Facebook leads battery drain; Android and iPhone offer monitoring tools

Facebook is the most battery-demanding app, according to a pCloud study, which analyzed 100 popular apps based on background processes, energy consumption, and dark mode availability. The study found that six social media apps (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn) allow an average of 11 background processes, including access to photos, Wi-Fi, location, and microphone. Source: El Tiempo Meanwhile, an Opensignal report indicates that 38% of mobile data consumption in Latin America comes from social media and video, with Facebook, WhatsApp, and TikTok leading battery usage. Source: infobae

Monitoring tools

Both Android and iPhone offer built-in tools to track app consumption. On Android, users can check data usage via Settings > Network & Internet > Data usage and battery usage via Settings > Battery > Battery usage. On iPhone, data usage is under Settings > Cellular, and battery usage under Settings > Battery, which provides a per-app and hourly graph. Source: infobae

Saving battery

To reduce consumption, users can enable data saver or battery saver modes, which limit background activity. Disabling background app refresh on iPhone also helps. Source: infobae The pCloud study notes that dark mode can save up to 30% energy on certain screens, and Instagram is the only social network among the top 20 offering it. Source: El Tiempo

Disagreement

While both sources agree that social media apps are major battery drains, they differ on the top culprit: pCloud identifies Facebook, whereas Opensignal's data suggests WhatsApp and TikTok also lead. Source: El Tiempo, infobae