Google Play Store introduces warnings for apps that drain smartphone batteries

Google has begun rolling out new warnings in the Play Store to flag Android apps that may significantly drain device batteries due to excessive background activity.

The update, which started appearing on app listings from March 1, adds a visible notice informing users when an app is likely to consume more power than expected. The message appears directly within the app’s Play Store page and alerts users that the application may reduce battery life because of high background usage.

The warning system is based on a new Android performance metric known as the “Excessive Partial Wake Lock” threshold. The metric measures how frequently an app keeps a device’s processor active while the screen is turned off.

According to Google’s criteria, an app may be flagged if it holds a non-exempt partial wake lock for an average of at least two hours while the screen is off in more than 5% of user sessions over a 28-day period.

Wake locks are sometimes required for functions such as music playback, location tracking or user-initiated file transfers. However, inefficient use of these processes can keep a phone’s CPU running unnecessarily in the background, accelerating battery drain.

Apps that exceed the threshold may receive a warning banner in their Play Store listings. In some cases, they could also see reduced visibility within the store.

Google said apps with persistent battery-draining behavior could be excluded from discovery features such as Play Store recommendations. As a result, users may only encounter those apps if they search for them directly.

The company described the change as part of a broader effort to improve power efficiency across the Android ecosystem.

To help developers identify problematic behavior, Google has expanded performance monitoring through Android Vitals, which tracks metrics related to battery usage, stability and app performance.

Google’s guidance highlights several common causes of excessive wake locks, including poorly configured background syncing, inefficient third-party libraries and high-frequency sensor monitoring.

Developers are encouraged to rely on optimized system tools such as WorkManager for background tasks or platform APIs designed to manage device wake cycles more efficiently.

The rollout is part of a longer-term initiative announced by Google last year aimed at giving developers clearer insights into how their apps affect device resources.

Alongside crash rates and system stability, battery efficiency is now being treated as a core technical quality metric within the Play Store. The change reflects growing concern among users over battery performance as smartphone usage continues to rely heavily on background processes and connected services.