diff --git a/android/src/reactnative/java/io/invertase/firebase/common/ReactNativeFirebaseJSON.java b/android/src/reactnative/java/io/invertase/firebase/common/ReactNativeFirebaseJSON.java
index b45ad2f01b..2236f79b29 100644
--- a/android/src/reactnative/java/io/invertase/firebase/common/ReactNativeFirebaseJSON.java
+++ b/android/src/reactnative/java/io/invertase/firebase/common/ReactNativeFirebaseJSON.java
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@
 import org.json.JSONException;
 import org.json.JSONObject;
 
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+
 import io.invertase.firebase.BuildConfig;
 
 public class ReactNativeFirebaseJSON {
@@ -68,6 +70,25 @@ public String getStringValue(String key, String defaultValue) {
     return jsonObject.optString(key, defaultValue);
   }
 
+  public ArrayList<String> getArrayValue(String key) {
+    ArrayList<String> result = new ArrayList<String>();
+    if (jsonObject == null) return result;
+
+    try {      
+      JSONArray array = jsonObject.optJSONArray(key);
+      if (array != null) {
+        for (int i = 0; i < array.length(); i++) {
+          result.add(array.getString(i));
+        }
+      }
+    }
+    catch (JSONException e) {
+      // do nothing
+    }
+    
+    return result;
+  }
+
   public String getRawJSON() {
     return BuildConfig.FIREBASE_JSON_RAW;
   }
diff --git a/android/src/reactnative/java/io/invertase/firebase/common/SharedUtils.java b/android/src/reactnative/java/io/invertase/firebase/common/SharedUtils.java
index b7859adc41..2764b201fc 100644
--- a/android/src/reactnative/java/io/invertase/firebase/common/SharedUtils.java
+++ b/android/src/reactnative/java/io/invertase/firebase/common/SharedUtils.java
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 import android.graphics.Point;
 import android.graphics.Rect;
 import android.net.Uri;
+import android.os.Build;
 import android.util.Log;
 import com.facebook.react.bridge.*;
 import com.facebook.react.common.LifecycleState;
@@ -130,6 +131,38 @@ public static boolean isAppInForeground(Context context) {
     List<ActivityManager.RunningAppProcessInfo> appProcesses = activityManager.getRunningAppProcesses();
     if (appProcesses == null) return false;
 
+    // Check if current activity is a background activity
+    ReactNativeFirebaseJSON json = ReactNativeFirebaseJSON.getSharedInstance();
+    if (json.contains("android_background_activity_names")) {
+      ArrayList<String> backgroundActivities = json.getArrayValue("android_background_activity_names");
+
+      if (backgroundActivities.size() != 0) {
+        String currentActivity = "";
+        if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.LOLLIPOP) {
+          List<ActivityManager.AppTask> taskInfo = activityManager.getAppTasks();
+          if (taskInfo.size() > 0) {
+            ActivityManager.RecentTaskInfo task = taskInfo.get(0).getTaskInfo();
+            if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.M) {
+              currentActivity = task.baseActivity.getShortClassName();
+            } else {
+              currentActivity = task.origActivity != null ?
+                task.origActivity.getShortClassName() :
+                task.baseIntent.getComponent().getShortClassName();
+            }
+          }
+        } else {
+          List<ActivityManager.RunningTaskInfo> taskInfo = activityManager.getRunningTasks(1);
+          if (taskInfo.size() > 0) {
+            currentActivity = taskInfo.get(0).topActivity.getShortClassName();
+          }
+        }
+
+        if (!"".equals(currentActivity) && backgroundActivities.contains(currentActivity)) {
+          return false;
+        }
+      }
+    }
+
     final String packageName = context.getPackageName();
     for (ActivityManager.RunningAppProcessInfo appProcess : appProcesses) {
       if (
diff --git a/firebase-schema.json b/firebase-schema.json
index bb52386c87..693dc67ae5 100644
--- a/firebase-schema.json
+++ b/firebase-schema.json
@@ -81,6 +81,10 @@
         "android_task_executor_keep_alive_seconds": {
           "description": "Keep-alive time of ThreadPoolExecutor used by RNFirebase for Android, in seconds. Defaults to `3`.\n Excess threads in the pool executor will be terminated if they have been idle for more than the keep-alive time.",
           "type": "number"
+        },
+        "android_background_activity_names": {
+          "description": "The names (as returned by `getShortClassName()` of Activities used outside the context of react native.\nThese are ignored when determining if the app is in foreground for purposes of calling javascript background handlers",
+          "type": "array"
         }
       }
     }