We all like to have a variety of apps on our phones, some of which we use every day and others of which we haven’t used for months, but could they be the reason your device is just about clinging on to a scrap of battery juice by the end of the day? If so, which apps are the most responsible for your phone’s poor battery and data performance?
A new report by antivirus software company Avast has listed the biggest culprits in the app world when it comes to draining your battery, using too much data traffic and gobbling up your storage. In each group, the researchers separate the most responsible apps into lists of those that run automatically when a phone is in use, and those activated by the user.
It’s perhaps not a surprise that Facebook is a major drain on your phone’s resources. The social media app was found to be the worst for both hogging data and consuming storage, both of which occur in the background while your phone is switched on. It’s also the seventh worst automatically running app for eating up battery life.
The fact that the Facebook app stores so many cached files and photos makes it a big drain on your phone’s resources. The same could be said about Instagram and Amazon Kindle, which are second and third on the list respectively for automatically running storage eaters.
Samsung apps were generally found to be big consumers, with the tech firm’s Allshare and Security Policy Updates apps coming out as the two worst for using up battery power. Ironically, the tenth app on that list is DU Battery Saver – an app to help Android batteries last longer.
For user-run apps, it’s video and music streaming that generally saps resources. Netflix is the worst data traffic hogger and the third worst battery drainer (behind Samsung’s WatchON and Video Editor), while Spotify Music uses up more storage than any other user-activated app.
For the data and battery conscious smartphone user, the best advice might be to adopt a “use it or lose it” approach to apps. If you haven’t used an app for a couple of months, consider whether you need it at all. It might just be limiting your phone’s capacity or performance.
Unless you’re someone who really can’t get enough of Facebook, think about ditching the app and accessing the site in your browser. For any other must-have social media apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Snapchat, you can limit consumption by turning off notifications and location data services.
With streaming sites like Netflix and Spotify, it’s wise to limit their use to the home or somewhere with Wi-Fi available. That way, the data usage doesn’t matter and your phone charger can come to your rescue in the event of a battery blackout.
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