How to identify and control the apps that consume the most battery on your Android device

  • The apps that consume the most battery are usually social networks, messaging, streaming, GPS navigation and tools that work in the background.
  • From Settings > Battery > Battery usage you can see which apps use the most battery, how much time they spend in the background, and limit their activity.
  • Restricting permissions, notifications, and automatic synchronization, along with the manufacturer's power-saving modes, drastically reduces consumption.
  • Combining these measures with good charging habits and controlled screen brightness extends both daily autonomy and battery life.
Lorena FigueredoUpdated on

4 minutes

Low battery on phone

You don't understand why your Android phone's battery drains quickly. You've noticed that this happens regularly and you've blamed apps like Google Maps or your phone's own camera. The reality is that there are other reasons why. Applications that you use daily that would have the greatest impact on battery consumption. Now you're wondering what they are. Well, we're going to help you identify which apps consume the most battery on your Android phone. Plus, we're going to explain what you can do to manage them better.

Why do some apps consume more battery?

Activate dark mode

Whether an app consumes more battery than others depends on several factors. For example, it may be linked to:

  • The permits you request, such as access to the camera, location, microphone, contacts, etc. The more permissions an app has, the greater the impact on your battery, as these functions can run constantly in the background.
  • Constant updates of your data (location, messages, etc.).
  • The dark mode option, which can help reduce power consumption on devices with OLED displays.

The apps that consume the most battery on Android

Fitbit app

Apec Cloud has done a study in which analyzed 100 most downloaded applications and discovered which ones consume the most battery. To our surprise, the apps that consume the most battery on our phone are those we use every day, such as social networks and messaging apps. These top the list.

In addition, the study revealed The 50 apps that consume the most battery and among them are:

  • Fitbit: if you have a smart watch that uses FitbitYou've probably noticed that this app can drain your battery faster than usual. It's in first place because of the amount of data it syncs in real time, such as steps and calories burned.
  • Facebook: Another of the apps that consumes the most battery on your Android phone is Facebook, and that's no surprise. This social network is in the number five spot of the apps that consume the most battery. Facebook is a big culprit due to constant notifications and continuous access to location and camera.
  • Instagram and WhatsApp: These social networks are not far behind either. Instagram and WhatsApp are in the top spots. WhatsApp seems like a lightweight app, but it actually ranks 12th among the apps that consume the most battery on your phone. This is due to the large number of permissions it requires, such as access to the camera or geolocation.

How to identify the most demanding applications on your Android

Battery settings on Android

Now, it's time to find out which apps are draining your device's battery. Android offers you a simple way to check it, what you need to do is access the apps Your phone settings and choose the option Battery.

Inside the battery menu, you will see an option called Using battery or similar. Select this to see a list of the apps that have consumed the most battery over the last 24 hours or since the last full charge.

To understand why an app consumes more battery than expected, what you have to do is look at the permissions assigned to youYou can do this from the app's settings, disabling those that are not so essential, such as background location access.