Why does Podverse require the "draw over apps" permission to work with Android Auto, but other Android apps do not?

[mitchdowney]

Why does Podverse require the "draw over apps" permission to work with Android Auto, but other Android apps do not?

[mitchdowney]

Podverse uses a programming framework called React Native, which makes it easier to create apps for both Android and iOS, all with one code base. This framework comes with limitations however, and one of them is the need for you to grant the app a special permission for Android Auto to work.

@lovegaoshi provided a more detailed explanation:

yep this is a limitation of RN. this permission can be used to start the app from background (which sounds bad, but specifically for podverse it's to start the app from android auto, when podverse is fully closed); another common use case is floating window disguised as PIP, like for video chat.
a bit technical: Android Auto doesnt start the fully app (activity) but only a portion of it (Service). for any other native apps, all the playback logic will be written inside of Service. But any RN app's logic is in their Activity. draw over apps is a necessary permission to wake the Activity from Service