PEOPLE are only just realising which popular apps are the worst for draining your phone’s battery life.
Social media apps, streaming services and some games have been found to be the worst offenders, experts say.
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The apps which are most damaging to your phone’s battery life are the ones which are constantly running in the background, even when they are not actively being used, according to the experts at the tech trading website Decluttr.
Facebook and Instagram, which are both owned by Meta, along with Twitter, Snapchat and TikTok are some of the most draining because these apps have access to your location, microphone, camera and contacts at all times.
It comes after users complained Threads, the new social media app from Meta, which has smashed records by gaining more than 109million users since it launched last week, was “killing their phone batter lightning fast”.
Some users of the new app, seen by many as a direct rival to Twitter, have even deleted the app after it ran down the battery life on their phones.
Besides social media apps, Decluttr warned streaming apps, such as Spotify and Netflix, were also among the worst offenders for running down a phone’s battery life – as well as Amazon.
Uber, the hail and ride app, was also found to rapidly drain battery life because, like social media apps, it has access to your location, microphone and media, as well as financial information.
Gaming apps, like Candy Crush, were also highlighted as emptying your phone’s battery because they require a lot of processing power and gamers often play for extended amounts of time.
Decluttr said one way to reduce the battery usage of these apps was to turn off access to features such as the camera and microphone.
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The experts also said changing the location access to allow only when you are using the app can also help your battery run for longer.
Another tip suggested was to turn off your phone’s Background App Refresh setting, which allows apps to check for updates and new content, even if they are not actively in use.
While millions of users have been quick off the mark to download Threads, many have complained about the impact it has on their phone’s battery.
The 10 worst apps for draining your battery
1. Facebook
2. Twitter
3. Instagram
4. Snapchat
5. TikTok
6. Uber
7. Amazon
8. Spotify
9. Netflix
10. Candy Crush
One user wrote on Twitter: “Is Threads just… murderous to anyone else’s battery?”
While another said: “Is Threads a drain on the iPhone battery or did something change with the iPhones lately? I’m not on the app hardly at all but lately my battery is draining way more than normal.”
Someone else added: “Don’t download threads it will drain your battery. Last night I went to bed with a fully charged phone and woke up with 60 per cent battery I deleted the stupid app.”
The reason for the battery drain has not yet been explained but cybersecurity expert Jake Moore thought it could be down to what is known as “negative testing”.
He said: “Meta apps have long been accused of causing iPhone battery draining.
“It could be because they are trying to understand more about their app and how users interact with it.
“A process called negative testing is used to help developers learn how people use the app to make it better and Facebook have been thought to use this in the past.
“Negative testing involves analysing the response of the app when invalid entries are inputted.
“In the context of Facebook, negative testing can be employed to assess the functionality of specific features or gauge the speed at which messages load when batteries deplete faster than usual.
“This might not be against their own policy but it can be rather frustrating if you are one of the accounts they use to analyse.”
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