Starting in 2026, Google Play Will Label Apps that Drain Battery Power.
Google announced the introduction of a new warning system in the Google Play app store. Starting March 1, 2026, users will receive a special label indicating services that put excessive strain on their smartphone's battery. This measure is aimed at protecting device battery life and encouraging developers to optimize their apps.
The new mechanism is based on the Excessive Partial Wake Locks metric, developed in collaboration with Samsung. The algorithm analyzes how often an app prevents the smartphone from going to sleep to perform background tasks.
An app will be considered battery-hungry and labeled if it blocks the device from sleeping for more than two hours within a 24-hour period.
The introduction of battery labeling in Google Play will provide users with transparent information about an app's potential impact on device battery life.
In addition to warnings, battery-intensive apps will face significant restrictions:
• Promotion will be limited.
• They may be excluded from Google Play's recommended collections.
Google hopes these restrictions will encourage developers to optimize their products and reduce the impact on Android devices' batteries.
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