Does Closing Unused Apps Improve Phone Performance Or Drain Battery More

Many smartphone users believe that swiping away background apps regularly boosts speed and saves battery. It’s a habit ingrained in daily routines—after checking email or social media, the instinct is to clear the app switcher. But does this actually help? Or could it be doing more harm than good? The answer isn’t as simple as “yes” or “no.” Modern operating systems like iOS and Android are designed with sophisticated memory and power management systems that often make manual app closing unnecessary—and sometimes counterproductive.

This article explores how apps behave in the background, what really affects performance and battery life, and whether force-closing apps is a smart move or an outdated myth. By the end, you’ll understand when to close apps, when to leave them alone, and how to optimize your phone the right way.

How Apps Work in the Background

When you press the home button or swipe up from an app, it doesn’t immediately shut down. Instead, it enters a suspended state. In this mode, the app remains in RAM (memory) but stops all active processes. It consumes no CPU power and minimal energy—essentially frozen until reopened.

Apple and Google have engineered their mobile operating systems to treat RAM differently than traditional computers. On desktops, more open programs mean higher resource usage. On smartphones, keeping frequently used apps in memory actually improves efficiency because reopening them doesn't require reloading data from storage—a process that uses both time and battery.

iOS automatically manages app states: inactive, background, suspended, or terminated. Most apps transition quickly to the suspended state unless they have specific permissions (like playing music or tracking location). Android follows a similar model, using cached processes that remain idle until needed or removed by the system when memory runs low.

“iOS is designed so that apps don’t run in the background unless they’re actively doing something useful. Swiping them away just forces the system to reload them later, which uses more energy.” — Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, Apple

Performance: Does Closing Apps Make Your Phone Faster?

The idea that closing apps speeds up your phone stems from older devices with limited RAM. A decade ago, phones had 512MB to 1GB of memory, and running multiple apps could cause slowdowns due to memory pressure. Today, most smartphones come with 4GB to 12GB of RAM, allowing the OS to keep many apps ready without impacting performance.

Force-closing apps may give a psychological sense of control, but in reality, it often leads to slower app launches. When you reopen an app that was previously closed, the device must reload it entirely—fetching assets, re-authenticating sessions, and rebuilding the interface. This takes longer and consumes more CPU cycles than resuming a suspended app.

In fact, repeatedly killing and relaunching apps can create a phenomenon known as “thrashing,” where the system spends more time managing memory than delivering smooth user experience. This is especially noticeable on mid-range Android devices with aggressive memory compression.

Tip: If your phone feels sluggish, try restarting it instead of closing individual apps. A full reboot clears memory efficiently and resets any stuck processes.

Battery Impact: Do Closed Apps Save Power?

One of the biggest misconceptions is that background apps constantly drain battery. While some apps do use power in the background (e.g., navigation, streaming, or syncing), most do not. Once an app is suspended, its energy consumption drops to nearly zero.

What actually drains battery? Active tasks such as GPS tracking, constant network polling, push notifications, audio playback, and screen-on time. These functions require CPU, radio signals, and sensors—all of which consume significant power. Simply having an app in the app switcher does not fall into this category.

Here’s the irony: manually closing apps can *increase* battery usage. Every time you force-close and then reopen an app, the phone uses extra energy to restart services, reconnect to servers, and refresh content. Over the course of a day, these micro-reloads add up.

Real-World Example: Daily App Usage Pattern

Consider a typical morning routine:

• You check weather (App A), then news (App B), then messages (App C).
• You swipe all three away out of habit.
• Later, you return to the weather app—it has to reload forecasts from scratch.
• The news app rebuilds its feed, downloading headlines again.
• Your messaging app reconnects to the server and syncs missed messages.

All of these reloads use more CPU and data than simply resuming the suspended version. Multiply this across dozens of app switches per day, and the cumulative effect becomes measurable—especially on older devices.

When Should You Close Apps?

While routine app closing is unnecessary, there are legitimate scenarios where force-quitting makes sense:

1. An app is misbehaving: If an app is freezing, crashing, or consuming excessive battery, closing it can stop rogue processes.
2. After software updates: Some apps need a fresh start post-update to apply changes correctly.
3. Security-sensitive situations: After using banking or health apps, some users prefer to close them for peace of mind—even if the risk is minimal.
4. Before troubleshooting: Restarting an app is a common first step when diagnosing issues like login errors or sync failures.

However, even in these cases, a better long-term solution is to update the app, clear its cache, or reinstall it if problems persist.

Do’s and Don’ts of App Management

Do	Don’t
Close apps that are clearly malfunctioning	Swipe away apps every time you finish using them
Use battery settings to identify true power-hungry apps	Assume all background apps are draining battery
Restart your phone weekly to clear system clutter	Rely solely on app switching to fix performance issues
Disable background refresh for rarely used apps	Keep location services enabled for apps that don’t need it
Update apps regularly to benefit from efficiency improvements	Ignore persistent battery drain from a single app

Optimizing Performance and Battery the Right Way

If closing apps isn’t the solution, what should you do instead? Focus on proven strategies that address the actual causes of slowdowns and battery drain.

Step-by-Step Guide to Better Phone Efficiency

1. Check Battery Usage Settings
   Go to Settings > Battery to see which apps are consuming the most power. On Android, this is under \"Battery Usage.\" Investigate why certain apps rank high—do they run location services or play audio?
2. Limit Background App Refresh
   On iPhone: Settings > General > Background App Refresh. Disable it for non-essential apps.
   On Android: Settings > Apps > [App Name] > Battery > Background restriction.
3. Manage Location Services
   Many apps request constant location access, which significantly impacts battery. Set location access to “While Using” instead of “Always” unless necessary (e.g., fitness trackers).
4. Reduce Screen-On Time
   Lower brightness, shorten auto-lock time, and avoid live wallpapers. The screen is the largest battery consumer.
5. Enable Low Power Mode (iOS) or Battery Saver (Android)
   These modes reduce background activity, email fetching, and visual effects when battery is low.
6. Keep Software Updated
   OS and app updates often include performance optimizations and bug fixes that improve efficiency.
7. Restart Your Device Weekly
   A full reboot clears temporary files, resets network connections, and stops any hidden processes hogging resources.

Tip: Use built-in digital wellbeing tools (Digital Wellbeing on Android, Screen Time on iOS) to monitor usage patterns and set app limits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does leaving apps open in the background slow down my phone?

No, not in the way most people think. Apps in the suspended state do not affect performance. The operating system intelligently manages memory, terminating apps when needed. Closing them manually offers no benefit and can lead to slower reload times.

Why does my battery drain overnight even when I’m not using my phone?

Overnight drain is usually caused by background activities such as email syncing, cloud backups, location updates, or poorly optimized apps. Check battery usage logs to identify culprits. Disabling unnecessary background refresh and ensuring Wi-Fi/Bluetooth aren’t scanning unnecessarily can help.

Is it bad to never close apps?

No. Modern smartphones are designed to handle dozens of suspended apps without issue. The system automatically removes them from memory when space is needed. There’s no harm in leaving apps in the app switcher.

Expert Insight: What Engineers Say About App Management

Mobile engineers at major tech companies consistently advise against habitual app closing. Linus Sebastian, a well-known tech reviewer and former software developer, once stated:

“Closing apps to save battery is one of the most persistent myths in mobile tech. It’s like turning off your car at every red light to save gas—you spend more fuel restarting than idling.”

Google engineers have also emphasized that Android’s memory management prioritizes user experience over artificial “cleanliness.” As Hiroshi Lockheimer, Senior VP of Platforms & Ecosystems at Google, explained:

“Android keeps apps in memory because launching apps is expensive. We’d rather keep them ready than waste battery reloading them every time.”

Conclusion: Work With Your Phone, Not Against It

The belief that closing unused apps improves performance or saves battery is largely a relic of early smartphone limitations. Today’s devices are engineered to manage resources efficiently without user intervention. Force-closing apps disrupts this balance, leading to increased battery usage and slower operation over time.

Instead of focusing on the app switcher, direct your attention to meaningful optimizations: managing background permissions, controlling location access, updating software, and monitoring actual battery hogs. These steps deliver real results without the false sense of productivity that comes from swiping away icons.

Your phone is smarter than you think. Trust its design. Let it do its job. And reserve app closing for genuine issues—not daily maintenance.

💬 Have you noticed a difference after stopping the habit of closing apps? Share your experience in the comments and help others rethink their phone habits.