You often press the back button on your screen repeatedly as a quick way to exit the app. Even if the app disappears, it will still run in the background. It only closes until you’ve set the app to close or used the “close all” function. Closing apps is among the simplest tasks you can do on yourfavorite Android tabletsand phones, and it solves many problems. For one, the procedure refreshes apps to normalcy when they become unresponsive. And for two, it keeps apps from draining yourdevice’s battery healthand using RAM.
Although Android devices automatically optimize your battery and memory performance, leaving apps open can slow down your phone, especially if you installed resource-intensive apps. If you haven’t been closing apps properly, we share a tutorial to help you get into the habit of closing down apps when needed.
What happens when you close Android apps?
Closing apps on Android means shutting them down, and it isn’t the same as permanently uninstalling them. Instead, app closing ends all current foreground processes. These processes are app activities that you can see. The media players and Google Play Store app updates that appear in the notification panel are examples of foreground processes.
How to see which apps are running from Quick Settings
Find out all the active apps on your phone right from the Quick Settings panel
you’re able to close an app when it’s misbehaving, consuming memory, or when you’re through using it. Most Android phones have an App Overview menu where you can see every open app. Closing apps only ends foreground processes, and stubborn apps may remain actively running in the background. A background app works invisibly to perform tasks whether you open them or not. Their activities include, but are not limited to, scanning for updates, downloading and updating user content, running ads, and sending notifications.
Closing background apps may free up memory, but it can also stop them from functioning properly. You may not receive notifications, or the app may crash frequently. Services like Bluetooth and the One UI launcher are examples of background system apps. We don’t recommend closing those apps unless you want to damage your phone.
Background apps aren’t visible in the App Overview straightaway. If your phone runs Android 13 or higher, you may see an option to stop actively running apps in the menu. If you don’t see it, you can either force close the app from the settings menu or enter developer mode.
How to close apps on Android phones and tablets
By default, the Android navigation bar is set to buttons. Tapping or long pressing the Overview button on your phone’s navigation bar accesses the App Overview menu. If you switched your navigation bar to swipe gestures, swiping up and holding the lower-left side of your screen displays the menu.
Close apps on Android phones
Close apps on Android tablets
How to force stop apps on Android phones and tablets
You can force stop background apps via the App Overview, settings menu, or developer mode. Force stopping apps or services ends all foreground and background activity. The app no longer accesses caches and resources necessary to function until you open it again. However, you can only force stop an app from the App Overview menu on an Android smartphone, but not on a tablet. Additionally, the App Overview doesn’t show you all background apps. The settings menu is the best solution.
Developer mode is also useful for shutting down background running apps. But unless you’re a developer, we don’t recommend entering that mode as it involves tinkering with settings that could affect your device’s performance.
Force stopping doesn’t erase existing user data stored on apps. If you have unsaved works, such as downloads in progress, documents, or notes, the procedure erases that data. Also, apps may not function properly afterward. If you must force stop an application, do it only when the app freezes, lags, crashes, or restarts repeatedly.
Force stop apps on Android phones using App Overview
Force stop apps from the Settings menu on an Android phone
Force stop apps in developer mode on an Android phone
Force stop apps in the Settings menu on an Android tablet
Force stop apps in developer mode on an Android tablet
Uninstall apps you no longer need
Closing or force stopping apps is an effective way to free up memory and reset faulty apps. However, these perks don’t last forever. Background activity resumes when you open apps in the future. Most Tecno and Infinix phones or tablets with the HiOS launcher have a unique freezer that stops these activities without uninstalling them. However, other devices can’t access the feature even if you download the launcher, and many third-party freezers in the Google Play Store require you to root your device.
If you don’t want to root your Android device,download and install Shizuku. If you no longer need an app, uninstall it permanently to erase all activity and data. Since some apps come preinstalled with your device, you can only disable them temporarily.
How to quickly disable apps on your Android phone or tablet
They’ll be gone in just a few taps
