Quick answer
- One app: Go to Settings → Apps, select the app, tap App battery usage, and turn off Allow background usage.
- All apps at once: Go to Settings → Battery → Battery Saver and turn it on.
- Close an app right away: Go to Settings → Apps, select the app, and tap Force stop.
- Apps you don’t use: Uninstall them, or tap Disable for pre-installed apps you can’t remove.
Your phone is doing a lot more than you think right now. Apps are waking up, checking in, and refreshing content even when you’re not using them. Background activity is one of the most common reasons Android phones run out of battery before the end of the day, overheat, or burn through a data allowance faster than expected.
There’s potential for privacy violations, too, and that’s not as easy to spot as the battery drainage. Some apps use background access to collect your location, monitor your usage patterns, or sync behavioral data with advertisers.
If you’re concerned about privacy beyond what your device’s apps access, it’s worth using a VPN(new window) to encrypt your internet traffic so third parties can’t monitor what you do online.
This guide covers:
- Four ways to limit background activity
- How to remove apps you no longer need
- A few habits that protect your privacy on Android
How to stop apps running in background Android
Android gives you a few different ways to manage background activity. You can go broad or be specific, depending on how much control you want.
Method 1: Restrict background activity for individual apps
This is the most targeted approach. You can tell Android to limit apps from running background jobs, syncing data, and sending notifications.
Note: There is some variation in layout and naming across Android devices, so steps may vary slightly depending on which model you use.
- Go to Settings → Apps.
- Open the app you want to restrict and tap App battery usage.
- Toggle off Allow background usage.
While you’re in the app’s settings, you could also limit the app from using data. Go to Mobile data & Wi-Fi and toggle off Background data.
Repeat this for any app you don’t need running constantly. Good candidates include shopping apps, games, social media apps you check manually anyway, and any app you rarely use.
Method 2: Use Battery Saver to limit background activity
If you want to reduce background activity across all apps at once, Battery Saver is a quick way to do it.
- Go to Settings → Battery.
- Open Battery Saver.
- Toggle on Use Battery saver.
You can also set the battery to activate automatically, for example while your phone is inactive or when the battery level drops to a certain level.
When Battery Saver is on, Android restricts most background activity, reduces sync frequency, and may limit location access for apps not currently in use. The trade-off is that some things, like receiving emails in real time, will be slower.
Method 3: Force stop apps
If an app is currently running and you want to stop it immediately:
- Go to Settings → Apps.
- Open the app you want to stop.
- Tap Force stop.
When you Force stop an app, it should stay closed until you open it again yourself. If an app keeps restarting on its own, it may be worth checking whether your phone has picked up malware.
Method 4: Manage background activity from the Developer Options menu
Warning: Do not change developer settings unless you are an advanced user. If you limit these processes, your phone will not be able to multitask, and important features like notifications may stop working.
- Go to Settings → System → Developer options.
- Enable Use developer options and tap OK to confirm.
- Scroll down to Background process limit and choose a lower number, or select No background processes.
How to uninstall Android apps you no longer need
The most thorough way to stop an app from running in the background is to remove it entirely. If you have an app you don’t use, there’s no good reason to keep it.
- Press and hold the app icon on your phone screen.
- Tap Uninstall, or drag it to the uninstall option at the top of the screen, depending on your device.
Alternatively, go to Settings → Apps, select the app, and tap Uninstall.
For pre-installed apps (sometimes called bloatware), you may not be able to uninstall them entirely, but you can usually disable them to stop them from running. Go to Settings → Apps, find the app, and tap Disable.
When you uninstall an app, you may be asked how you want to handle the app’s data. If you don’t plan to reinstall it, choosing to delete your data is the cleaner option; it removes any stored information the app held locally on your device.
A few Android privacy habits worth building
Taking a few minutes to restrict background access, uninstall unused apps, and tighten up permissions won’t make your phone impenetrable to data collection or immune to hacking. But it will meaningfully reduce the amount of data flowing without your knowledge. Pair that with a VPN and a password manager, and you’re significantly improving the efficiency and security of your Android phone.
1. Review app permissions regularly
Go to Settings → Security & privacy → Privacy dashboard to see which apps have access to your location, microphone, camera, contacts, and more. Revoke anything that seems excessive. Some of the worst culprits for tracking users are apps that require your location, such as Uber and Uber Eats, maps and shopping apps, and, of course, social media apps.
2. Use a VPN on public WiFi
When you connect to a café, airport, or hotel WiFi, some information about your activity may be exposed to others on the same. A VPN(new window) encrypts your connection so third parties can’t intercept your data, and keeps no logs of your browsing activity. It’s one of the more practical tools for keeping your phone secure when you’re outside your home network.
3. Use strong, unique passwords for every app and account
Reusing passwords across apps means that if one account is compromised, others are at risk too. A password manager stores all your passwords in an encrypted vault and autofills them when you need them, so you don’t have to choose between convenience and security. It also flags weak or reused passwords, making it easy to see where you need to improve.
4. Keep your OS and apps updated
Android security patches fix known vulnerabilities that malicious apps or network attacks could exploit. Depending on your network preferences, they may be pending install. Check Settings → System update regularly.
For more information about safety at the operating system level, read more on Android vs iOS security.
3. Be selective about what you install
Only download apps from the official Google Play Store, and pay attention to the permissions they request at installation. An app that asks for more access than it logically needs is a warning sign — and if you suspect you’ve already downloaded something malicious, it’s worth checking whether your phone has a virus.
Take back control of what runs on your phone
Many apps don’t wait for you to open them. They refresh feeds, check your location, and send usage data to their servers in the background, and you pay for it in battery life, mobile data, and privacy. Android lets you stop most of this. You can restrict background usage for apps that don’t need it, turn on Battery Saver when you want a quick limit across every app, and uninstall or disable apps you no longer use.
These settings won’t stop tracking completely. Many apps collect as much data as they can because that data is worth money to them and their advertising partners.
Every app you restrict or remove leaves one less source sending data from your phone. Check your permissions and install updates regularly, and use a VPN(new window) and a password manager. Your phone will last longer on a charge and share less about you with companies you never agreed to share it with.
