Android phone users to get a ‘battery’ warning before downloading these apps

Android users may soon see a new type of alert on the Google Play Store, a red warning badge telling them that an app “may use more battery than expected.” Google is preparing to flag apps that quietly drain power in the background, thanks to a new battery-impact metric developed jointly with Samsung.

The move targets apps that misuse “partial wake locks,” a mechanism that prevents a device from going to sleep so apps can continue running even when the screen is off. When abused, these wake locks can cause severe battery drain, something Google now wants to highlight before users hit the download button.

Google's latest Android vitals update introduces a metric that tracks “excessive partial wake locks.” After months of beta testing and fine-tuning with developer feedback, the company has now set a strict threshold for bad behaviour.

An app will be considered excessive if it holds more than two cumulative hours of non-exempt wake locks within 24 hours. System-related exceptions exist, such as wake locks used for audio playback or user-initiated file transfers, but most background tasks are not exempt.

If at least 5% of an app's user sessions in the last 28 days cross the threshold, Google will classify the app as a battery culprit.

Starting March 1, 2026, apps that exceed the limit will face two consequences:

Reduced visibility in the Play Store, they will be removed from major discovery sections like recommendations.

A red warning label on their app listing, alerting users that the app has “high background activity” and may drain the battery faster than expected. This means Android users will know before installing whether an app has a history of misusing background resources.

Wake lock misuse has long been one of the biggest causes of unexplained battery drain on Android phones. By publicly flagging apps that abuse the feature, Google hopes to pressure developers into optimizing background behaviour and improving battery life across the ecosystem.

For users, this update offers clearer transparency, and one more tool to avoid apps that quietly kill battery life behind the scenes.

Source: HindustanTimes
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