The default settings for apps are not always the most suitable for everyone and if you want to reduce the battery drain and data used by the Facebook app, here are the tweaks you need.

From time to time there have been reports that Facebook is causing excessive battery drain on both iPhones and Android phones. The app is frequently updated so this problems comes and goes, so even if it is OK right now, an update tomorrow, next week or next month might cause it to reappear. However, the problem can be reduced by configuring the app to use minimum battery and data.

This is especially important for those people who are struggling to get through the day on a single battery charge or those that are on a phone contract with a low data limit. It could be just that the settings aren’t the best.

Reduce Facebook data and battery on Android

The first thing to do is to turn on Facebook Data Saver. Start the Facebook app on an Android phone and press the menu button in the top right corner. Press Data Saver and turn it on. This reduces image sizes and also stops auto-playing videos on data, but there is an option to allow them on Wi-Fi, which is fine because Wi-Fi data is unlimited. You can always play videos with a tap of the finger when you want to watch them.

Return to Settings and press Notification settings. My personal preference is for no notifications for anything, but this might not suit everyone. I open the app when I want to see what's new and I don't need Facebook to tell me a friend has posted a new cat video, funny GIF or something equally trivial.

Notifications can use battery power by running, producing sounds, flashing the LED, and turning on the screen, or making you turn on the screen to find out why your phone is trying to get your attention. If you select each category and turn off notifications, many continue to notify you when the app is open, but not when it is not running. Many say In-app only when turned off.

Return to Settings, swipe up to get to the bottom and tap Media and contacts. Among the options here are Sounds in the app, Continuous contacts upload, and Auto-play. Turn them all off because they are not essential and just use battery juice and data. Auto-playing videos would use a lot of data if you allowed them on a mobile connection, but the Data Saver feature should have disabled them, so check it is off.

Your Android phone may have a Data Saver option of its own. Open the phone's Settings app and tap Connections > Data usage > Data Saver and turn it on. (Android menus vary with the version and device.)

Reduce Facebook data and battery on iPhone

The iPhone version of Facebook has similar problems and settings, but the app is not quite the same. Press the menu button in the bottom right corner and there is no Data Saver.

Expand the Settings & Privacy section and tap Settings. Swipe up to get to Notifications and tap Notification settings. Turn off all notifications that are unimportant and the Facebook app will use less battery and data. Notifications can turn on the iPhone screen and if it is lighting up every 10 minutes to show a friend just posted something, it is going to waste battery power.

Swipe up Settings to Media and contacts. Tap Videos and photos and under Video Settings, set Auto-play to Never Auto-play Videos. This reduces data usage when on mobile data and if you want to watch a video, all it takes is a tap of the finger anyway.

Go back to Media and contacts and tap Sounds, then turn off in-app sounds. This stops the beeps and clicks and other sound effects when you tap things in the app. Less work means less battery power used.

Go to Upload contacts and turn it off. Facebook tracks us enough already without giving it access to all your phone contacts. It might save a tiny bit of data and power too.

Go to the iOS Settings app and select Facebook. There is a global Notifications setting and this can be set to Off to silence the app and stop it wasting battery life with unimportant notifications.

You might also want to turn off Background App Refresh, which stops Facebook running in the background and using the battery. It mainly runs in background to check for updates and notifications, which you can live without if you want to save data and battery. If you want to see what's new, just open the app.

Go to iOS Settings > Mobile Data (or Cellular data). Swipe up to see the list of apps that can use mobile data and turn off the switch next to Facebook and any other app you don't need. I allow email, messenger, calendar and similar apps because these are important, but most other apps are off.

Continue down the screen to Wi-Fi Assist. This switches from Wi-Fi to mobile data if the iPhone thinks it will be faster. Turn it off to stop mobile data from being used. Apps will continue to work on Wi-Fi, although they may not be as fast if the Wi-Fi is poor.