Science
Google Reveals Popular App Behind Sudden Battery Drain On Android Devices
The culprit that was probably causing your phone’s battery to drain more quickly than usual has been found by Google, and it turns out to be one of the most popular social media apps available.
People sometimes complain about their phone’s battery life because they don’t want to continuously have to charge their devices or have their devices run out of power when they’re out and about.
One social networking platform seems to be using more battery than anticipated, however it makes sense that high-activity items like games and video-based social apps would require more than something as basic as a calculator.
What app is draining phone batteries on Android devices?
Google has branded and shamed Meta’s Instagram software for Android phones for utilising batteries much more than they should, according to Android Authority.
Given its recent shift into short-form video and stories, Instagram is a more visual-heavy social networking platform than X, but it shouldn’t be using nearly as much as it does, or at least did.
It appears that the problem was initially discovered by astute Redditors who observed odd statistics in their phone’s battery use analysis. On the r/oneui subreddit, u/Salltee posted a concerning comparison between Instagram and another app that uses the same amount of screen time:
“Look at the on screen time for WhatsApp and its usage compared to Instagram. If I go on a charge without using Instagram, I can easily squeeze out 6 hours in 60%. No clue what’s going on with the app, but it clearly needs some optimization in place.”
In the screenshot that goes with it, WhatsApp uses only 2.4% of screen time in 49 minutes, whereas Instagram uses an astounding 12.4% in 54 minutes. This is only 5 minutes more, but the battery usage is 10% more.
“Yes I have also noticed that Instagram really takes a toll on the battery,” writes the top comment of the thread in agreement. “I think it is not well optimized that is why it also makes the phone heat up and drain the battery quickly.”
Has the Instagram battery drain issue been fixed?
A hotfix has been swiftly released to address any power depletion issues Android users may have when using the Instagram app, suggesting that Google has detected the problem.
On the Android Help support forums, Google Community Manager ‘Aadil_Shaikh’ announced that Meta had released an upgraded version of Instagram that “should fix a battery drain issue on Android devices.”
In order to avoid further issues, users are encouraged to ensure that they have downloaded build version 382.0.0.49.84 of the social networking app.
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