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Last updated: February 18th, 2021 at 12:28 UTC+01:00
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The DontKillMyApp website, which lists brands that aggressively kill background apps on Android smartphones, has ranked Samsung at the top. The company has become the worst offender ever since it started rolling out the Android 11-based One UI 3.0 (and One UI 3.1) update to Galaxy devices. The company prevents apps from working in the background by default unless you exclude apps from battery optimizations.
If you've noticed that your Galaxy device is killing some important apps in the background, you can navigate to Settings » Apps and then click on the app you don't want to be killed in the background. Now, navigate to Optimize battery usage, find your app from the list, tap on it, and then click on Don’t optimize.
Google had mentioned last year that it is taking measures to address smartphone brands that are aggressively killing background apps, but it looks like the companies aren't following Google's lead. In our case, we have noticed some issues related to the WhatsApp app on the PC, with the app saying that it can't connect to our smartphone. However, we are unsure if it is related to Samsung's aggressive battery optimization techniques.
Have you noticed background apps getting killed on your Galaxy smartphone or tablet after the One UI 3.0 or One UI 3.1 update? Let us know in the comments section below.
Asif is a computer engineer turned technology journalist. He has been using Samsung phones since 2004, and his current smartphone is the Galaxy S21 Ultra. He loves headphones, mechanical keyboards, and PC hardware. When not writing about technology, he likes watching crime and science fiction movies and TV shows.