Android phones slow down and use more battery as apps are installed. One reason is because apps run in the background, affecting memory and performance. Stop startup apps with these tools.

Apps that automatically start with the phone and that constantly run in the background are a major irritation, especially on phones with limited memory and processing power. However, even top-end phones can be affected.

Why is it not possible to run an app only when we want to run it? Why does it have to be running all the time in the background even though we don’t need it? Phones and tablets have limited memory and processing power, and this is consuming both. Developers probably have an answer for this and probably along the lines of, it needs to be loaded in case you need it or to provide services.

It would be better if the user could make this decision and choose whether an app automatically starts and runs in the background or only when you tap the icon and run it.

Your control over what apps auto-start with the phone and which apps always run in the background is very limited. There are more options if the device is rooted, but not on a standard phone.

Show Android apps running in the background

1. Open the Settings app
2. Swipe to get to the bottom and press About Device
3. Press Software Info if necessary
4. Tap 7 times on the Build Number section
5. Return to Settings and press Developer Options
6. Press Running Services

It is difficult to see what apps and services are running in the background and you may find that there is no obvious way on your phone. However, if you enable Developer Options, which is not obvious unless you know how to do it, you can view them.

Tapping a service in the list enables it to be stopped. This may or may not cause problems and it depends on the app. If an app constantly runs in the background, go to the app's settings and see if there are options not to automatically start and not to provide background services. Unfortunately, this may not help and even if all notifications for Instagram are disabled, the notification service still runs when the phone is started.

Startup Manager (Free)

Price: Free | By: Daniel Ch | Size: 1.9 MB | Android: 1.5 and up

Startup Manager (Free) is a useful utility that starts when the phone is started. This adds to the problem of apps and services running in the background of course, but in so doing, it is able to prevent others from starting and this means that there is a net benefit from installing it.

The app could not be simpler and there are three tabs. User is the main one that you will use and it lists the apps that you have downloaded and installed. Some of these need to run in the background, such as Skype, so that it can respond to incoming calls and messages. Many apps do not need to be running all the time and tapping the plus/minus button on the right side of the screen enables them to be disabled on startup.

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The System tab shows apps that are part of the system – apps bundled with the phone and that are part of Android. It is best not to disable these if you don’t know what you are doing, but the option is there if you want to experiment. I recommend leaving system apps and services alone. There is an option to display the time taken to start the device and list any apps that could not be disabled.

Unfortunately there appears to be a display bug in the app that causes it to sometimes display tiny text that is too small to read. Sometimes scrolling the list or switching between User and System lists would cure it, but it is an irritation.

Assistant for Android

Price: Free | By: AA Mobile | Size: 6.0 MB | Android: Varies with device

Assistant for Android is a multi-function tool that provides many different functions, such as clearing caches, file manager, batch install and uninstall and more. There is an ad-supported free version and a paid ad-free one that is very cheap.

One of the functions of the app is to manage startup items and it can prevent some apps from starting in the background when the phone is started.

It shows a list of all apps on the phone organised into two categories, User and System. The System list should be ignored because stopping system services can prevent the phone from working properly unless you know what you are doing.

The User list of apps can be selected with checkboxes and Assistant for Android will stop them from running on startup. It does this by adding itself to the startup list so it can check what's running and close apps. You are adding an extra startup item, but there is a net benefit from closing all the other apps.

Summing up

Some apps automatically restart after being closed. Even if a startup manager is used to close apps on startup, some apps can still be seen running when you check. It is not the startup manager's fault, but the way the app is designed. Stopping startup apps is a bit hit and miss, with some working and some not. Despite this, it is still worth having for the apps that it does work with.