JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – When was the last time your cellphone battery lasted all day? If it's draining too fast and you're constantly having to give it extra juice to keep it alive, a popular social media app could be to blame.
Sometimes boosting your smartphone juice is as simple as looking at what apps are siphoning the most power.
An article on MoneyTalksNews.com explains what happened when Inc. magazine reporter John Koetsier went looking for answers because his phone battery was no longer lasting most of the day. He learned that a single app soaked up 47 percent of his phone's battery use during the prior 24 hours, even though he used the app for only about 30 minutes during that period.
That app was Facebook. Once Koetsier deleted it from his phone, the battery lasted through the whole day with 20 percent to spare, he reports.
You don't have to give up Facebook. The first thing you can do is just access it through a mobile web browser instead of the app. If there is a time that you need more juice for your phone, you can even simply delete the app temporarily and then add it back later.
You can also tweak its settings to reduce the amount of battery juice it soaks up. Go to the settings on the Facebook app and turn off:
- Video autoplay
- Location settings
- Background app refresh
- Notifications
I tried that on my iPhone 6s Plus and noticed and immediate difference.
If you want to see what other apps are draining your battery, it will tell you that under the settings and under battery on your phone -- no matter which type of smartphone you have.
It's always a good idea to check that from the time to time if you feel like you're phone battery is going dead quicker than it should.