Modern mobile operating systems are designed to multitask. Even when you are not actively using your phone, dozens of applications are running silently—fetching emails, updating weather widgets, syncing photos, or refreshing social media feeds.
While some background activity is essential, uncontrolled processes can consume data, drain battery, and occupy system memory (RAM). This guide details how to professionally manage and stop unwanted background applications on Android and iOS.
Stopping Background Apps on Android
Android gives users significant control over app lifecycle management, allowing for everything from gentle restrictions to forced shutdowns.
Restricting Background Use
This is the most effective way to stop an app from running in the background without uninstalling it.
Go to Settings >> Apps >> See all apps.
Choose the application you wish to manage.
Tap App Battery Usage (or simply Battery) and select Restricted. The system will now aggressively kill this app’s processes the moment you leave it.
Force Stop (For Glitching Apps)
If an app is stuck or behaving erratically in the background, you can terminate it completely.
Navigate: Long-press the app icon and tap the “i” (App Info) button.
Tap Force Stop.
Note: This completely kills the app. It will not run again (and you will receive no notifications from it) until you manually tap the icon to open it again.
Developer Options: Background Process Limit
For advanced users who want to strictly limit multitasking capability.
Ensure Developer Options are enabled (Settings >> About Phone >> Tap Build Number 7 times).
Go to Settings >> System >> Developer options >> Background process limit.
Change “Standard limit” to “At most 1 process” or “No background processes”.
Warning: This is an aggressive measure. It prevents apps from retaining state in memory, meaning every time you switch apps, they will reload from scratch.
Stopping Background Apps on iOS
iOS handles backgrounding differently; it “freezes” apps in RAM rather than letting them run freely. However, apps can still wake up to refresh content.
Background App Refresh
This is the master switch for allowing apps to check for new data while closed.
Go to Settings >> General >> Background App Refresh.
You can turn this to Off to stop ALL background activity, but this prevents email and message apps from updating.
Individual Control: The professional approach is to leave the main switch ON, but scroll down and toggle OFF every non-essential app (Social Media, News, Retail apps).
The App Switcher (Force Closing)
There is a debate about whether closing apps saves battery. Apple advises against it for frequently used apps, but it is the only way to ensure an app is fully terminated.
Swipe up from the bottom of the screen (or double-click the Home button) to open the App Switcher.
Swipe up on the specific app card to close it.
Use this primarily for apps that use GPS location or audio (like Maps or Spotify) to ensure they have stopped tracking you.
Managing background apps is about prioritizing resources. “Messaging” and “System” apps need background access to function correctly, but games, social media, and retail apps rarely do. By manually restricting these categories, you prevent your phone from wasting resources on content you aren’t currently viewing.
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