Request: Add expo-contacts to the Native Mobile Plugin Dependencies (Expo SDK 57)

Mobile Beta
1

Hi Bubble team,

Following the recent upgrade of the Bubble native mobile runtime from Expo SDK 55 to Expo SDK 57, I would like to request the addition of expo-contacts to the dependencies available to native mobile plugins.

I’m currently developing a native mobile plugin called Smart Contact Bridge Pro – Mobile, designed to allow Bubble apps to let users select a contact from their device and retrieve information such as:

  • Contact name
  • First and last name
  • Phone number
  • Multiple phone numbers
  • Email address
  • Multiple email addresses
  • Contact ID
  • Contact photo
  • Normalized phone number / country code

The plugin logic and Bubble states/events are already implemented. The current blocker is access to the device’s native contacts API.

With Expo SDK 57, expo-contacts provides a native contact picker API that would make this possible on both Android and iOS without requiring plugin developers to implement platform-specific contact pickers.

For example, the new API allows a contact to be selected through the native picker and then accessed by the plugin.

However, after checking the updated Bubble Mobile dependencies for SDK 57, expo-contacts is currently not included.

I also confirmed at runtime that:



props.context.libraries["expo-contacts"]

is unavailable.

Adding expo-contacts compatible with Expo SDK 57 to the Mobile Plugin Library/Dependencies would unlock many useful native mobile features for the Bubble ecosystem, including:

  • CRM applications
  • Lead management apps
  • Contact import tools
  • Messaging and communication apps
  • Sales applications
  • Customer management systems
  • Appointment/booking applications
  • Address book integrations

In our case, we do not need unrestricted background access to the user’s address book. The primary use case is simple and privacy-friendly:

User taps a button → native contact picker opens → user explicitly selects a contact → the plugin receives the selected contact.

This would be especially useful now that Bubble has moved to Expo SDK 57 / React Native 0.86, since the Expo contacts APIs are designed specifically for this native environment.

Would the Bubble team consider adding expo-contacts to the official Native Mobile Plugin dependencies?

This would allow us to complete Smart Contact Bridge Pro – Mobile and, more importantly, would enable other plugin developers to build contact-based functionality for Bubble native mobile apps as well.

Thanks to the Bubble team for continuing to expand the Native Mobile plugin ecosystem.

Rincão Informática Academy

Plugin developer