With social media being such an integral part of our lives today, it’s no surprise that social media apps dominate our phone usage. We’re constantly checking notifications, scrolling feeds, and sharing content. However, all this social media activity comes at a cost – draining our phone batteries faster than ever.
Some social media apps are more battery-draining than others. The app’s features, design, and integration with other services can all impact how much power it uses. Identifying the most battery-draining apps is key to improving your phone’s battery life.
How Social Media Apps Drain Your Battery
Before looking at which apps use the most battery, it helps to understand why social media apps are such battery hogs in the first place.
Constant Access to Online Content
Social media apps connect you to an endless stream of online content. Whether it’s a live feed or material loading as you scroll, your phone is continually accessing data from the internet and social media servers.
This constant data retrieval and streaming keeps your network connection active for longer periods. Both cellular data and WiFi drain battery, especially at poor signal strengths.
Frequent Location Tracking
Many social apps use your location data to provide tailored content and location-based features. Facebook, for instance, identifies local events and recommendations based on your GPS coordinates.
Constantly tracking and transmitting location in the background uses extra battery. The more accurate the location tracking, the higher the power draw.
Resource-Intensive Features
From augmented reality filters to auto-playing videos, social media apps are packed with features that push hardware to the limit. These graphics and CPU-intensive features inevitably drain more battery.
Depending on implementation, certain features may also keep components like the camera active in the background when not in use.
Notifications and Background Processes
Social media apps typically run background processes to sync data and fetch notifications. While necessary, these background activities prevent the app and system resources from entering lower power states.
Notifications also light up screens and vibrate motors, drawing significant bursts of power with each alert.
Advertising and User Tracking
Many social media platforms rely heavily on advertising revenue. To serve targeted ads, they incorporate analytical SDKs that can continuously track user behavior and collect device data.
All this monitoring and reporting drains battery in the background, especially if the user is actively engaging with the app.
The Most Battery-Draining Social Media Apps
Now that we know how social media apps consume extra battery, which specific apps are the worst offenders?
Independent testing and user reports consistently point to a few notorious battery drainers:
1. Facebook
Facebook’s combination of content streaming, location tracking, and background processing makes it a battery hog. The app keeps refreshing the feed and downloading data even when left open in the background.
Battery drain gets worse if you enable location services and notifications. And Facebook’s ad network is constantly working behind the scenes.
2. Instagram
Instagram shares many of Facebook’s battery draining traits. Endlessly scrolling the photo feed keeps the app continuously loading content.
CPU and network usage also spike when applying filters or using features like Stories. Notifications and location access further reduce battery life.
3. Snapchat
Snapchat is particularly demanding due to its camera-centric features. The viewfinder and image processing required for filters and lenses keep the camera sensor active, rapidly depleting battery.
Regularly recording and sharing Stories also drains power through extended camera, screen, and internet use.
4. TikTok
Like Instagram and Snapchat, TikTok’s auto-playing video feed continuously loads content. Downloading and watching these videos is data and battery intensive.
TikTok’s AI-enabled features like facial recognition and video recommendations add further overhead for your phone’s processors.
5. Twitter
While lighter than other social apps, Twitter still hits the battery through background data refreshes, notifications, and location access. The app also supports live video broadcasting, which can be a major battery drain.
6. YouTube
YouTube makes the list mainly due to its video-centric nature. Streaming and watching YouTube videos consumes data, keeps the screen active, and uses processing power.
The YouTube app also updates in the background and sends plenty of video recommendations.
7. Messenger Apps
Messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger take a toll through persistent internet connections and constant notifications. Group chats with media sharing tend to drain battery the fastest.
Messengers also synchronize conversations and user data in the background, reducing idle time on your phone’s cellular and WiFi radios.
8. LinkedIn
While not as popular for casual use, LinkedIn still incorporates many battery-draining features. These include background data refresh, location services, notifications, and advertising trackers.
The app also supports messaging and multimedia posts, which use more power when created and viewed.
9. Reddit
Reddit is another text and media-heavy app that continuously loads new content as you scroll. It also supports chat, streaming, and interactive messaging in some subreddits.
Like most social platforms, Reddit uses resources in the background for data syncing and sending notifications.
10. Pinterest
With its image-rich format, Pinterest requires considerable data usage to download and display Pins as you browse. This constant streaming of photos and graphics is battery-draining.
Feature likes like augmented reality try-on also strain resources like the camera and processor.
How Much Battery Do These Apps Use?
We’ve identified some of the most battery-hungry social media apps. But exactly how much battery do they consume over a typical usage period?
One way to measure is by the amount of background battery usage accrued over 24 hours by each app.
Data from testing firm Avast reveals the background battery drain for popular social apps on Android over a full day of normal use:
| App | Background Battery Usage |
| 24% | |
| 21% | |
| Snapchat | 18% |
| YouTube | 12% |
| 10% | |
| TikTok | 9% |
| Messenger | 8% |
| 7% |
As shown, Facebook consumes the most background battery life at 24% over 24 hours. Instagram follows closely behind at 21%. Snapchat, YouTube, and Twitter also rank among the worst offenders.
For context, these apps are draining battery in the background without being actively used. Actual usage will consume even higher amounts from the foreground.
How to Reduce Social Media Battery Drain
Luckily, there are steps you can take to rein in the battery demands of social media apps:
Disable Background App Refresh
Turn off background data and syncing for social media apps in your phone’s system settings. This prevents unnecessary drain when the apps aren’t active.
Turn Off Notifications
Disable notifications for social apps that don’t need time-sensitive alerts. You can also silence non-essential chat groups.
Limit Location Access
Optimize location access in app permissions and system settings. Only allow location while the app is in use.
Use Dark Mode
Dark interfaces reduce power needed to illuminate screens, especially OLED displays.
Close Idle Apps
Swipe apps completely out of the multitasking view when done using them. This allows full system resources to enter idle states.
Enable Power-Saving Mode
Power-saving settings restrict battery for non-essential apps and features like background data.
Lower Screen Brightness
Keep brightness below 50% to reduce display power demands.
Disable Unused Features
Turn off battery-draining options like AR filters if you don’t need them.
Conclusion
Social media apps take a heavy toll on phone battery life. Constant data streaming, background processing, interactive features, and notifications force hardware to constantly work at higher power states.
Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat tend to be among the top battery drainers. But any frequently used social app can consume significant power.
Being smart about app settings, notifications, location access, and phone usage habits can help maximize battery life. With social media being such a huge part of everyday mobile usage, keeping its battery impact in check is key.