How to turn off Background App Refresh on iPhone & Android to save phone data and battery

With all the things today's smartphones are capable of doing, keeping your battery full throughout the day is easier said than done. But you may be surprised to learn that one of the biggest drains on your phone's battery (not to mention your phone data) is a silent process that runs in the background, mostly without you knowing it: Background App Refresh.

Asurion Experts help customers 24/7 to get the most out of the tech, appliances and connections that they rely on—including discovering ways to extend the life of their phone battery. Here they share what you need to know about Background App Refresh, including how to turn it off on your iOS and Android devices.

What is Background App Refresh?

Background App Refresh allows the apps on your device to automatically search for new information even if they are not directly running on the screen. For example, your email app checking for new messages or your Facebook app updating your news feed, even if you aren’t actively using the app at the moment.

The good part? Background App Refresh keeps you from having to wait for new information to be fetched when you launch an app. The not so good? It can potentially keep your phone or tablet from performing at its best when it comes to battery life and data usage.

Does Background App Refresh use data?

Between email updates, text messages, videos and photos, you’re probably well aware of the fact that your smartphone burns through quite a bit of data every day.

However, what you may not know is that your smartphone could be burning through data for stuff you don’t need, like those apps and services that are constantly running and updating in the background without you knowing it. While one little app probably won’t use very much data, those little apps can add up to a serious drain on your data plan.

​Does Background App Refresh drain your battery?​

In addition to being a drain on your data plan, Background App Refresh can also have a negative impact on your phone’s battery life. While the feature can be useful, it’s not likely that you need up-to-date information on each and every installed app on your phone. Limiting the number of apps that you allow to use Background App Refresh will be beneficial to your phone’s battery life. Try turning it off on one of the apps that updates frequently (we’re looking at you, Facebook) and see if you experience any improvements.

If your battery life or data limits are a concern, luckily there’s a quick way to stop background apps.

How to turn off Background App Refresh on your iPhone and iPad

1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap Background App Refresh.
4. Turn off Background App Refresh completely by toggling it off – you also have the option to set it to refresh an app only while using Wi-Fi or while using Wi-Fi & Cellular Data.

How to turn off Background App Refresh on your Android

1. From the start screen, pull down the notification bar for Settings.
2. Tap the gear symbol in the top right-hand corner.
3. In Settings, tap Connections, and then tap Data Usage.
4. From the Mobile section, tap Mobile Data Usage.
5. Select an app from below the usage graph.
6. Tap Allow background data usage to turn off.
7. Follow these steps for each app you would like to restrict from using Background App Refresh.

How to turn off Background App Refresh for a specific app on your iPhone and iPad

If having up-to-date emails is a priority to you but knowing what’s happening on Twitter every moment is not, you can also choose to customize which apps do and don’t have Background App Refresh turned on based on your usage habits. Here’s how:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap Background App Refresh.
4. From the list of apps shown, use the toggle to turn Background App Refresh on or off for each app.