Google now marks Android apps that heavily drain the battery

Google launches warnings about “energy-intensive” background app activity

Last year the company announced it would start tackling apps that excessively drain smartphone batteries. That promise is now being fulfilled.

Text notifications have appeared on Play Market for apps that “consume too much battery power when running in the background.” On the pages of the relevant programs a message appears:

> *“Due to high background activity, this app may consume more battery than expected.”*

Although the wording is vague, it clearly points to apps that exceed the threshold for the Excessive Partial Wake Lock feature.

What is an Excessive Partial Wake Lock?
This feature allows the processor to run even when the screen is off and when the user is not interacting with the app. As a result, power consumption increases. Google acknowledges that this mechanism is sometimes necessary, but in some cases apps “hang” in the background for too long. The threshold was introduced to limit this activity.

Why does Google issue warnings?
1. Developer support – Warnings motivate creators to eliminate unnecessary background activity. Progress is already visible: some apps have been adjusted after the first signal.

2. User protection – In the short term users encounter fewer “energy-intensive” apps, and in the long term they get more efficient program versions.

Thus Google not only informs about problems but also creates an incentive for improving mobile app energy efficiency.