Even as our phones get bigger batteries and smarter power systems, we’re still obsessed with squeezing out every last bit of charge. Did I pack a portable charger?Where’s the cable? Does anyone have a spare? Some days it can feel like keeping your phone alive is a full-time job.
That’s why battery-related myths spread so easily. They promise quick wins and a sense of control. We’ve already looked at whether you should charge to 100%, but here’s another myth that refuses to die: that closing all of your open apps will save battery life.
The myth
The belief is simple. If all of those apps are ‘open’, they must be actively draining your battery. And swiping them away feels productive and satisfying. As if you’re tidying up your phone and giving it less to think about.
You probably already know the app-closing process. On iPhones, you swipe up from the bottom of the screen (or double-click the Home button on the iPhone 8 and earlier), then swipe up on the app to flick it away and close it. On Android, swipe up from the bottom of the screen, hold and let go, then swipe up on the app.
It’s easy to see why this belief has stuck. The interface makes those apps look like they’re sitting there, all running at once, quietly burning through lots of power. Which is why clearing them feels sort of like maintenance. But the way modern phones work is very different from what most people imagine.
What experts say
“Force-closing apps does not help your battery,” Steven Athwal, CEO and Founder of refurbished tech company The Big Phone Store, tells me. “Yes, it’s a widely believed hack, but it is misused.”
Athwal explains that when you force close an app and then reopen it later, your phone has to reload it from scratch. “Doing this then takes power from your processor and RAM, for which your battery pays the price.” In other words, the act of closing and reopening can use more energy than simply leaving the app suspended in the background.
TL;DR
You don’t need to constantly close most apps. In fact, it can use more power. Instead, turn down brightness and turn off background refresh and location permissions.
Because, as Athwal puts it, your phone already knows what it’s doing. “Today’s phones have the technology to freeze these apps in the background, so you’re actually using more power to open them back up than if you just kept them open.”
Ritesh Chugh, Associate Professor Ritesh Chugh, a socio-tech expert at Central Queensland University, Australia, explains what’s happening behind the scenes. “Both iOS and Android suspend idle apps in memory, which means the apps stop using the processor and battery until you open them again, so keeping them open does not normally cause extra power use.”
He adds that both operating systems have built-in systems – Android’s Doze and App Standby, and Apple’s Low power Mode, Adaptive Power and automatic suspicion – that reduce background activity without users needing to intervene.
So, if closing apps usually doesn’t help, then why do so many people believe that it does? Partly because older phones did handle background apps less efficiently. And partly because it’s not a complete myth. There are exceptions.
“It doesn’t apply to certain apps,” Athwal says. “GPS, video calls, and data checking apps are all constantly running in the background, even if you minimized them. Swipe these apps away to stop the drain on your battery.”
Chugh agrees that it’s worth doing if something is misbehaving. “Closing apps is mainly helpful in a few situations, such as when an app freezes, drains battery, or keeps using data or location in the background.”
What to do instead
So closing apps isn’t harmful. It’s just not the everyday battery-saving trick many people assume it is. And there are far more effective habits.
“Look at screen brightness, it’s killing your battery,” Athwal says. “Turn it onto auto-brightness, or just turn it down if you can.” He also recommends turning off background refresh and limiting location access to only the apps that genuinely need it.
Chugh says that small, consistent habits make the biggest difference. “Using Wi‑Fi instead of mobile data where possible, switching on battery saver mode, and turning off GPS, Bluetooth and 5G when they are not needed can all extend a phone’s life between charges.”
Temperature can be another unexpected enemy. “Simple steps like keeping the phone away from extreme heat or cold, as batteries degrade fastest above 35°C or below 0°C, can also help your battery last longer and stay healthy over time,” he explains. Useful advice now that winter’s here for us poor souls in the northern hemisphere.
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