Google has found a new way to shame battery-hogging apps before you even install them

https://www.androidpolice.com/play-store-battery-warnings/

Publish Date: 2026-04-28 07:00:00

Android users are so used to weird battery drains that we barely question them anymore.

We buy power banks, assume our phones are getting old, or tell ourselves we’ve been on them too much. Sure, sometimes hardware really is the problem.

Other times, the problem is software running in the background and refusing to let the phone sleep. It looks like Google doesn’t want to keep taking the heat for that.

As of March 1, 2026, the Play Store can warn users when an app causes higher battery drain due to excessive background activity, and that’s a change worth paying attention to.

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