Facebook’s Android app spells trouble for the battery life and performance of your mobile devices, as several reports revealed a while ago. But wait, didn’t Facebook fix those problems? It turns out that Facebook remains a huge battery hog on Android, and you could get 20% more battery life on your smartphone if you uninstall it right now.
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That doesn’t mean you have to ditch Facebook for good or use it only on other devices. You could replace the Facebook app with an Android browser like Chrome. Or install Metal, an Android app that that’s basically just a wrapper for Facebook’s mobile site.
After seeing the previous reports detailing Facebook’s excessive battery drain on Android, TechWorldZone tested the matter on a Nexus 6P. The Facebook app was replaced by Metal, leaving Facebook Messenger installed. “Through the span of a day my Huawei Nexus 6P had 20% more battery. This was true on average for every day for the week tried,” the report notes.
“Despite the Facebook app not showing up as using a significant amount of power within Android’s built-in battery statistics, it was evidently consuming more power in the background than it needed to,” the site added.
Apparently, Android administration processes including Android framework and Android OS use more battery life when the Facebook app is installed.
“We have heard reports of a few people encountering speed issues coming from our Android application,” Facebook told the site in a statement, without addressing the important battery life element of those reports. “We are investigating this and will update you as often as possible. We are focused on keeping on enhancing these issues.”
After Android Central’s Russell Holly had reignited the debate around Facebook’s battery consumption on Android, a Reddit user performed more tests using an LG G4. pbrandes_eth concluded that the phone is 15% faster after Facebook is uninstalled.
So if you want better performance and battery life on your Android device, uninstall the Facebook app and use a different app to get your regular Facebook fix.
