Camilla Jessen
Even when you’re not using them, these apps are silently sucking the life out of your phone.
Most smartphone users have experienced the frustration of a battery that just doesn’t last.
While plenty of apps can quietly run in the background and drain your device, two in particular stand out as serious battery hogs.
According to tech expert Zeeshan Arif, founder and CEO of software company Whizpool, Fitbit and Skype are among the most power-hungry apps available.
Both continue to operate in the background—even when you think you’ve closed them—leading to significant battery drain.
“Deleting the Fitbit app can save hours of battery life, even on a brand-new iPhone,” Arif told Dagens.no.
Fitbit
Fitbit has become a go-to app for tracking steps, sleep, and workouts.
But all that real-time monitoring comes at a cost.
The app constantly syncs with your wearable device, tracking activity and sleep metrics 24/7, which keeps it active in the background and uses a lot of energy.
If you’re not reliant on Fitbit every day, removing it or limiting its background activity could noticeably improve your phone’s battery life.
Skype
Once the leader in video calls, Skype has lost popularity to platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams—but it’s still lingering on many phones, and quietly draining battery life.
Arif suggests avoiding Skype where possible and switching to more modern, battery-efficient alternatives for video chats and messaging.
Want your phone to last longer between charges? Here are a few quick tips:
- Delete or limit use of Fitbit and Skype.
- Check battery usage in your settings to see which apps are consuming the most power.
- Disable background app refresh for apps you don’t use frequently.
- Use low-power mode when you know you’ll be away from a charger for a while.
With just a few small changes, you can stop your battery from vanishing before the day’s over—and avoid the apps that secretly drain it the most.