Extensions, better macOS & Flutter support, Personalization beta, more for Firebase

During the annual Firebase Summit, Google revealed more simple extensions and improved support for macOS and Flutter apps, as well as the beta launch of Firebase Personalization.

If you’re unfamiliar with Firebase, it’s a set of cloud-based app development tools from Google that provide developers access to things like a database, storage, hosting, crash analytics, and more.

Google launched “Extensions” for Firebase in 2019, allowing developers to simplify common use cases and potentially connect their Firebase project to other services. Building on the previously implemented Algolia extension, an Elastic App Search extension has been created to make your database searchable. There are also new extensions for adding Google Pay and/or Stripe payments to your app.

Flutter developers can start experimenting with Firebase APIs right now without having to install anything. You can now test Firebase code in Flutter Web projects directly from your web browser using the DartPad web app, and the same code will work in Flutter Android and iOS applications as well.

Firebase is also increasing its reach into Apple’s ecosystem today, with support for macOS and tvOS coming in Beta, the stage Google considers ready for production apps. The ability to use several of Firebase’s C++ libraries in Apple TV apps is also part of the new tvOS beta support, with Google recommending it for usage with Apple Arcade games.

Developers can alter how certain aspects of their apps function without having to push a new update to the Play Store or App Store using the long-standing Firebase Remote Config. The options of Remote Config can now be picked automatically in a fashion that’s personalized to each individual user, thanks to “Personalization,” which is available in Beta today. While Firebase Personalization can be used in a variety of ways, Fruit Ninja creator Halfbrick found it to be effective in increasing ad revenue from one of their games without increasing negative ratings.

For Android developers, Firebase is also releasing new documentation about the privacy disclosures necessary for each of Firebase’s tools. These are going to be especially helpful for the new “Data safety” section coming to the Play Store, which is set to become a requirement by April of next year.
To get more details about what’s new in Firebase, like real-time alerts from Firebase Performance Monitoring, be sure to check out the Firebase Blog or watch the full Firebase Summit stream.