Delete These Apps Right Now! Here's A List Of Biggest Battery & Data Drainers On Smartphones

Your phone dying before noon is not a hardware problem. It is almost certainly an app problem. A study by telecom company Elevate analysed user habits and background activity across the most popular apps to rank which ones hit your battery hardest and the results are a checklist of apps that sit on virtually every Indian smartphone.

The biggest battery draining apps, ranked

1. Netflix

2. TikTok (banned in India)

3. YouTube

4. Threads

5. Snapchat

6. Instagram

7. CapCut

9. Facebook

9. Spotify

10. ChatGPT

According to the study, Netflix tops the list, consuming the equivalent of 1,500 percent of a full battery charge per month, driven by 60 hours of average screen time and an additional 13 hours of background processes even when you are not watching.

TikTok follows at 825 percent monthly battery drain, with background activity running nearly 10 hours a month. YouTube clocks in at 540 percent, while Threads runs 6.9 hours of background processes every month, placing it at 460 percent.

The more surprising entries are the ones that drain quietly. Spotify consumes only 5 percent of battery per active hour, but its 13.5 hours of monthly background activity push it to 225 percent in total consumption. Facebook sits at 270 percent, with background processes accounting for nearly 6 of those hours. Instagram and CapCut each consume 300 percent monthly. CapCut is notable for being the fastest drainer per hour of active use, at 30 percent per hour, making it particularly punishing for Indian users who edit short-form video regularly.

Snapchat (320 percent) and ChatGPT (200 percent) round out the top ten.

The bloatware problem is especially acute in India

Phones sold in India, particularly those from Xiaomi, Vivo, Realme, and Samsung, routinely ship with pre-installed third-party apps that users cannot delete. A confidential IT Ministry meeting record, reported by Reuters, noted that the majority of smartphones used in India have pre-installed apps or bloatware that 'poses serious privacy and information security concerns.' The Indian government has been exploring a mandate requiring smartphone makers to allow users to uninstall these apps, though no final policy has been enacted.

Google is now flagging the worst offenders

From March 2026, Google Play began labelling apps that keep devices awake for more than two hours a day through background processes, a behaviour called excessive partial wake locks. Apps that cross this threshold will display a warning in the Play Store: "This app may use more battery than expected due to high background activity." The system was developed in collaboration with Samsung and tested since early 2025.

What to do right now

On Android, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Usage to see which apps are consuming the most power on your specific device.

Switch to browser-based versions of Facebook and Instagram where possible, or use lite alternatives. Disable background app refresh for all social apps you don't need real-time notifications from.

Download content on Wi-Fi and switch to offline mode. Disable autoplay and reduce video quality in app settings.

Apps you cannot delete can often be disabled. Go to Settings > Apps > select the app > Disable. This stops background activity without requiring a full uninstall.

Spotify's drain is almost entirely from background processes. Restrict its background activity in your phone's battery settings while keeping the app itself.

The Elevate study's core finding is worth keeping in mind: it is not just what you watch or scroll, it is what runs while you are not looking.