because SystemForegroundService is a STICKY service, the OS tries to restart the service which causes a security exception because the "location" permissions are no longer present.

This is a realistic user scenario which will happen many times in our production app. We can not prevent our application from crashing as this relates to the STICKY SystemForegroundService. Our application, can check the "location" permissions before scheduling the "worker", but we have no control over the user removing the "location" permissions after the "worker" has been scheduled by the WorkManager.

This behaviour only happens with WorkManager when targeting API 34 as per the restrictions documented here:
https://developer.android.com/about/versions/14/changes/fgs-types-required

Here is the crash we are seeing on application startup:

Java.lang.SecurityException: Starting FGS with type location callerApp=ProcessRecord{34bbf76 32120:com.deliveroo.driverapp.test/u0a190} targetSDK=34 requires permissions: all of the permissions allOf=true [android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE_LOCATION] any of the permissions allOf=false [android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION, android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION]  and the app must be in the eligible state/exemptions to access the foreground only permission

We are using the WorkManager to run a CoroutineWorker which accesses the device location. We are scheduling the Worker as follows:

val request = OneTimeWorkRequest.Builder(worker.java)
    .setExpedited(OutOfQuotaPolicy.RUN_AS_NON_EXPEDITED_WORK_REQUEST)
    .build()
    WorkManager.getInstance(context).enqueueUniqueWork(
        worker.java.name,
        ExistingWorkPolicy.KEEP,
        request,
    )

We are specifying FOREGROUND_SERVICE_TYPE_LOCATION in the ForegroundInfo:

ForegroundInfo(ONLINE_NOTIFICATION_ID, notificationsManager.onlineNotification, ServiceInfo.FOREGROUND_SERVICE_TYPE_LOCATION)

Our Android manifest specifies the "location" foregroundServiceType:

<service
    android:name="androidx.work.impl.foreground.SystemForegroundService"
    android:foregroundServiceType="location"/>

As stated above, everything works fine until the user removes the "location" permissions after the "worker" has started. Then the OS kills our application and the OS tries to recover the STICKY SystemForegroundService which crashes because the app no longer as "location" permissions.

Please can you advise how we can avoid WorkManager crashing our application in the above scenario.