9 Popular Apps That Are Draining Your iPhone’s Battery Life
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When it comes to your iPhone or any other smartphone, your device is just as good as the battery life it has.
After all, you could have the best smartphone on the planet, but it won't mean much if you can't get its battery to last longer than a few hours with a single charge.
Unfortunately, sometimes it's not just your iPhone's fault; sometimes it's the apps on your iPhone that just won't let it reach its battery's true potential.
Apple has worked hard to make the iPhone's battery as optimized as possible, albeit it isn't perfect. There are still many things that could cause your iPhone's battery to drain fast. One of them being the apps you have installed.
Believe it or not, some of these apps are extremely popular, and chances are you have them installed right now. So, if you want your iPhone's battery life to last a little bit longer, consider deleting these popular apps — or at least disabling Background App Refresh for those apps to mitigate some of the damage.
Read on for 9 apps to watch out for if you want to maximize your battery life.
Facebook is the quintessential social media app, and most of us still have it installed on our iPhones. However, the app is pretty demanding in terms of battery life — and the data it wants to collect, but that's probably a story for another time.
Because of all the notifications Facebook is constantly delivering to you, you might notice that your iPhone's battery life doesn't last as long as it should. Moreover, the app also constantly tries to use your location to provide better service right when you need it.
And that's not to mention that earlier in 2023, it was reported by the New York Post that a former employee from Facebook claimed that the company killed your phone's battery on purpose in order to test its performance in lower battery life.
Granted, a lot of people like to talk bad about Facebook and Meta, the company behind it, so take it with a grain of salt. The reality, however, is that the battery life does take a hit when using this app.
Instagram is an app that's also owned by Facebook's parent company Meta that can be a huge drain on your battery life.
As you can guess, the more you use the app, the shorter your iPhone's battery life will be. Tons of users around the web have reported that Instagram was the app that was actually draining their iPhone's battery. It was also one of the apps that Apple pointed to as a cause for the iPhone 15 Pro's overheating problems.
Just like Facebook, Instagram has a lot of activities running in the background in order to provide fresh content to you as soon as you need it. While that background service is great for the latest updates, it also means that your iPhone's battery will take a hit, especially if you have an older device.
The app is so demanding, in fact, that Leon Bierhals, CTO of the Women's Research and Education Institute (WREI), told The Sun that deleting Instagram from your iPhone could save up to 25 percent of your battery life.
That's a big claim and definitely something worth keeping in mind next time you feel your iPhone doesn't last as long as it used to.
Dating Apps
Are you looking for your next relationship? Then chances are you're probably using Tinder; it's the only most popular dating app you can find on the App Store.
Unfortunately, Tinder is really demanding when it comes to your battery life. After all, how else is the app going to tell you about your matches and spicy chats as soon as they happen?
But to be fair, Tinder isn't the only culprit. Other popular dating apps like Bumble or Grinder are also pretty demanding. According to pCloud, an online storage platform, the most popular dating apps "make up 15% of the top killer apps."
This is mostly because they need to use around 11 different features on your iPhone in order to run in the background. Needless to say, if you're looking for your next match, it's going to take you and your iPhone quite a bit of work.
YouTube
YouTube is the go-to video platform for pretty much anyone. Where else can you go from watching cute cat videos to complicated essays about the Roman Empire?
Unfortunately, all of these videos will take a toll on your iPhone's battery life. As you can expect, constantly using your iPhone's display will make your battery drain pretty quickly. The more you use your battery and the higher the streaming quality of the video you're using, the faster your battery will die.
Additionally, YouTube is another app that runs in the background. It's constantly checking for interesting videos or Shorts to recommend, so your iPhone needs to update the app and send notifications your way to make the most out of the app. Combine that with the fact that most people can't use YouTube with their iPhone locked, and you've got a pretty demanding app in your hands.
We get it; YouTube is great, and it's got a ton of cool features on its iPhone app. With that said, if you want to make your battery last, YouTube isn't the app for that.
TikTok
Just like YouTube, TikTok is another popular video platform that might drain your battery life faster than it should.
Unfortunately for the app, many users have reported that having TikTok will drain your battery life faster. Of course, if you constantly watch TikToks on your iPhone, your battery will go down; that's natural.
But as it turns out, many people complained that TikTok would drain their batteries overnight. That's probably because of all the features and the data TikTok needs to use in order to provide the best content for you.
By deleting the app, some users reported that you could get a couple of extra hours of battery life in your daily use, so it's worth considering.
Netflix
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know what Netflix is. Not only that, but you probably use it on your iPhone. While Netflix is the perfect app to watch great shows and movies in your spare time, it's also a pretty demanding app.
Of course, if you're watching a two-hour movie at the highest quality available while using other features like Dolby Atmos, your iPhone's battery is going to take a hit. However, that's not all we're talking about here.
For starters, the pCloud report we mentioned earlier puts Netflix as one of the most demanding apps on your iPhone. And that's because of all the features it needs to work properly. Not only do you need to use Wi-Fi, but Netflix also needs access to other things like your storage and your location to work properly.
This will obviously take a toll on your battery life. This isn't the first time we've heard about this. In 2019, Mobile Enerlytics reported that Netflix would drain over 20 percent of your battery life overnight, and that was just for having it installed and letting it work in the background.
Uber
Uber is a pretty useful tool and a must-have app if you need someone to give you a ride on your way to work; however, if you don't use Uber all that often, you might want to delete it to preserve some battery life.
According to a report from The Sun, tech trading platform Decluttr determined that Uber was one app that quickly drained your battery life.
It may sound odd at first, but when you think about the fact that Uber is constantly looking at your location in order to work properly, it starts to make sense. Additionally, Uber also accesses other features on your iPhone in order to work. For instance, Uber uses your microphone, financial information, and other type of media, which can be demanding for your iPhone.
Whatsapp is the most popular instant messaging app — besides iMessage — and it's great to catch up with friends and family from around the world.
Unfortunately, as you may expect from such a demanding app, Whatsapp could be what's causing your battery to drain pretty quickly.
Don't worry; you're not the only one. Other users around the web have claimed that WhatsApp is draining their batteries pretty fast. Some even say that the app is draining up to 40% of their battery.
While you might not have that big of an issue, Whatsapp does require you to use a lot of features on your iPhone, which causes its battery to drain. Stuff like your location, your media, and other background activities will run without you even knowing, which will cause your battery to drain pretty quickly.
Of course, that's not to say that WhatsApp is the only responsible. Other instant messaging apps like Snapchat, Messenger, and Kik all have similar problems because of all the features they need.
Fitbit
Are you a Fitbit user? You wouldn't be the only one. Whether it's checking your heart rate or tracking your workouts, the Fitbit app has everything you need to live a healthier life.
Unfortunately, while you are getting better, your iPhone's battery might be getting worse. According to the pCloud report we mentioned earlier, Fitbit is the number one phone killer because of everything it needs to run.
According to the report, Fitbit needs 14 out of the 16 available features in order to run in the background. These features include a camera, location, microphone, and Wi-Fi connection, which are the most demanding features.
If you're an active Fitbit user, chances are you won't delete the app, and that's okay. But be sure to remember that if your iPhone doesn't last as long as it used to, it's probably because of this and other apps on your iPhone.