diff --git a/android/src/main/java/com/intercom/reactnative/IntercomErrorCodes.java b/android/src/main/java/com/intercom/reactnative/IntercomErrorCodes.java
index b2114bd4..09d2af3e 100644
--- a/android/src/main/java/com/intercom/reactnative/IntercomErrorCodes.java
+++ b/android/src/main/java/com/intercom/reactnative/IntercomErrorCodes.java
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ public class IntercomErrorCodes {
   public static final String SET_LOG_LEVEL = "107";
   public static final String GET_UNREAD_CONVERSATION = "108";
   public static final String SET_USER_JWT = "109";
+  public static final String INITIALIZE_ERROR = "110";
   public static final String DISPLAY_MESSENGER = "201";
   public static final String DISPLAY_MESSENGER_COMPOSER = "202";
   public static final String DISPLAY_CONTENT = "203";
diff --git a/android/src/main/java/com/intercom/reactnative/IntercomModule.java b/android/src/main/java/com/intercom/reactnative/IntercomModule.java
index a18736b5..252d0530 100644
--- a/android/src/main/java/com/intercom/reactnative/IntercomModule.java
+++ b/android/src/main/java/com/intercom/reactnative/IntercomModule.java
@@ -526,6 +526,24 @@ public void setUserJwt(String jwt, Promise promise) {
     }
   }
 
+  @ReactMethod
+  public void initialize(String apiKey, String appId, Promise promise) {
+    try {
+      Activity activity = getCurrentActivity();
+      if (activity != null) {
+        Intercom.initialize(activity.getApplication(), apiKey, appId);
+        promise.resolve(true);
+        Log.d(NAME, "Intercom initialized with API key and App ID");
+      } else {
+        promise.reject(IntercomErrorCodes.INITIALIZE_ERROR, "Activity is null");
+      }
+    } catch (Exception err) {
+      Log.e(NAME, "initialize error:");
+      Log.e(NAME, err.toString());
+      promise.reject(IntercomErrorCodes.INITIALIZE_ERROR, err.toString());
+    }
+  }
+
   public static synchronized void initialize(Application application, String apiKey, String appId) {
     String sdkVersion = BuildConfig.INTERCOM_VERSION_NAME;
     ReactNativeHeaderInterceptor.setReactNativeVersion(application.getApplicationContext(), sdkVersion);
diff --git a/ios/IntercomModule.m b/ios/IntercomModule.m
index 49adc545..17d6c77b 100644
--- a/ios/IntercomModule.m
+++ b/ios/IntercomModule.m
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ @implementation IntercomModule
 NSString *LOG_EVENT = @"105";
 NSString *UNREAD_CONVERSATION_COUNT = @"107";
 NSString *SET_USER_JWT = @"109";
+NSString *INITIALIZE_ERROR = @"110";
 NSString *SEND_TOKEN_TO_INTERCOM = @"302";
 NSString *FETCH_HELP_CENTER_COLLECTIONS = @"901";
 NSString *FETCH_HELP_CENTER_COLLECTION = @"902";
@@ -27,6 +28,20 @@ - (dispatch_queue_t)methodQueue {
     return dispatch_get_main_queue();
 }
 
+RCT_EXPORT_METHOD(initialize:(NSString *)apiKey
+                  withAppId:(NSString *)appId
+                  resolver:(RCTPromiseResolveBlock)resolve
+                  rejecter:(RCTPromiseRejectBlock)reject) {
+    @try {
+        [IntercomModule initialize:apiKey withAppId:appId];
+        resolve(@(YES));
+        NSLog(@"Intercom initialized with API key and App ID");
+    } @catch (NSException *exception) {
+        NSLog(@"initialize error: %@", exception.reason);
+        reject(INITIALIZE_ERROR, @"Failed to initialize Intercom", nil);
+    }
+}
+
 + (void)initialize:(nonnull NSString *)apiKey withAppId:(nonnull NSString *)appId {
     NSString *version = @"0";
 
diff --git a/src/expo-plugins/@types.ts b/src/expo-plugins/@types.ts
index cfdda924..849994c9 100644
--- a/src/expo-plugins/@types.ts
+++ b/src/expo-plugins/@types.ts
@@ -5,4 +5,5 @@ export type IntercomPluginProps = {
   androidApiKey: string;
   appId: string;
   intercomRegion?: IntercomRegion;
+  useManualInit?: boolean;
 };
diff --git a/src/expo-plugins/index.ts b/src/expo-plugins/index.ts
index 4678818a..d1cb796b 100644
--- a/src/expo-plugins/index.ts
+++ b/src/expo-plugins/index.ts
@@ -37,13 +37,16 @@ const mainApplication: ConfigPlugin<IntercomPluginProps> = (_config, props) =>
       ''
     );
 
-    stringContents = appendContentsInsideDeclarationBlock(
-      stringContents,
-      'onCreate',
-      `IntercomModule.initialize(this, "${props.androidApiKey}", "${
-        props.appId
-      }")${config.modResults.language === 'java' ? ';' : ''}\n`
-    );
+    // Only auto-initialize if useManualInit is not true
+    if (!props.useManualInit) {
+      stringContents = appendContentsInsideDeclarationBlock(
+        stringContents,
+        'onCreate',
+        `IntercomModule.initialize(this, "${props.androidApiKey}", "${
+          props.appId
+        }")${config.modResults.language === 'java' ? ';' : ''}\n`
+      );
+    }
 
     config.modResults.contents = stringContents;
     return config;
@@ -116,19 +119,22 @@ const appDelegate: ConfigPlugin<IntercomPluginProps> = (_config, props) =>
       )
       .replace(/\s*IntercomModule\.initialize\((.*), withAppId: (.*)\)/g, '');
 
-    stringContents = isSwift
-      ? insertContentsInsideSwiftFunctionBlock(
-          stringContents,
-          'application(_:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:)',
-          `IntercomModule.initialize("${props.iosApiKey}", withAppId: "${props.appId}")`,
-          { position: 'tailBeforeLastReturn' }
-        )
-      : insertContentsInsideObjcFunctionBlock(
-          stringContents,
-          'application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:',
-          `[IntercomModule initialize:@"${props.iosApiKey}" withAppId:@"${props.appId}"];`,
-          { position: 'tailBeforeLastReturn' }
-        );
+    // Only auto-initialize if useManualInit is not true
+    if (!props.useManualInit) {
+      stringContents = isSwift
+        ? insertContentsInsideSwiftFunctionBlock(
+            stringContents,
+            'application(_:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:)',
+            `IntercomModule.initialize("${props.iosApiKey}", withAppId: "${props.appId}")`,
+            { position: 'tailBeforeLastReturn' }
+          )
+        : insertContentsInsideObjcFunctionBlock(
+            stringContents,
+            'application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:',
+            `[IntercomModule initialize:@"${props.iosApiKey}" withAppId:@"${props.appId}"];`,
+            { position: 'tailBeforeLastReturn' }
+          );
+    }
 
     config.modResults.contents = stringContents;
     return config;
diff --git a/src/index.tsx b/src/index.tsx
index 9b304c21..0fc3aa55 100644
--- a/src/index.tsx
+++ b/src/index.tsx
@@ -105,6 +105,16 @@ export enum Space {
 }
 
 export type IntercomType = {
+  /**
+   * Initialize Intercom SDK with API key and App ID.
+   * This allows manual initialization from React Native instead of requiring native code setup.
+   *
+   * @param apiKey Your Intercom API key
+   * @param appId Your Intercom App ID
+   * @return {Promise<boolean>} A promise that resolves to true if initialization succeeds
+   */
+  initialize: (apiKey: string, appId: string) => Promise<boolean>;
+
   /**
    * Login a unidentified user.
    * This is a user that doesn't have any identifiable information such as a `userId` or `email`.
@@ -312,6 +322,7 @@ export type IntercomType = {
 };
 
 const Intercom: IntercomType = {
+  initialize: (apiKey, appId) => IntercomModule.initialize(apiKey, appId),
   loginUnidentifiedUser: () => IntercomModule.loginUnidentifiedUser(),
   loginUserWithUserAttributes: (userAttributes) =>
     IntercomModule.loginUserWithUserAttributes(userAttributes),