Hey! | Android Universal Short Messaging App Template

Please note that both iOS and Android versions can share the same database on back4app.

20 May 2022
• upgraded to Android 12
• all libraries updated
• gradle updated
• file provider issue fixed
• location issue fixed
• manifest issue fixed
• firebase updated
• added notification channel to support Api 26+ devices
• AdMob crash fixed
• sms crash fixed
• camera issue fixed
• migrated to AndroidX
• apk updated

20 Aug 2020
• Gradle files updated.
• Support added for Android 9 and Android 10.

24 Apr 2020
• FCM Firebase Cloud Messaging implemented. 
• Documentation updated by latest Google recommendations.
• Libraries updated.

17 Sep 2019
• Fixed the issue of Login with Facebook.  
• Fixed the issue “Compatibility Issue with Facebook SDK 4.38.0”  so we downgraded Facebook SDK to “4.37.0” still using the old constructor, so using that version fixes this particular issue.

6 August 2019
• Fixed Back Stack issue on the application 
• Updated Login/SignUp screens UI
• Upgraded Account screen UI design by applying Card View and alignments
• Upgraded Search screen UI design by applying Card View and alignments
• Improved “Friends List item screen” design by applying Card View 
• Fixed the bug on “Friends Screen” on Scrolling List
• Upgraded “Hey List” design using proper alignment and layout. 
• Improved “Hey send and received screen” design by applying Card View and alignments
• Updated 'compileSdkVersion' and ‘targetSdkVersion' to 28 in build.gradle
• Applied Camel Notation in Edit Text Fields Hints

19 November 2018
• Fixed actions on swipe to target the correct user in Friends screen
• Fixed login with facebook
• Fixed multiple times login / friends screens opening
• Updated heys list implementation.
• Fixed possibility to add more “heys” to the list
• Added a new option to swipe menu in Friends screen: view the sent heys
• Improved friends list performance by replacing the ListView with RecyclerView.

5 November 2018
• Updated libraries + removed unused ones
• Updated AdMob implementation

25 May 2018
• Accordingly to the new EU GDPR terms, I've updated the 'tou.html' file and Documentation.
IMPORTANT: This means that if a User asks for his/her Account deletion, you must do it within 24 hours, as the GDPR's "Right to be forgotten" Article states (LINK: 

8 May 2018
• Changed Parse verison in build.gradle into 1.16.0, due to some issue on the latest Parse SDK and FCM:
    implementation 'com.parse:parse-android:1.16.0'

• Edited 'getUserDetailsFromFB()' method in Login.java, this line of code:
    } else { currUser.put(Configs.USER_EMAIL,  facebookID + "@facebook.com"); }

17 April 2018
• Added Firebase dependencies in build.gradle(Module:app)
• Removed the 'com.google.android.gms:play-services:+' and updated all dependencies to the required ones only 
• Added the 'google-services' classpath in the dependencies{} list in build.gradle(Project:)
        classpath 'com.google.gms:google-services:3.2.1'

• Added this Permission into Manifest.xml:
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED" />

• Updated the Documentation (connect your App to Firebase for GCM and Ads)

15 April 2018
• Updated to Android Studio 3.1.1
• Removed all dependencies of play-services | left only this one in build.gradle:
     implementation 'com.google.android.gms:play-services:+'

11 April 2018
• Updated to Android Studio 3.1
• Updated 'compileSdkVersion' and  'targetSdkVersion' to 27 in build.gradle
• Replaced 'compile' with 'implementation' in build.gradle (Module: app)
• Updated classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:3.1.1' in build.gradle (Project:)

Hey! is a Universal App Template where you can send short messages like hey! to all those friends who are registered in the app with just a tap. It’s that simple, the simplest communication app ever. You can search for friends by name in the Search screen, add them to your Friends list and send them a hey!, attach a picture to it or your current location, or simple text of the selected hey!. They will receive a Push Notification and can easily reply to your “hey!” by sending it back. Users are able to block/unblock other users, remove them from their list and make a group of friends to send heys! all at once, again, with just a tap!

Since its backend is by Parse you don’t have to buy any domain/hosting, there are NO PHP files to upload to a web server so you’ll save some money for server side.

Hey! is a native Android Studio project, Universal, super easy to customize, backend with Parse SDK hosted on

About Parse SDK and back4app

Read this article for more info about back4app and Parse SDK:

Can I host Parse Server on my own server?

Yes, although I don’t provide support for the setup process, you can read the official Guide here:

What about free support for this template?

I can offer free support for bugs encountered in the original code. Instead, if you’ve edited the code and messed something up with it, I may apply some fee to fix it either via TeamViewer or by checking your app project files directly on my computer.

How do I rename the app’s package name?

Read this tutorial to learn how to rename a package name:

Should I use the latest version of Android Studio to edit this template?

Yes, I always update my apps to the latest version of the IDE and you also should make sure you’ve updated the Android Tools to their latest version of the Android SDK manager.

The demo APK crashes on startup

Make sure that the minimum Android version of your device is the one listed in the FEATURES section below. If the problem persists, please contact me through my profile’s contact form and send me the Logcat message you get when the app crashes along with the steps you made to reproduce the crash. Please note that not all real devices print an error Logcat message, in this case just run the APK into the Android Studio’s emulator and you’ll surely get the red messages about your issue.

How do I remove AdMob banner ads?

1. Enter the .xml files where there’s an AdView and remove its code:

       <com.google.android.gms.ads.AdView
           android:id="@+id/admobBanner" 
           android:layout_width="wrap_content" 
           android:layout_height="wrap_content" 
           ads:adSize="BANNER" 
           ads:adUnitId="@string/ADMOB_BANNER_UNIT_ID" 
           android:layout_alignParentBottom="true" 
           android:layout_centerHorizontal="true">
       </com.google.android.gms.ads.AdView>
   

2. Enter the .java files where there’s an AdRequest instance into its onCreate() method and remove its code:

           // Init AdMob banner
           AdView mAdView = (AdView) findViewById(R.id.admobBanner);
           AdRequest adRequest = new AdRequest.Builder().build();
           mAdView.loadAd(adRequest);
   

3. Lastly, remove the play-services-ads reference in the build.gradle file:

       compile 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-ads:+'
   

• Android Studio 3.x project – Universal – Android 5.0+
• Admob banners
• Facebook login
• Backend with Parse SDK hosted on back{4}app
• Push Notifications for sent heys!
• Send hey! with text, your location or a picture
• Invite friends by SMS or email
• Browse received heys!, reply, block/remove Friends
• Search for friends by name
• PDF User Guide and PSD included
• Easy to customize | Well commented code

• Latest version of Android Studio and basic knowledge of its interface
• Photoshop (or similar photo editor softwares)
• Windows PC or Mac
• Free account on
• Facebook developer account
• Google Developer and Play Store account
• A real device with Android 5.0 or above (recommended)