These 5 apps are killing your battery
When it comes to apps that drain battery life, we're all pretty familiar with the main offenders like Google Maps, Facebook, bloatware and certain cleaning apps, which hog not just battery life but other resources as well. A recent report from Avast reveals some unexpected culprits that can cause serious harm to your cell phone's standby times, too. Find out which apps to avoid below!
1. Snapchat
Snapchat might be a lot of fun, but it also takes a lot of resources both in terms of memory usage and battery life—perhaps more resources than it's worth to you.
This app is one of the worst offenders in this area and can consume much of your battery life and mobile data if you aren't careful. One way to mitigate the effect on both is to block Snapchat from using mobile data and only use it while on Wi-Fi.
2. Netflix
Netflix consumes a huge amount of battery life. It's the go-to app for binge-watching TV shows and movies, so you'd expect it might use a lot of battery downloading and playing shows. What you might not realize is how much of the drainage is from keeping the display lit.
Your phone's display consumes the majority of your device's power. Consider watching with the display brightness turned down when you can. In your dark room at night, there really is no reason to have your display brightness at the maximum.
3. Amazon Shopping
The Amazon Shopping app is a sneaky little battery drainer because it's quite unassuming. When I first read the report that suggested this was having a big impact on battery it seemed strange: others on the list cause lots of damage through heavy usage, Amazon Shopping can't be used that much, can it?
Two things: Firstly, Amazon's Shopping isn't incredibly well optimized for Android: relative time spent with the app compared to battery effect is generally higher than other apps. Secondly, like weather and email apps, Amazon's Shopping app operates in the background so that it remains up to date with current offers and promotions. Combined, this leads to high battery usage. If you don't use the app much, consider ditching it altogether. Speaking of email...
4. Outlook
The Outlook app is another juice guzzler. Whether we're checking it too frequently, or the email sync frequency is too high, Outlook is a threat to your power. You don't actually need the Outlook app, though. You can use the default Android email app to retrieve those emails. Ideally, you should only use one email app on our device and use it to manage all of your accounts. I mean, unless you want to sync Outlook with Google Calendar. In which case, yes, it's best to have the app.
5. WhatsApp
WhatsApp isn't the only battery killing messenger app to make it on the list, but it's certainly the most popular. Others to make it into the top of the ranking include WeChat, Samsung ChatON and LINE.
The report suggests turning off push notifications to lessen messaging apps' affect on battery life. And, if at all possible, you can also just send fewer messages and refrain from watching videos on WhatsApp when on-the-go.
So there we have it, I hope these suggestions will help you save battery on your device in future. Have you discovered any battery killing apps that aren't on this list? Let us know in the comments.
This article has been rewritten since it was first published and comments below may not reflect the current content.
Source: Avast
I just discovered AVG started using 30% of my battery. I removed and installed Avast, so far so good.
Thanks for the great article. :-)
Instead Whatsapp you can use Signal. It seams to be more safe than WA
Interesting article! Didn't notice that Snapchat was actually killing my battery, but since I removed it it has definitely gotten better, so thanks for that!
About Snapchat is absolutely true
It was a huge drain on a battery.
Prisma would be one of the apps too. Furthermore, it eats up a lot of data quota and phone storage.
Go on New Tab and copy past link
Best app for Facebook
Link : play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.redfish.bestappforfacebook
With one exception, Outlook is the ONLY app mentioned here that has any doubtful use of battery or memory. The others ONLY drain the main battery when they are ACTIVELY being used.
Outlook's background use is negligible.
However, a really serious problem comes with Verizon's Cloud app. THAT app is ALWAYS running, ALWAYS draining your battery fast (as of Marshmallow) - on a DT2 you are lucky to get 6 hours a day with it running at all. Disable it, Delete all the udpates to it (you have to anyway if you want to Disable it, which of course is asinine). With Photos and most messaging apps (including Verizon's Own messaging app!) you will not need it running constantly. I Re-enable it and Re-Install it once a month for pic saves, that's it. No other reason for it.
Uninstalling it made my phone appear as if I had just purchased it, and had not yet installed ANY apps. Scream speed. Blast speed. Amazing difference.
Dont worry, Disabling and Deleting the app WILL NOT HARM YOUR CURRENTLY BACKED UP ITEMS AT ALL. The Backups are still accessible through the web version of the Cloud. Of course, every time you visit the web version, you will be nagged to Enable the app on your devices!
I have to disagree with this statement. The Amazon app was absolutely horrible. It came with my phone and you cannot uninstall it. I never once used it but after the first few days of having this phone, I noticed it constantly drained my battery. It was at the top of my list every single day for battery usage and again.... I never even used it. I had to disable it and finally my battery would make it through an entire day.
That is so accurate. I absolutely hate Snapchat because of the battery issue and always end up deleting it. It's very disappointing that an ecommerce website as big as Amazon couldn't come up with a better app that doesn't eat so much battery. I don't like the Outlook app either. There are better ways to manage email.
Good start. Without dev options limiting bg activity, my nexus 7 would always be low on power.
My comment is about Mr Gordon not owning iStuff. (I don't and haven't also.)
However, I am wanting to acquire at least one iTablet to play around with. So many of my friends need help with their devices; and I could more convincingly explain which is better and why, if I knew the 'i' interface more intimately. Or if a good tutorial is available, please show me the infosite. That would be much cheaper!
CVS Shopping app - after the marshmallow update, the CVS app was completely killing my phone.
It takes a thumbwar to defeat it, repeatedly displaying "recent apps" and hitting the clear all button, then trying to get to the App Manager screen before it restarts itself again.
After about 100 tries, I was finally able to drag the app into the "uninstall" bin, and the phone is working normally again (for now).
Thumbwar lol
It is always good to know what apps are triggering your cellphone to lose battery supply like no other. And that is why it is recommended that you use the activity monitor of your cellphone. In that way you can stop the processes which are draining your phone’s battery power.
ozphonerepairs.com.au
What activity monitor of what cellphone? THe only ones that are any good are 3rd party downloads. And there are very good ones. I wont plug them here in case it breaks any rules.
It's a good thing I don't use any of the apps mentioned in this article (we are always encouraged to download the app versus obtaining information using the mobile browser, only to realize the app is a battery drain) ;-)
For site-specific "native" apps, consider using Hermit instead. You might not get all the notifications to which you are accustomed (has options for notifications, however), but the "lite-apps" it creates do not eat battery when not in active use.
I did not find outlook a big battery drain but it does eat a lot of storage. So does GMail and Inbox. K-9 is most economical.
The outlook app does use a bit of juice, but I like the email and agenda widgets for quick looks - and the latter syncs nicely with the calendar I was already using on my Windows Phone. That might change with my not-so-brand-spanking-new Note 4, tho.
Though I'm not as fond of the native email app, or running all my accounts through it.
I'm surprised too because I've not noticed the drain; then again, I don't use it like, all day long or anything. I can't even recall it coming up as sucking energy in the back.
Is this real? Snapchat reduces the battery level a lot? :O. Amazon also? How could you be so sure?
Using marshmallow you can see exactly how many milliamp hours each app used. It's accurate to single digits.
I wont show native apps, nor bloatware app use, you have to 3rd party that.
The problem I have is that no app nearly uses as much battery power and resources as the screen does. Even on brightness on almost it's lowest it still uses the most power.
We will always be saddled with that, If we wan to "see" anything.
I do have snapchat,Amazon app !!Never knew these apps are killing the battery,Thanks for posting Scott! :)
I do have Amazon and BBC on a tablet, but don't see them as items in Android Settings/Battery. As usual the major impact is the screen, and I use a controller for that. I also learned about Greenify from this site a few weeks ago, and have found it good for shutting down background apps when I need to fuss about battery life.
Do not use BBC news as your source of news! Its a biased Conservative Government propaganda machine.
Use Google news or Google Alerts, at least then you will get news from different sources that is relevant to you, not what the Conservative Government wants to know.
Peace ✌
hahaha BBC conservative? wow had a good laugh. That's like saying the world is flat, Obama is a Republican and Mandela was a Capitalist.
I Like Fox News. All new is biased these days, they seem to be the least bias of them.
Fox News..?! My dearest Mark, you must be the most deluded and misguided fellow I've seen in a long, long time..!
Dear Mark, your name says it all. You ARE a mark (sucker, stooge, etc). Fair and balanced my ass. This is a far, far right wing propaganda outlet. Nothing prsonal...
Just wake up!!!
I am wide awake you need to get your head out of your ass. Stick to your non news (CNN and MSNBC) and watch the once great USA go down the toilet. No I am not a republican, I am a Libertarian who wants the F___ing Government out of my life. Steven post again when you grow up this site doesn't need any trolls.
You lie. Libertarians arent redundant. " I am a Libertarian who wants the F___ing Government out of my life."
Not so much. Fox is and has been more biased than the average news, not that other big companies are great. Try reviewing many different sources.
When people say that something is least biased, it most often means that it's biased towards said person's own bias and view of the world.
Personally I try to get news from several sources that are biased against each others, and preferably at least one that contradicts my own bias. And I try to avoid swallowing any of them without chewing.
However most people rather prefer any claim they see, hear or otherwise perceive, long as it enforces their pre-existing conceptions, which almost newer leads to truth.
Btw, wasn't it Fox that won the lawsuit for knowingly lie on news and present such lies as factual information? And please nobody use the "but freedom of speech...", that's not the point, their reliability is...
Don't get your news from a huge, looming, invasive, power-grasping organisation: get it from Google instead.
This Oxymoron needs Oxy-clean!
Really - I think you will find that the Tory government feel equally that the BBC criticises them too much - Sure they did go for Corbyn a bit but then so did pretty much every other news outlet. If that is influenced by any politicians I would suspect that labour politicians would be the most likely candidates. I am sure that David Cameron must think Corbyn's election is the best thing that has happened for years as it pretty much makes labour unelectable. He is basically a traditional working class labour politician in a time when the majority of the population are middle class or aspiring to be middle class. Personally I believe that the BBC is largely unbiased in its reporting, certainly far less biased than Sky - ITV is not too bad apart from the advertising
Try living in Scotland and watch BBC Scotland news - you will find they are very much a biased towards the unionists and project fear which they were more than happy to support.
There in no unbiased media they all have an angle and agenda they are pushing.
Your email newsletter had Samsung watchon as a battery hogger but the article above has no mention of it?
Better use facebook lite app......nd disable preinstalled facebook...... keep the apps which u use daily.....others should be uninstalled
A few ( maybe more than a few ) years ago you rarely heard any body complain about battery life. All phones had removable batteries and most people had spares. Today most phones don't have removable batteries. Now all you hear is people bitching about battery life. I never worry about battery life because I will not buy a phone with out a removable battery. I always have two spares ready to go, unless I just changed one. You made the choice to buy a phone without a removable battery, so quit bitching live with the choice you made. I can run any back ground apps I want and never worry. I don't need to carry a brick( AKA Power Bank) or be tethered to the wall. So what if may battery only last 5 hours, I got a spare.
5 hrs? GS7 edge lasts like 12 hrs. and if necessary ultra saving mode helps last another 6 hrs on last 5percent.
I think people who complain are the ones with iphones lol
5 hours would be extreme usage. Usually it does much better than that. I get all day most days on my S3. Just if I get stuck in an airport and play games or do internet constantly for 5 hours then it will run it down that quick. Trying to make a point.
Lol, an S3. Don't talk about what phones ppl choose to buy when you haven't bought a phone in a LONG TIME! Upgrade buddy, used be surprised how things have come along. And one thing I've noticed is phone geeks bitch, ALLOT!
I'd happily trade having a removable battery in for having a phone that is powerful, any day. S7 Edge and disabled battery icon for aesthetics, use my phone without even thinking about it and never had it die from power.
Alex
That's fine and that's your choice. Lets see what your saying 1 1/2 to 2 years from now when your battery is starting to degrade. You bought a phone that can easily last for 5 years and more if it wasn't for the battery. The battery will not last past 2 1/2 to 3 if your a lite user much less is you are a heavy user like I am. Maybe you like shell out 700 hundred buck every two years I don't.
Same on Note 4. Appleseed heads running around with chargers and wires and battery backups, whew, that a pocketful!!!
I have 3 batteries, 2 are stock batteries. The third is a 10,000 mah battery pack. I HAVE THE POWER!!!
It's not in our hands if every company out there is making non-removable batteries. So, help rather than try showing off how "cool" you are. Coz you aren't cool.
Well, your kind whined about how awful the build of Samsungs with removable batteries were, and as a result, they opted to remove that completely. Also, your kind made power banks a thing.
The fact of the matter is, your kind VOTED WITH YOUR WALLETS against removable batteries and opting for a cop out that is the power bank and now EVERYBODY is paying the price.
You are wrong. They only do it because you buy their product anyway. If you refuse to buy products they will change to meet the demands. Just like Samsung just did. They took away the removable battery, Micro SD and IP68 rating. Their sales dropped so they brought back some of it. If the consumer does not buy it they won't produce. I know I am in the minority that cares about removable batteries. I don't like non removable batteries, if for no other reason it limits the life of the device to the life of the battery. I keep phone for more than two years so it matters to me. My current S3 is 4 years old and would not be usable if I could not change the battery and it would not be worth the price of having it replaced in a 4 year old phone. Get my point now?
PS Not every company makes their phones with non removable batteries. You do have option and very good options.
But your not showing any company anything as your phone is from the 80's
I was going to buy the S6 but when it came out until I saw the specs. There wasn't any phone out there I wanted so I waited. Almost bought the V-10 it was just to big. I will get a LG G5 this weekend just been waiting for them to releases here. My S3 May be old but it still does everything the new ones can. Just not as well and it still has a lot of life left in it.
I do agree - people used to deride the plasticky back of my galaxy S2 and s3 and now they rave about the lovely shiny finish of my S7 saying that "it looks a quality phone at last" You are right many people buy phones as fashion statements and because these are the models that sell for the most profit, the manufacturers ignore functionality over appearance. The biggest example (and starter of this trend) is of course Apple.
Maybe one day we will find a way to make smaller batteries more powerful but for the moment doing this simply increases heat and the risk of a phone catching fire. I have to say the life of my S7 seems good but I am retired now so am not out and about or making calls so much.
Phone manufacturers have little or no interest in satisfying the the needs of people who keep a phone for more than 12-18 months. I am convinced they hold features back deliberately so they can be introduced to help sell the next model
Not smart phones, and that is 11 years running now.
You dont have a spare if you pick a phone that doesnt allow battery replacement.
Why not get one of those portable backup chargers, even the cheapest ones should be able to recharge a phone from 0 to 100. Mine has two USB ports, and it could charge my phone phone and tablet same time, and still have a of emergency charge left, but naturally I'm using it to never run out of battery in the 1st place :) It cost me less than 15€, and I'm guessing that even just one extra battery would cost more, unless it's cheap and weak ;) I used the same technique as you last time back in early 2000's with even then outdated Nokia 2110i
To understand which apps consume the battery while the phone was in standby, I developed an app that helped me a lot. You can try it free! ;)
look for "android minimalist run" on google...
The problem is the battery itself. The batteries need to improve, a lot.
I find Tinfoil for Facebook a good app. No wakelocks at all. My top battery drainer for a long time was gms but I finally figured out how to stop that.
Well goooooood morning was wondering if my really basic galaxy gt s7392 can be rooted and would it be worth doing? I dont have a pc by the way,the laptop blew up and no it wasnt me lol thanks guys and dolls of course
No reason why it couldn't be, and IMHO the only reason not to do it - that is unless you don't understand the security precautions below, or if you're otherwise feeling that you don't know what you're doing - would risking voiding the warranty, if you have any. There's however a way to minimize them noticing it has ever been rooted:
Providing the device is able to boot up to the boot loader, you most likely can successfully install a backup of the original firmware. The most important thing is backuping the devices original bootloader, because on most devices you need to install an alternative one to be able to root the device. Reinstalling the boot-loader removes the most obvious sign of it having been rooted, and the quickest and simplest way to wipe rest of the signs is doing the factory reset - then, provided again that the device isn't broken too badly to do this, you can rewrite backup of the device you might want to make before doing any steps to root.
Security: Make sure you're chosen app to provide other apps with root permissions always asks you if you want to give such rights to an app. Only provide automatic permissions for apps, such as security software, App Usage/AppMgr III, etc. that statt boot and need (to work, or to be able to do something worthful it otherwise couldn't) root for something. I also recommend to install an applock software and your root app to it to keep others from giving unwanted root permissions.
On my Nvidia Shield K1 Tablet (32Gb 4G LTE Model) the biggest drain I have is a new game called "Dead Effect 2" it is responsible for a 73% hit (stats from Battery Doctor) and even drains the battery while plugged into mains power via a 2.4a charger.
I used to use Juice Defender and loved it. But it doesn't work with Lollipop (it also hasn't been updated in eons) .iI reallyliked the control it gave me over WiFi and mobile data. Has anyone found a good alternative?
I loved Juicedefender and even bought the Ultimate version of it for 5$ years ago, but as you said it doesn't work on Lollipop and up, as well as no updates in years. It's a shame, really, because it was by far the best app of its kind.
U don't need those battery apps. Marshmallow has the doze feature. Works very well on my Nexus 5. Talking about a day of battery. And the Facebook app u can replace w a bookmark to the home screen. Works better and no battery drain. 👍
And the Doze feature deactivates alarm apps if you arent careful. Doze isnt all that great yet because there are no granular controls. Nougat should take care of that.
Hi guys. I have a samsung galaxy s3 and was only getting about 3 hours use out of it and it was only charging to 48% when on charge alk night. After many months of internet searching I finally found the solution. The steps are ad follows. ...
Step 1
A. Turn off your phone
B. Hold down the "volume up", "home key" and power button"
C. Release when the samsung logo comes on
scroll down to where it says "clear cache Partition"
Restart your phone.
Step 2
A. Open the dialler
Type in "*#9900#*
B. Scroll down to where it says "battery dump" make sure that says "on"
Step 3
A. Take your battery out of the phone and plug your phone Into the charger without the battery in it
B. wait 30 minutes
C. Put your battery back in the phone while it is still plugged into the charger
D. It should take about 3 hours to fully charge your phone
I did these steps and am now getting over 12 hours use. Less if you use wifi but it seemed to fix the problem
Really? Who wants to go thru all that to get a full charge on your phone? How about plug & go?
Where did you find this out from? I would like to research a bit more to see the discussion around this, if any.
Also, would like to know if this approach will work on a Galaxy S4, I am frequently changing battery (every 4 - 6 hrs at least), a newer battery doesn't seem to make much difference.
As it is, I've recently switched to LG G4, however I keep the GS4 as a backup (and also take it shopping so I can use Beep N Go for loyalty cards, the beaming function is exclusive to Samsung devices).
Thanks!
And what about the MAJORITY of devices that dont allow easy battery removal?
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I use Avast. I was using AVG, but they cost a pretty penny for premium and was debiting my bank account without my knowledge, monthly, or maybe I missed the fine print.
Anywaaay, AVAST is a huge culprit in slowing my phone, causing overheating and more. I paid (one time payment) for Avast Premium, and I expect to get the best experience possible, not creating more issues with my S5, Lollipop has done enough of that already. Saying all that to say this. Avast is another battery draining and overheating plus data using app. For me it is, anyway.
Thanks for the awesome article. Great info to know!
easiest way to root moto g
how can i disable facebook my phone has it built in i cannot uninstall it only go back to factory installed app. so i do not update it because it is now up to 128 mb app! messenger also is a must if u choose to message someone and it also is a huge app. Both run in background so they constantly suck data and battery life!!! what can you do?
settings >> apps/app manager >> swipe left >> tap on facebook option >> uninstall updates >> disable. you might want to clear the app's data and cache too
Then after that u can use the bookmark Facebook. In stead.
It's NOT your Facebook app that's 128mb, it's YOUR OWN DATA like pictures, messages, etc that's taking up all that space!!! Anyway, here are a few things you can do from most to least aggressive:
1. Root your phone then delete the Facebook app so that it's not a system app. Re-install it as a user app and then use Greenify to put it to sleep.
2. If you don't want to root your phone, try turning off your internet connection for periods when you don't need to be using it. This way, Facebook is not constantly going out to the internet and burning up your battery.
3. Of course, you could also change your Facebook settings so that it only checks for notices every few hours instead of every few minutes!
A Verizon tech told me to access Facebook and Pinterestt through your browser and save it to your screen. It uses so little data. I use it for both and it might be a little slower to use it saves tons of data. If you stay with the FB app, go into the settings and turn off all the auto play features. That helps.
Ooh thats a top tip thank you i will def do that
Yes use chrome browser for Facebook and other sites you'll get notifications as normal like the app, just go to settings in chrome site settings and switch notifications to ask first now any site which allows notifications you'll see a pop up msg asking for permission to send notifications
I think you are trying to use some form of English to ask how you can stop facebook. It was NEVER installed as a native app on any devices,ever. Just uninstall it. IF you have an oddball (not from around here in the US) device that has it naively installed, Disable it, uninstall all the updates, restart your phone. FB will never bother you again.
if you are with t-mobile, t-mobile my account is a big one too.it used to drain my battery until I disabled it on my note 4.
Sony power management on Z3 and Ultra warns about Amazon app also.
Apparently it is constantly sending and receiving data.
In-app settings allow you to turn that crap off.
Facebook's Messenger app is the biggest battery drainer.
Nope, not really. It does run constantly, but it doesnt use very much CPU at all, therefore not much battery.
Gill - that is not common in a Tab 3 7' tablet. I have the same device and I get loads more usage than this. I would think there was something wrong with the battery or device. Check what apps and settings are running and get a good device app manager package on it too to see what is going on. I get days usage with mine.
And AVG also the cause that my phone lag. After i delete avg, my phone now more smooth and less lag than before. Seriously
What security would u replace it with?
Better use CM security..... best with app lock and easy to use too
I have a Samsung Tab 3 7in Tablet ,after 14 months of moderate use ,mostly emails, my battery is almost dead 100% charge gives me 30 minutes of use.
Is that a common problem ,or did I buy a lemon. Replacing the battery is over $100 , **!!sh
Any helpful comment will be appreciated.
That's not normal! You should definitely get it checked out because your battery should last much longer than that no matter what you are doing? Any chance you are still covered by warranty?
Ant no waranty on that past a year.
2yr warranty on Samsung devices.
But $100 for a battery? Ebay $20 - take the back off carefully, couple of screws. Sorted.
Battery is not covered by the device warrnaty at all. 1 year.
EBay. Less than $20 ..
Ebay, less than $20