Can deleting Facebook dramatically boost the battery life on your smartphone?

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One quick search on the internet and you’re likely to find dozens of hacks for preserving the battery life of your smartphone. But we’ve come to the conclusion that apps—and one in particular—might just be one of the main culprits when it comes to siphoning your phone’s battery life.

It was after Inc. Magazine reporter John Koetsier shared how Facebook’s app soaked up a whopping 47 percent of his phone’s battery within a 24-hour period. And it wasn’t like he was on Facebook all day; he said he only used the app for about 30 minutes during that 24-hour period.

Koetsier then deleted the Facebook app from his phone. And to his surprise, he said that his phone’s battery not only lasted through the entire day, but he even had 20 percent left to spare.

We Tested This Theory And Here’s What We Found

Intrigued by such a simple hack to preserve smartphone battery life, we wanted to test it out, and we did so over a series of six days. For two days, I went ahead and used the Facebook app on my phone too see just how much battery power the app was using. The following two days, I kept the app installed on my phone, but didn’t open it. It was the last two days of my test that I deleted the app entirely from my iPhone.

Here are the results.

When using the Facebook app on my phone as I normally would, I was surprised to see that between Facebook and Facebook Messenger, the two apps used up over half of my battery life in 24 hours. This was the case for both days.

Megan Fenno

I then kept the Facebook app on my phone, but didn’t open it for two days. To my surprise, even though I resisted the urge to touch it, the app still siphoned, on average, 23 percent of my battery. Notice in the note under the app that says “background activity.” That means that even though the app is closed, it’s still using your phone’s battery.

Megan Fenno

Finally, I said farewell to the Facebook app on my smartphone and deleted it. It was only then that I noticed a huge decrease in the amount of battery power it took to power my phone throughout the day.

Megan Fenno

I did keep Facebook Messenger, but that seems to use significantly less battery power then Facebook’s app alone.

So Now What?

If you’re like most, you probably enjoy scrolling Facebook on your phone, or you need it for business purposes. Which means that deleting the app isn’t an option. Trust me, I get it.

But here’s the deal. You can still have Facebook on your phone. But instead of using the app, try accessing it through a mobile web browser.

Not ready to delete the Facebook app? Try tweaking some of the app’s settings.

Here Are Some Tips

Make sure you completely quit the app when you’re finished using it. In addition, try turning down your screen brightness. Also, turning off video autoplay, location settings, the Background App refresh and notifications should help.

To do this, tap your phone’s Settings icon, then tap the Facebook icon. It will bring you to a screen that says the app is installed and, underneath, you’ll see the Settings button. From there, you can turn off one or all of the settings that might just be contributing to your low battery issue.

Megan Fenno

Curious to see which apps are using the most battery on your smartphone?

If you have an iPhone, tap on Settings and then “Battery.” A menu, similar to the screenshots pictured above, will show you which apps and programs are using up the most battery by percentage.

Android users also have access to a similar feature by also tapping on Settings and then “Battery.”

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About the Author
Megan Fenno
Freelance Writer. Accessory Designer. Blogger. Digital Content Producer. Wife. Lover of Cincinnati, Ohio and mom to a 6 year-old stud.

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