10 Apps That Quietly Drain Your Phone Battery
Phone batteries lose charge gradually due to various factors like background activities, location services, and autoplay videos. Both iOS and Android devices provide battery usage statistics that highlight which apps consume the most power, notably social media, navigation, messaging, and streaming applications. The article lists ten apps along with their technical causes for battery depletion and offers solutions. For instance, Facebook’s Background App Refresh and location services significantly drain power, but turning them off can help. Instagram’s autoplay and preloading are also energy-intensive; modifying permissions can reduce this. TikTok's preloading and recommendations increase usage, while enabling data saver mode can alleviate the issue. Snapchat's camera and Snap Map use battery, but ghost mode is a useful workaround. Google Maps and Waze depend on GPS; utilizing offline maps and properly ending navigation can conserve energy. YouTube, WhatsApp, Spotify, and Strava further contribute to battery drain, with tailored adjustments recommended.
Key facts
- Facebook ranks near the top of battery usage screens on iOS and Android due to background processes, autoplay video, and location checks.
- Instagram's autoplay video across Reels, Stories, and the main feed is its biggest battery cost.
- TikTok preloads several upcoming videos in the For You feed, downloading and decoding video in the background.
- Snapchat's always-ready camera and Snap Map's live location sharing drain battery continuously.
- Google Maps navigation combines GPS, screen, and data, making it one of the most power-intensive functions.
- Waze adds constant two-way data exchange on top of GPS navigation, increasing battery drain.
- YouTube's autoplay and background audio extend video decoding, and higher resolutions increase load.
- WhatsApp's persistent connection and media auto-download are significant battery drains.
- Spotify's offline downloads, Canvas visuals, and Spotify Connect add to battery usage.
- Strava's GPS, Bluetooth, and screen use during workouts drain battery, especially with high-precision GPS.
Entities
Institutions
- TikTok
- Snapchat
- Google Maps
- Waze
- YouTube
- Spotify
- Strava
- iOS
- Android
Sources
- Quartz —