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How to Disable Background Apps on Your Phone

Edited 2 weeks ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team

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How to Disable Background Apps on Your Phone

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Nowadays, smartphones have become an important part of our lives. They help us stay connected and do many things. However, sometimes our phones start to become sluggish and drain the battery quickly. One of the reasons for this could be that there are too many apps running in the background. Background apps can consume battery, data, and processing power. Thankfully, you can disable these apps to improve your phone's performance. In this guide, we will show you how to disable background apps on both Android and iOS devices.

Why disable background apps?

There are several reasons why you might want to disable background apps on your phone:

Disabling background apps on Android

There are several ways to disable background apps on an Android phone. The method may vary slightly depending on the version of Android you are using, but the basic steps are generally the same.

Method 1: Through settings

Follow these steps to disable background apps via Settings:

  1. Open the Settings app on your Android phone.
  2. Scroll down and tap Apps & notifications (may be called Apps on some devices).
  3. Tap See all [number] apps to see a list of all your installed apps.
  4. Select the app you want to prevent from running in the background.
  5. Tap Battery (depending on your Android version, this may also be named Battery Usage).
  6. Under Manage battery usage, you may see an option called Background restrictions. Turn it on to prevent the app from running in the background.
  7. Alternatively, you can tap Force Stop to stop the app immediately. However, this is a temporary measure, and the app may restart on its own unless it is restricted.

Method 2: Using developer options

Developer options are a set of advanced settings in Android. To disable background apps through Developer options:

  1. First, you'll need to enable Developer Options if it isn't already enabled:
    • Open the Settings app.
    • Scroll down and tap About phone.
    • Find the build number and tap on it seven times. You will see a message saying "You are now a developer!" or "Developer mode has been enabled".
  2. Return to the main Settings menu.
  3. Scroll down and tap System.
  4. Tap Developer options.
  5. Scroll down to find the Background Process Limit option.
  6. Tap on it and choose the limit you want. You can choose the No Background Process option if you want to stop all background activities. However, be careful as this may affect the functionality of some apps.

Method 3: Using battery optimization

Another way is to stop battery optimization apps from running in the background. You can do it like this:

  1. Open the Settings app on your Android phone.
  2. Tap Battery.
  3. Tap Battery optimization.
  4. Tap Not optimized and change it to All apps.
  5. Select the app you want to customize.
  6. Select Optimize to prevent it from using too much battery while running in the background.

Method 4: Using third-party apps

There are many third-party apps available that can help you manage background apps. Some of the popular ones are:

Disabling background apps on iOS

iOS devices also allow you to manage background apps. The steps may vary slightly depending on different versions of iOS, but generally the process is straightforward.

Method 1: Through settings

Follow these steps to disable background apps via Settings:

  1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
  2. Scroll down and tap General.
  3. Tap Background App Refresh.
  4. You will see a list of apps. You can disable background refresh for specific apps by toggling the switch off.
  5. If you want to disable Background App Refresh for all apps, tap Background App Refresh at the top and then select Off. This will stop all apps from refreshing in the background.

Method 2: Using battery settings

You can also manage background apps through the battery settings:

  1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
  2. Scroll down and tap Battery.
  3. Under Battery usage by app, you'll see how much battery each app has consumed. Tap an app to get more information.
  4. If you see an app that's using a lot of battery in the background, consider disabling its background activities as described in the previous method.

Conclusion

Disabling background apps can greatly improve your phone's performance and battery life. Whether you're using an Android or iOS device, there are several ways to control background activities. By following the steps in this guide, you can manage and disable background apps to keep your phone running smoothly and efficiently.

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