10 Powerful Reasons to Use Firebase as Your Mobile App Backend in 2025

📘 Chapter 5: Firebase Storage, Hosting, and Cloud Messaging

🔍 Overview

Firebase isn’t just about authentication and databases—it also includes powerful tools for file storage, web hosting, and push notifications. These services help developers build scalable, media-rich, and real-time communication-enabled applications with ease.

This chapter dives into:

• Firebase Storage – for storing images, audio, and other large media files.
• Firebase Hosting – for deploying secure, fast static websites.
• Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) – for sending real-time push notifications to users.

📁 Part 1: Firebase Cloud Storage

🔹 What Is Firebase Storage?

Firebase Storage is built on Google Cloud Storage and provides a robust, secure, and scalable way to store and serve user-generated content such as images, audio, and video.

🔹 Key Features:

• ✅ Upload/download files with mobile/web SDKs
• ✅ Seamless integration with Firebase Auth
• ✅ Rule-based file access control
• ✅ Scalable storage backed by Google Cloud
• ✅ Metadata support and resumable uploads

🔧 Setup Firebase Storage

Step 1: Enable Storage in Firebase Console

• Navigate to Firebase Console > Storage
• Click Get Started and choose a storage location

Step 2: Add Firebase SDK

groovy

// Android build.gradle dependencies

implementation 'com.google.firebase:firebase-storage:20.3.0'

🧪 Upload a File (Android Example)

java

FirebaseStorage storage = FirebaseStorage.getInstance();

StorageReference storageRef = storage.getReference();

Uri file = Uri.fromFile(new File("path/to/image.jpg"));

StorageReference imagesRef = storageRef.child("images/image.jpg");

imagesRef.putFile(file)

    .addOnSuccessListener(taskSnapshot -> {

        Log.d("Upload", "Upload successful!");

    })

    .addOnFailureListener(e -> {

        Log.e("Upload", "Upload failed", e);

    });

📥 Download a File

java

imagesRef.getDownloadUrl()

    .addOnSuccessListener(uri -> {

        Log.d("Download URL", uri.toString());

    });

🔐 Secure Your Files with Rules

js

rules_version = '2';

service firebase.storage {

  match /b/{bucket}/o {

    match /images/{imageId} {

      allow read, write: if request.auth != null;

    }

  }

}

📊 Firebase Storage Use Cases

🌐 Part 2: Firebase Hosting

🔹 What is Firebase Hosting?

Firebase Hosting provides fast, secure, and reliable hosting for static and dynamic web content (HTML, CSS, JS, media files, and APIs). It’s backed by a global CDN and supports custom domains and SSL certificates.

🔹 Features:

• ⚡ Blazing fast content delivery
• 🔒 Free SSL and HTTPS
• 🌐 Global CDN
• 🛠️ Zero-config deploys
• 💡 Hosting + Cloud Functions combo

🔧 Setup Firebase Hosting

Step 1: Initialize Firebase Project

bash

firebase init hosting

• Select public directory (build/, public/, etc.)
• Choose SPA routing if applicable
• Configure automatic deploys

Step 2: Deploy

bash

firebase deploy --only hosting

🧪 Hosting Example: Static Site

Place your HTML files in a public/ folder:

pgsql

public/

├── index.html

├── style.css

└── script.js

Firebase automatically deploys the entire folder to a secure URL like:
https://your-project-id.web.app

🌐 Add a Custom Domain

• Go to Firebase Console → Hosting → Add Custom Domain
• Update DNS settings with your domain registrar
• Firebase provides SSL automatically

📊 Hosting Use Cases

📲 Part 3: Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM)

🔹 What is Firebase Cloud Messaging?

Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) enables you to send push notifications and in-app messages across Android, iOS, and web platforms. It’s ideal for user engagement, alerts, promotions, and transactional messages.

🔹 Core Benefits:

• 🔔 Free unlimited push notifications
• 🎯 Topic-based or targeted user messaging
• 🔐 Integration with Firebase Auth and tokens
• 📈 Delivery analytics in console

🔧 Set Up FCM in Android

Step 1: Add Dependencies

groovy

implementation 'com.google.firebase:firebase-messaging:23.2.1'

Step 2: Setup Firebase Messaging Service

java

public class MyFirebaseMessagingService extends FirebaseMessagingService {

    @Override

    public void onMessageReceived(RemoteMessage remoteMessage) {

        Log.d("FCM", "Message: " + remoteMessage.getNotification().getBody());

    }

}

Step 3: Handle Token Refresh

java

@Override

public void onNewToken(String token) {

    Log.d("FCM", "New token: " + token);

    // Send token to your server if needed

}

🧪 Sending Notification from Firebase Console

• Go to Firebase Console > Cloud Messaging
• Click New Notification
• Choose target (token, topic, user segment)
• Enter title and message
• Send!

✅ Sending via API (Node.js)

js

const admin = require("firebase-admin");

const message = {

  notification: {

    title: "Sale Alert!",

    body: "50% off only today!",

  },

  token: userDeviceToken,

};

admin.messaging().send(message)

  .then(response => {

    console.log("Notification sent:", response);

  })

  .catch(error => {

    console.error("Error:", error);

  });

🎯 Advanced FCM Features

🧠 Best Practices

• ✅ Use Firebase Storage rules to prevent unauthorized uploads
• ✅ Enable HTTPS redirection in Firebase Hosting
• ✅ Use lazy-loading for media from Firebase Storage
• ✅ Store FCM tokens securely and keep them updated
• ✅ Avoid over-sending push notifications (respect user preferences)

🧩 Comparison Table

📌 Conclusion

Firebase Storage, Hosting, and Cloud Messaging together empower developers to build complete apps—from storing user files, hosting dashboards, to engaging users with push alerts. These services work hand-in-hand with Firebase Auth, Firestore, and Cloud Functions to provide a seamless full-stack experience.

In the next chapter, we’ll explore Bonus Tools & Tips to improve productivity and optimize performance in Firebase-powered apps.