It stands to reason that the longer you use an app, the more battery it will consume. Whether it’s a game, a map app or WhatsApp. The star app for talking to everyone is installed on practically any mobile phone and, whether we like it or not, we spent time with her to send and receive text messages, audios, videos or to make calls. But even if it consumes energy, by making a few changes you can save battery with WhatsApp.
Whether you use iOS on your iPhone or if you are more of an Android user, WhatsApp is an app that by its nature consumes resources. Has to connect to the Internet to contact their servers to ask if there are messages for you. The same for sending your messages. And not only messages: audios, videos… The use of calls and video callssince they also use the phone’s microphone and camera.
But yes or yes you have to make use of the many WhatsApp features. Or at least the ones we have mentioned. Although if you deactivate any option that we will list below, since not all of them are essential, you will gain a few more minutes to continue using your mobile phone wherever you go.
Check how much battery you consume
Before saving battery with WhatsApp It is important to know if the problem is real or a sensation. You may think that your phone drains its battery prematurely. But maybe it is another application or, several at the same time, and WhatsApp is only part of the problem but not the only one. To resolve this question, you can ask Android or iOS, depending on what operating system your phone has. Both include a section dedicated to battery usage.
In Androidwithin Settingsthere is a section dedicated to Battery. There you will see the battery percentage, how long it will last and other options. Depending on the version you have, and whether it is Android, MIUI or One UI or another, you will find more or less information. What we are interested in seeing is the application list ordered according to their battery consumption. If WhatsApp is among the first, we already know where the problem is.
On iOS, you will also have to go to Settings and enter Battery. If you slide your finger across the screen to see all the available information, you will see the battery level, the activity you have carried out with your iPhone and, finally, the applications with which you spend the most time and, therefore, consume the most battery. As on Android, WhatsApp should appear among the first.
Disable automatic file download
Once we have located the problem, let’s see how to save battery with WhatsApp. We’ll start with the obvious. How much less work do the app, the less battery it will consume. One of them is to automatically download all the files they send us. The idea is good, but when you constantly receive audios, videos and photos, it becomes a problem. Especially if they are memes, jokes or jokes that you didn’t ask for. On the one hand, you fill up your phone’s memory. On the other hand, these downloads consume data and battery.
To disable file downloading on WhatsApp:
- Open WhatsApp
- Go into Setting either Settings
- Go to Data and storage usage either Storage and data
- Look at the section Automatic download either Automatic file download
- On Android, uncheck all options in Download with mobile data
- Also in Download with WiFi
- On iOS, choose Never in Photos, Audio, Video and Documents
- From now on, if you want to download those files, you will have to do it manually
- Your phone’s battery will thank you
Disable WhatsApp notifications
We have already eliminated a useful but not essential function to continue enjoying WhatsApp. With this we will have gained some time in battery life. But to save battery life with WhatsApp we have more to do. For example, tackling the second source of discomfort: the notifications.
Notifications have a reason. They notify you that you have received a WhatsApp message. Or it tells you that they are calling you on WhatsApp, or that they are sending you something. But like everything, its abuse is problematic. The notifications imply that your phone vibrates and the screen turns on. They are two tasks that consume your smartphone’s battery.
It’s not about completely disabling notifications either. Nowadays, iOS, Android and WhatsApp itself allow you to customize notifications to receive only those that interest you and not having the phone constantly showing notifications.
To customize WhatsApp notifications:
- Open WhatsApp
- Go into Setting either Settings
- Go to Notifications
- There you can activate or deactivate the phone vibration
- Turn notifications on or off for reactions or important messages
- Turn on or off if you want to hear a sound next to the visual notification
The idea is that the less use you make of notifications, you can save more battery with WhatsApp. For example, do you need a visual and audible notification every time someone posts something in a group or can you check it from time to time and that’s it? The same goes for reactions to your messages. Also remember that if you enter the information of a conversation or group you can silence them for a few hours. This can be useful if you receive a lot of messages from a specific group and prefer to silence it.
Activate WhatsApp dark mode
The screen is one of the components of your phone that consumes the most battery. And the less energy it needs to light up, the better. In this sense, use dark mode or night mode on iOS or Android will help extend the battery further. And the same thing happens on WhatsApp. You can let it activate automatically at a certain time, along with the operating system, or use it all day.
To activate WhatsApp dark mode on Android:
- Open WhatsApp
- Go into Setting either Settings
- Go to Chats and search Issue
- You can choose between Default by system, Clear or Dark
On iOS, the WhatsApp dark theme is associated with the operating system. If you go to Settings > Display and brightness You can choose the light or dark theme for all iOS. This way you will also change the theme used in WhatsApp. What you can choose in WhatsApp for iOS is the background of the chats. The darker the better. Although it will also depend on whether you read better with dark or light backgrounds. The health of your eyes comes before the life of your battery.