Threads users delete app over ‘killer’ phone problem – ‘Battery Settings’ trick reveals if your handset is affected
THREADS has been met with criticism by some users who claim the app is draining their phone’s batteries.
Meta launched its Twitter-rival app Threads last week and since then, more than 70 million users have downloaded the platform.
The social media app has been praised by both users and media entities since going live.
However, some users are now claiming that the software is draining their device’s battery life.
“I would use threads but it kills my phone battery lightning fast,” one user noted on Twitter.
“Is Threads just …. murderous to anyone else’s battery?” a second user of the app said on their Twitter account.
“I’m not going to use Instagram Threads until … it stops draining my phone battery,” Twitter user Andrew Brown said.
A fourth Threads user shared a screenshot of their device’s battery usage.
In the screenshot, Threads seemed to account for more than 53 percent of their device’s battery usage.
It’s not clear what is causing the battery drain, but Jake Moore, a cybersecurity expert at ESET, told The Daily Mail it could be due to “negative testing.”
“Meta apps have long been accused of causing iPhone battery draining,” Moore said.
“It could be because they are trying to understand more about their app and how users interact with it,” he added.
Negative testing is a process used by developers to help them assess how people use the app to make it better.
WHAT CAN I DO?
You can check if Threads is using a lot of your device’s battery by going to Settings > Battery.
From there, scroll down to Usage by App and check the percentage under Threads.
If you find it’s exceptionally high, you can turn off your phone’s Background App Refresh setting.
This setting allows apps to check for updates and new content, even when you’re not using them.
To turn this off on your iPhone, go to Settings app > General > tap Background App Refresh > toggle it Off.
On Android, go to Settings > Connections > Data Usage > in the Mobile section, tap Mobile data usage.
Select Threads and toggle off Allow background data usage.
WHAT IS THREADS?
Threads is a new app, built by the Instagram team, for sharing text and photo updates and creating public conversations.
Development on the app, previously dubbed Project 92, began in January, per The Verge.
The app integrates with ActivityPub, an open decentralized social media protocol, and works with alongside a user’s Instagram account.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Friday that the launch of Threads has been “way beyond our expectations.”