Biomark Mobile Application

Biomark is a Flutter-based mobile application developed for a research organization that collects personal data from volunteers for building predictive machine learning models. This app handles user registration, login, profile management, and account recovery using Firebase Authentication and local SQLite storage.

Features

• User Registration: Users can create an account with email and password.
• User Login: Firebase Authentication is used for secure login.
• Profile Management: Users can view and manage personal information.
• Account Recovery: Recover user accounts using security questions.
• Data Persistence: Sensitive data is securely stored locally using SQLite.

Technology Stack

• Frontend: Flutter (Dart)
• Backend: Firebase Authentication, Firebase Firestore (future integration)
• Database: SQLite (local storage)

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Flutter SDK: Install Flutter
• Android Studio / Xcode: For Android and iOS builds.
• Firebase Account: Create a project in Firebase Console.

Project Setup

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/biomark.git
   cd biomark

2. Install dependencies:

   Run the following command to install the required Flutter dependencies:

   flutter pub get

3. Firebase Setup:

   • Go to the Firebase Console.
   • Create a new project or use an existing one.
   • Register your Android app with the package name com.majestta.biomark.
   • Download the google-services.json file from the Firebase Console.
   • Place the google-services.json file in the android/app/ directory of your project.

4. Environment Variables:

   Set up environment variables to handle API keys and other sensitive data. You can use the flutter_dotenv package for this:

   • Create a .env file in the root of your project:

     touch .env

   • Add your API keys and sensitive values to this file:

     API_KEY=your_firebase_api_key_here
     

   • Ensure that your .env file is ignored by Git by adding it to .gitignore:

     .env
     

   • Load environment variables in your main.dart:

     import 'package:flutter_dotenv/flutter_dotenv.dart';
     
     Future<void> main() async {
       await dotenv.load(fileName: ".env");
       runApp(BiomarkApp());
     }

5. Ignore Sensitive Files:

   Make sure the following files are added to .gitignore to avoid pushing sensitive information to version control:

   android/app/google-services.json
   .env
   

   If you’ve already pushed these files to Git, remove them from tracking with:

   git rm --cached android/app/google-services.json
   git rm --cached .env

6. Run the app:

   • For Android:

     flutter run

   • For iOS:

     flutter run --release

Firebase Configuration (Android)

• Ensure that the google-services.json file is placed in the android/app/ directory.
• Firebase Authentication is used for login, registration, and user management.
• To manage Firebase keys and security, rotate keys periodically and restrict API usage.

Additional Configurations

• API Key Restrictions: You can restrict the Firebase API key to only be used by your app. Go to the Firebase Console, navigate to APIs & Services > Credentials, and set restrictions for your API key.

Running Tests

You can run tests by using the following Flutter command:

flutter test

Deployment

1. Building APK for Android:

   flutter build apk --release

2. Building for iOS:

   flutter build ios --release

Security Considerations

1. API Key Management:

   • Ensure API keys are not exposed in the codebase. Use environment variables for storing sensitive data.
   • Add the google-services.json and .env files to .gitignore to avoid pushing them to version control.

2. Firebase Security:

   • Restrict API key usage to authorized apps only.
   • Regularly monitor Firebase usage and security settings.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please follow the Contributor Guidelines for more information.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.