I turned off one Google app and gained nearly two hours of battery life

Digvijay Kumar / MakeUseOf Credit: Digvijay Kumar / MakeUseOf By Digvijay Kumar Published Jul 19, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT Digvijay is a Computer Science graduate with a deep passion for technology. His journey into tech writing began in 2018 with software and product reviews, and he’s been exploring the digital space ever since. He joined MUO as a full-time writer in 2022, where he covers how-tos, explainers, and tech guides focused on Android, entertainment, and the internet. Digvijay has previously contributed to several reputable publications, including Alphr , GuidingTech , TheWindowsClub , and MakeTechEasier . Outside of writing, he enjoys traveling and learning about different cultures, as he believes new experiences spark creativity. Sign in to your MakeUseOf account Add Us Summary Generate a summary of this story Like Like follow Follow followed Followed Thread 5 Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap Your phone uses the battery even when the screen is off . Some apps keep syncing and checking for updates in the background, but turning off every service that uses power can break notifications, updates, and other core features. Once I figured out which one was the worst offender on my phone, a few changes gave me close to two extra hours on a single charge. The surprise was that the name at the top of my battery list was not the app I needed to change.