How to prevent apps from running in the background on Android

Applications running on the Android platform are one of the reasons why your Android device is getting slower and slower. Even these applications both consume memory and consume battery very quickly. Therefore, to save battery, memory and make your device work faster, you should block these applications.

How to check which applications are running in the background on Android

The Developer Options menu on Android provides access to various useful features and detailed information about your device's functionality. One notable option in this menu is Running services, which provides a list of apps running in the background along with their respective RAM usage. Here's how to access it:

1. Open the Settings app, scroll down and tap About phone.

2. Go to Software information and click Build number 7 times to enable Developer Options.

 3. Enter your PIN (device password) and you will see the message You're now a developer.

4. Return to the main Settings menu and tap Developer options at the bottom.

5. Scroll down and find Running services. Click here to see a list of apps and services along with their memory usage.

You can also navigate to the battery usage menu in Android to find out which apps consume the most battery. This information can help you make informed decisions about which apps to stop to extend your Android phone's battery life.

To check an app's battery usage, open the Settings menu and go to Battery. The apps that use the most battery appear at the top. Go through the list to find unnecessary apps, note them down for the next steps.

 How to stop Android apps from running in the background

There are many ways to stop apps from running in the background on your Android, depending on whether you want immediate intervention or more automated, adaptive solutions. We will look at several approaches.

1. Force stop the application

If you want a particular app to stop working in the background until you open it, you can force stop it with these steps:

1. Open the Settings menu and go to Apps.
2. Scroll through the list or use the search tool to find the app you want to stop and tap it.
3. Click on the Force stop option.
4. Click OK to confirm.

Note that this option is not perfect as some applications may start automatically.

2. Limit battery usage for the app

On Android, you can limit the battery usage of specific apps, preventing them from running in the background unnecessarily. To limit battery usage for an app on your Android, follow these steps:

1. Open the Settings app and scroll down to select Apps.
2. Locate and select the app you don't want running in the background.
3. Scroll down and tap the Battery option in the Usage section.
4. Select the Restricted option.

As noted in this menu, restricting apps may prevent notifications from showing. Be careful to only use this option for apps that don't send you time-sensitive information.

 3. Enable the Adaptive Battery feature

The Adaptive Battery feature on Android uses Google's DeepMind AI to understand your usage habits over time and limit background activity for apps you don't use often. This option is ideal if you don't want to manually force-stop apps every time or configure battery usage settings for each individual app. To enable Adaptive Battery:

1. Open the Settings app and go to Battery.
2. Click on Background usage limits.
3. Tap the three-dot menu in the upper right corner and select Adaptive Battery.
4. Turn on the toggle for Adaptive Battery.

If this utility isn't enough for your needs, you can consider a third-party app like Greenify that hibernates apps and prevents them from running in the background. Note, however, that many of these apps are no longer actively developed, so it's best to use Android's built-in options.

Good luck!

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David Pac

Update 02 February 2024