Are you noticing a big drain on your battery when using the Facebook app? So are many other people.
Over the years, the Facebook app for Android and iOS has added more features, including autoplay videos, location-based suggestions and real-time notifications. All of these features demand more power from the battery. In addition, the separate Facebook Messenger app for text, audio and video calls is also a big drain.
Adjusting settings in the app can help with energy consumption but may also limit the functionality of the app. For example if one disables the app’s ability to use the phone’s location services function, the map-based features may not work as well.
In the Facebook app’s settings, turning off the autoplay option for videos and mobile notifications can save energy. Also, closing the Android or iOS app when you’re not planning to use it for awhile, is another option. Another tip to save battery life is to log on to the mobile version of the site at m.facebook.com with your phone’s web browser. And Android users have the option to use the Facebook Lite app, designed for less powerful phones using slower connections.
Next time we will explore how to turn off Facebook’s ability to download data in the background, by using settings, which can help if you have data use limits. You may also find specific instructions for optimizing battery life on the Google and Apple websites.
Portions of this blog were extracted from the New York Times Personal Tech column, published 11/24/2017.