Background Apps and Website Activity That Are Draining Your iPhone’s Performance

Most iPhone users already know that some apps, and even certain websites running in the background via Safari or other browsers continue to operate even after you think you’ve closed them. These might include apps dealing with large databases or websites constantly refreshing data in the background. But when too many apps or website processes are active at once, your iPhone can start to lag or burn through battery faster than usual.
So, what kinds of apps usually run in the background? And can you actually stop them from slowing things down? In this article, we’ll answer those questions and give you tips to manage background activity and keep your iPhone running at its best.

How Background Processes Work on iOS

In iOS, the system design prioritizes the conservation of device charge and resources, establishing stringent restrictions to manage background activity. Despite these restrictions, some applications can operate in the background, significantly impacting battery life, particularly with frequent or uncontrolled usage. This, in turn, can lead to a slowdown of the iPhone itself as the battery struggles to keep up.

Apple gives apps some background permissions through settings in their Info.plist files. These allow apps to handle specific tasks while not in the foreground. For example, music apps that keep playing in the background stop your processor from fully switching into low-power mode, which slowly drains your battery. The same goes for apps that use GPS – constant location tracking is one of the biggest power hogs your iPhone can deal with.

Another background mode is VoIP, where apps maintain connections for calls. These applications remain in a semi-active state, consistently monitoring network activity, thereby increasing power consumption. Additionally, the background fetch feature allows applications to update their content periodically, even when not actively used. This can be useful, but if set to occur too frequently, it leads to regular system wake-ups, which consume significant power and accelerate battery wear.

iOS employs several strategies to manage the load from these background activities. The system limits or stops activities that keep the processor working for too long without significant user benefits. For example, if an application frequently wakes the device from sleep or demands high processor usage, iOS may either terminate it or reduce the frequency of its background tasks.

Apple also introduced the BGTaskScheduler to optimize the execution of background tasks. This scheduler ensures that tasks run in energy-efficient conditions, such as when the device is charging. However, if developers schedule tasks too frequently or involve heavy data processing, this can still lead to unwanted peaks in load, affecting the battery’s longevity.

Top Categories of Background Applications That Drain Resources

We already discussed which types of apps can run in the background, but to clarify things, let’s review a few specific examples from different categories of mobile apps.

• Navigation apps – Apps like Google Maps or Waze don’t just track your location non-stop, they also run complex calculations to reroute based on traffic, find points of interest, and show real-time speed limit warnings. All this requires active GPS and data processing, which keeps your phone from conserving power.



• Music and podcast apps – Streaming applications, such as Spotify or Apple Music, need to maintain a constant data connection to fetch audio files from the server. Additionally, they manage audio playback controls and track data usage in the background, all of which keep the device active and consume more energy than if the device were idle.



• Fitness apps – Apple Health and Fitbit do more than count steps. They tap into multiple sensors, like the accelerometer, gyroscope, and heart rate monitor, to gather detailed activity data. Because they constantly process and analyze that info, they can draw a lot of battery and processing power in the background.
• Social networking apps – Apps like Facebook and Instagram also handle automatic video playback and real-time location-sharing features in the background. These functionalities demand both high data bandwidth and continuous processor engagement, which significantly impacts battery life.
• Messengers and VoIP apps – Services such as WhatsApp and Skype not only need to stay online to receive messages and calls but also synchronize contacts, manage status updates, and sometimes encrypt communication in real-time. This level of connectivity and data processing requires ongoing background activity that can quickly deplete battery levels.

How to Check What Exactly is Eating Up Your iPhone Resources and Fix It

If you have noticed that your iPhone has started to lag, and you suspect that background applications are the reason, there is a method you can use to check and address this issue.

Step 1: Identify Apps That Drain Your iPhone

First, you need to identify which application or applications consume the most energy. For accurate indicators, ensure your iPhone operates for at least 24 hours without shutting down. This duration allows the system to update the information displayed properly.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

2. Scroll down and tap Battery. You’ll see a list showing how much battery each app used over the last 24 hours or the past 10 days. Tap the list to switch between those views.

3. Pay extra attention to the apps at the top – they’re the ones draining the most battery.
If you want more info, tap on an app’s name to see how much time it spent on screen and running in the background.

Keep in mind, the battery percentages shown don’t represent how much of your total battery an app used. For instance, if your battery dropped from 100% to 70% over the past 24 hours and an app shows 18%, that doesn’t mean it used up 18% of your whole battery, just that it caused 18% of the total battery drain during that period.

Step 2: Disable Background App Refresh on Your iPhone

Once you’ve figured out which apps drain your iPhone’s battery the most, you can easily turn off their background refresh. iOS has a setting specifically for managing this feature.
1. Open Settings on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and tap General.
3. Then tap Background App Refresh.

4. You’ll see a list of apps that use background refresh. Here, you can either turn off the feature completely or customize it for each app individually. Options include turning refresh off, allowing it only on Wi-Fi, or leaving it always active.

Once you’ve made these changes, it’s good to know what happens next- both the benefits and the potential downsides of disabling background refresh.

• When background updates are off, apps won’t quietly pull in data like news, photos, or ads unless you open them. That can save a good amount of battery.
• Turning off background refresh frees up system resources, which helps your phone run more smoothly.
• Apps that don’t refresh in the background will need to load everything from scratch when you open them. For example, social media feeds might show old posts for a second before updating.
• Widgets may show old data if they can’t refresh in the background, which could be a downside for apps that rely on real-time info.

Considering all this, deciding whether to turn off background app refresh isn’t always a simple call. It can definitely save on battery and make the phone more responsive, but it may also hinder app updates or leave you with outdated data. The smart thing to do is reflect on how you utilize your phone and which apps actually need to be up to date in real-time before making changes.

How to Build Battery-Friendly Apps (For Developers)

If an app that doesn’t fall into any of the categories we mentioned is still draining your battery (and it’s not a game or a video editing app you’ve been using for hours), there’s a good chance the issue is on the developer’s side. Even an app with solid architecture can wreck your battery if it’s not properly optimized.
If you’re a developer reading this, here are a few tips to help make sure your app doesn’t drain the battery. We get it, building an app isn’t cheap, but it’s in your best interest to make it run as efficiently as possible. A well-optimized app not only keeps users happy but also builds a stronger reputation for your product:

• Be smart about how often your app pulls data. Instead of constantly hitting a server or API, only fetch data when it’s really needed. Adding good caching can reduce unnecessary updates and save a lot of battery.
• If your app uses location data, try to lower the update frequency or switch to less precise tracking when possible. High-accuracy GPS drains battery fast, so tweaking those settings can make a big difference.
• Schedule resource-intensive tasks thoughtfully. Use iOS’s Background Task API to schedule them during ideal times, like when the device is already awake, so you don’t waste battery by waking it up unnecessarily.
• Only send notifications that really matter. Too many silent push notifications can constantly wake the device and drain the battery. Make sure every alert adds value and doesn’t just eat up power.
• Stay up to date with Apple’s latest tools and APIs for energy efficiency. They regularly roll out updates and guidelines to help developers build more battery-friendly apps.
• And don’t forget to test your app’s battery impact during development. Tools like the Energy Log in Xcode give you a clear picture of how your app affects battery life, so you can fix issues before launch.

Conclusion

There’s a lot of debate around whether certain apps are really draining your iPhone’s performance. Some sources say yes, others say no, and honestly, both sides have a point. While iOS does a decent job of limiting or stopping background activity that might stress the processor, some apps still find ways around those restrictions. On top of that, outdated hardware or poorly optimized apps can make the problem even worse.

That’s why it’s important for users to regularly check how apps are affecting their battery life. At the same time, developers have a real responsibility to make sure their apps are not just well-built but also respectful of system resources and battery performance. An app should give benefits without depleting the battery or slowing down the device.