Google is investigating Android manufacturers’ excessive aggressiveness in killing background apps

Some Android OEM manufacturers’ phones frequently kill background apps, and may even violate Google’s policies. Google now wants to know who these OEMs are.

Most Android apps may not always need to run in the background, but there is also a class of apps that do. For example, some health-centric applications may need to run all the time, but the system may not always let these applications run. Of course, the application that has been running in the background generally affects battery life. This is why platforms, including Android, set rules and restrictions on which applications can always run in the background.

Google has also established rules for OEMs to make it transparent about apps that are killed in the background. However, some OEM manufacturers implement their own anti-killing background app policies on the basis of the Android system, but they usually do not let developers or users know about this. Simply put, some applications, such as sleep monitoring and exercise tracking applications, can work normally on one brand of mobile phone, but may not work normally on another brand, because this app will frequently be killed running in the background by the Android system.

Some OEM manufacturers also set up a whitelist to allow apps like Facebook and WhatsApp to run without restrictions, putting small app developers at a disadvantage. Google is very aware of these inferior practices. Although it has not taken decisive action, it is now inviting developers to provide feedback to find possible solutions.

In the survey form, Google asks: “If your app is restricted due to battery saver, please provide as many details as possible in the form.”

Via: gizmochina