Apps that continue to run in the background consume battery even if you close them

Basic dynamics that directly affect the battery life of your phones

The most critical energy expenditures you see in your daily flow are mostly caused by applications running in the background and screen usage intensity. Apps running in the background is one of the factors that puts the most strain on your battery’s capacity and charging cycles. Social media and video streaming platforms, in particular, drive energy consumption crazy with high screen brightness and constant exposure to data. In this case, users may experience serious losses in battery health and battery life.

Many users often ignore these behaviors, which unknowingly reduce daily usage time by 30%-40%. In this article, we take a step-by-step look at the main apps that consume energy in the background and how you can control them.

Top energy-consuming apps and their impact on battery health

Analysis shows that the most frequently used applications cause serious energy consumption, even in the background. Apps like Netflix, TikTok, YouTube, Threads and Snapchat can significantly reduce battery life when they keep running in the background. The constant data usage and high processor load of these applications cause the device to overheat and decrease performance.

Netflix and other entertainment apps: titles that drain battery quickly

Netflix can maximize battery consumption due to the impact of streaming high-definition content. High data throughput and continuous playback create energy usage, even in the background. Many users watch dozens of hours of Netflix per month; This results in a significant loss of energy even in the background. Additionally, as the quality of the video is increased, the device heats up, which reduces performance due to thermal throttling.

YouTube and TikTok similarly put pressure on the battery with heavy content consumption. Especially when YouTube runs in the background for long periods of time, background consumption increases to significant levels. Although TikTok is optimized for short videos, it increases power consumption in the background due to high frame rates and visual effects. This indirectly has negative effects on battery life.

Threads and other social media apps: eats energy in the background too

Next-generation social media apps like Threads can handle a significant amount of background activity per hour, even if the user has closed the app. This increases the energy consumption of the device by unlocking it and damages battery health in the long term. Intermittently updated contents and constant data exchange of social media applications reduce battery life and increase the thermal load of the device.

The most effective methods to protect battery health

In this section, we share immediately actionable strategies to maintain battery health and extend battery life.

• Carefully manage app permissions: Revoke or restrict permissions of apps that don’t need to run in the background. In particular, review location, background data usage, and notification permissions.
• Using advanced battery usage settings: Take a detailed look at battery usage on Android or iOS and detect energy-consuming apps. Set application-based limits and optimizations.
• Closing applications you don’t always use: Closing all applications completely at the end of the day or when not in use saves energy.
• Limiting background data flow: Apps can stop or limit using data in the background. This saves both data and energy.
• Keeping the phone up to date: Software updates can improve energy management. Current versions include battery management and optimizations.

Practical tips for effective battery management

You can extend your battery life with quick and actionable tips. The following steps make a big difference in daily use.

• Adjust screen brightness and auto brightness accordingly: Low and average brightness significantly reduces battery consumption. When you turn on auto brightness, it works more efficiently in bright environments such as outdoors.
• Reduce screen lock time: Lock screen time and sleep mode settings prevent unnecessary energy consumption.
• Use power saving mode: Activating power saving mode when you do not use it frequently during the day minimizes energy consumption.
• Pay attention to charging frequency: Maintain energy levels regularly, rather than overcharging or waiting until completely drained, which will disrupt burst charging cycles.
• Processor and memory optimizations: Especially on older devices, closing unnecessary background processes and using low-power modes improves battery life.

Energy efficiency strategies for social media and media streaming applications

We specifically focus on social media and streaming applications to increase energy efficiency. The following suggestions minimize battery loss and maintain the overall health of the device.

• Limit background refresh: Limit apps from refreshing themselves in the background. In particular, frequent updating of social media feeds increases energy consumption.
• Streaming high-resolution content: For videos, choose to stream at a lower resolution or only use high quality over Wi-Fi.
• Manage notifications carefully: Frequent and unnecessary notifications can increase CPU usage. Select the important ones and close the unnecessary ones.
• Exploring energy-saving features: Next-generation devices offer custom energy-saving profiles and app-based restrictions. Enabling these preserves battery health.

Battery health optimization with real-world examples

Let’s go through a user scenario. How can a user minimize battery consumption in 24 hours with 3 different sets of applications?

1. Scenario A: There is heavy viewing on Netflix and YouTube. Screen brightness is automatic, background data flow is limited. In this case, battery consumption is 25%-30% drops in level.
2. Scenario B: Heavy social media use of TikTok and Threads. Notifications have been reduced, background refresh has been turned off. Battery life is noticeably extended; Power consumption is reduced, especially when streaming.
3. Scenario C: Power saving mode is active in all applications and the automatic locking angle is shortened. Total energy consumption during the day may decrease by around 15-20%.

These examples clearly show the impact of different usage habits on battery health. Secure energy management improves your device’s performance and reliability in the long run by reformatting application behavior.

Most frequently asked questions (People Also Ask)

Q: Which apps consume the most energy in the background? A: Netflix, YouTube, TikTok, Threads and Snapchat are the main applications that stand out by consuming high energy in the background. Carefully managing the permissions and background data flow of these apps saves battery.

Q: How do I measure battery health? A: You can review application-based energy consumption by going to the battery usage section in the settings menu of your device and see which application consumes how much energy. In this way, you can detect and regulate unnecessary consumption.

Q: Which settings affect battery life the most? A: Settings like brightness, lock time, background data usage, notification management, and power saving mode combined have the biggest impact on battery life.

Comprehensive balance sheet: a daily app plan for battery health

To maintain battery health for as long as you need it, follow these steps:

1. Daily review: Review daily which apps consume the most energy.
2. Optimize permissions: Allow location, background data usage and notifications as needed, and turn off unnecessary ones.
3. Make energy-saving mode routine: Automatically activate power-saving mode at certain times or in certain situations.
4. Don’t neglect software updates: New versions can improve battery management and increase performance.

As a result, battery health and battery life are shaped not only by hardware factors but also by the behavior of the applications you use. Therefore, your smart approach that minimizes background energy consumption will ensure that your device provides you with reliable service for years.