WhatsApp could be killing your phone's battery says users

If your smartphone is suddenly running low on power, WhatsApp could be to blame. The popular chat app is facing a backlash from users who say their devices are seeing the significant battery drain after updating to the latest version of the messaging service.

WhatsApp users on iOS and Android are complaining of battery draining issues on their smartphone after installing the latest version of the app. WhatsApp for iPhone version 2.19.112 increases the background activity of the app, which results in battery drain issues.

Some also posted screenshots that revealed significantly higher background activity time when compared to its on-screen time. For instance, in some cases, WhatsApp used up just over five hours of battery out of which close to four hours were dedicated to background activity. Screenshots posted by a user shows close to 11 hours of background activity by WhatsApp.

For Android, the issue seemed to have come to light after updating to WhatsApp for Android version 2.19.308 and this was pointed out by users on Reddit, Google Play, as well as official OnePlus forum. This includes users of OnePlus 7 Pro, OnePlus 7T, OnePlus 5, Samsung S10e, Xiaomi as well as Google Pixel smartphones.

It seems those using OnePlus handsets could be most susceptible from this irritating glitch, with owners taking to forums and even the Google Play Store reviews to vent their frustrations. Posting on Reddit, one WhatsApp user said: “A week ago, I noticed that the battery on my OnePlus 6 started draining faster than usual. This coincided with an update of WhatsApp which I installed on my phone.
“My phone strangely shows that WhatsApp used battery ‘While in active use’ for 1.5 hours, which is not true since only opened the app for a minute.”

In one review for WhatsApp, which is now owned by Facebook, one OnePlus owner moans: “Battery Leech! Ever since the last update, WhatsApp's background activity consumes the battery like it's free cupcakes. 25% in 2 hours according to the battery usage overview.

"And that's even though I restricted background activity when I found out. That's ridiculous. Please fix your app.”

There’s currently no word on what's causing the problems, or how many people have been affected. However, it seems the latest issues started after the latest update to WhatsApp on Android.

This recent update now allows users to lock access to WhatsApp even if the home screen is open. When enabled, this useful new security feature will prompt WhatsApp users to place their fingerprint on the scanner when the app is loaded-up to prove it’s really them.