Prevent app from running in background? - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Been trying to figure this out for a while now. I have been able to fix this with a number of apps, but there are some apps that are just frustrating to deal with.
I'm wondering what exactly can keep an app running in the background, regardless of what efforts your take to disable it?
If I don't use an app much and don't want it running, I normally freeze the app. If it is an app I tend to use a bit more frequently, I take other measures such as an app manager that allows me to be extremely precise as to how and when it should run such as on startup, battery level, configuration change, application change, etc. This is a pain in the A** though and I really don't have the time to do this for every application.
With that said, I'm wondering what other methods, other than freezing and the other mentioned above, I can take to prevent an app from running in the background?
I will give you a perfect example...
There are some third-party apps I have downloaded that I know I will use occasionally. One example is CamScanner. For the life of me, I can't get this app to stop running in the background without extensive efforts mentioned above. No matter what I do, it just pops up again in running applications.
How can I ensure the app will not run in background while not resorting to freezing the app, which will prevent me from quickly accessing it when needed?
Some clarification on this would be greatly appreciated...
Thank you,
--mike

pookieguy said:
Been trying to figure this out for a while now. I have been able to fix this with a number of apps, but there are some apps that are just frustrating to deal with.
I'm wondering what exactly can keep an app running in the background, regardless of what efforts your take to disable it?
If I don't use an app much and don't want it running, I normally freeze the app. If it is an app I tend to use a bit more frequently, I take other measures such as an app manager that allows me to be extremely precise as to how and when it should run such as on startup, battery level, configuration change, application change, etc. This is a pain in the A** though and I really don't have the time to do this for every application.
With that said, I'm wondering what other methods, other than freezing and the other mentioned above, I can take to prevent an app from running in the background?
I will give you a perfect example...
There are some third-party apps I have downloaded that I know I will use occasionally. One example is CamScanner. For the life of me, I can't get this app to stop running in the background without extensive efforts mentioned above. No matter what I do, it just pops up again in running applications.
How can I ensure the app will not run in background while not resorting to freezing the app, which will prevent me from quickly accessing it when needed?
Some clarification on this would be greatly appreciated...
Thank you,
--mike
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
freezing is your only bet. definitely a pain but the built in tasking doesn't apply to all apps,especially facebook. can try alternative apps but if none exist then you still need to freeze. I unfreeze a certain batch of apps when I wake up and freeze them before bed. during the day i go along with what i'm running. i'm tryin to link special batches to say toggles or tasking with tasker to make mornings and bed work faster
sent from tapatalk on my htc rezound

Use something like Gemini App Manager. Those programs likely use triggers to auto-run. Gemini shows you the triggers applications use so you can stop them if you don't want them running whenever they want.

I use AppQuarantine for those issues. you can put widgets on the desk that let you unfreeze and start apps with one click.
sent from the desert with xda app

Thanks guys,
I will try some of these options out.
Was really trying to do this without freezing apps though. I can do it through ROM Toolbox but it is quite tedious, as this awesome app has so many options on how to handle the application. Trying to find shortcuts...
Thanks,

pookieguy said:
Thanks guys,
I will try some of these options out.
Was really trying to do this without freezing apps though. I can do it through ROM Toolbox but it is quite tedious, as this awesome app has so many options on how to handle the application. Trying to find shortcuts...
Thanks,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried Autostarts? There's many scenarios an app takes into account before it'll run. You can disable the app from running in each category so the only time its running is when you open it. Unless of course you don't kill it when you leave the app. Its hard to explain but when you look at the app you'll know what I mean
Sent from my SGH-I997 using Tapatalk

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Related

[Q] There are Apps in the background

Dear Friends!
Glad to be here today (after 2 days! )
My dear Streaker is here!!
As the norm is, I have been busy tinkering with the stock material for couple o days, and I will continue to do so for some more time!
___________________________________________________________
Query: There are too many apps running (background) all the time!! I kill them, they resurrect!, How to do away with that?
Solution applied: Used Advanced task killer (but, apps resurrect!)
Another Solution tried: In Settings>Account & Sync settings> Unchecked Background data and Auto sync options. (Now, they dont connect to the net, but, they still restart!!)
Another Solution: Force close (from Manage apps) .. (Still same issue!)
Now, How can I tell the apps to come up only when I call them!?
(And some other apps I want to schedule them to come up every hour or so.. like my Gmail/FB)
____________________________________________________________
And, So far has been amazing experience!!
The screen is football field sized!! (Monster! yikes Scooby!)
Digging up all old posts to read some problems faced by new users..
Current hobby: Market and apps.
Future hobby: Roms and Flash!
Thank you all for your help!
care,
Sony.
Welcome to the cool kids club! I'm in a somewhat similar situation, I got my streak just before the massive snowstorm hit. Some of those apps need to be running... if you close some of them you may not get updates/notifications, or you can shut down your phone/data connection, or lose the use of multitouch.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
from what i understand, froyo is really good with resource management and there is no need to constantly kill processes or apps, its best to just leave them unless your streak is slow like a snail
Telal said:
Welcome to the cool kids club! I'm in a somewhat similar situation, I got my streak just before the massive snowstorm hit. Some of those apps need to be running... if you close some of them you may not get updates/notifications, or you can shut down your phone/data connection, or lose the use of multitouch.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lose multi touch!
How?
@rptw
So, It wouldnt really matter if there are apps running in the BG, and they start by themselves too!?
care,
Sony.
well in terms of the laws of nature (in most cases) stuff doesnt happen spontaneously so i think its safe to assume that your app that "started by themselves" were probably opened somehow either by you directly or indirectly by something else. if, however, you have a large number of apps that have started that you dont recall opening, maybe something is wrong with your software and you shouldnt try to cover the problem with a task killer.
So, what next!?
rptw said:
well in terms of the laws of nature (in most cases) stuff doesnt happen spontaneously so i think its safe to assume that your app that "started by themselves" were probably opened somehow either by you directly or indirectly by something else. if, however, you have a large number of apps that have started that you dont recall opening, maybe something is wrong with your software and you shouldnt try to cover the problem with a task killer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, Now, can you or other guys here please suggest how to go to the "root" of this problem!?
Ok.
Look, these apps are open right now!
Voice Search
Email
Messaging
Maps
Astro
Assistant free​
I use the Adv Task Killer free.
(It says 7 apps killed and 180 MB free)
I open Adv task killer after 5 seconds.
and these apps are running!
Email
astro
Voice Search
Assistant Free​
and I am sure, If I wait for some more time, the other apps will join in too!
(Now it says, 3 Apps killed, 171 MB free!!)
care,
Sony.
have you tried using the stock app manager and killing the apps there? i just checked my phone and i have the same apps under the running tab using the stock manager, i think email and messaging are always running since you have push features on them, in terms of the others im not sure. whats so bad about email and messaging running anyways? im sure you use them often enough to not want to have to open and close them right?
Hey, you posted the same question over at Pocketables forum.
As stated earlier, 2.2 is really good at managing back ground tasks.
I can tell you if you use a task killer and you have a problem with an APP, which currently you do not, the programmer for the app probably will not help you till you remove the APP killer program.
What you might try to do is run though your menus and see what you have selected to run, such as locations and sync services and disable what you can. Also if you do not want some thing running, you may want to just uninstall it. I do understand that you want some programs but you only want them to run when you ask, not sure how to tell you to handle that.
But, are you seeing any difference when you have the background tasks disabled. Try to find the APK for the programs and rename them just to see if you have any issues.

Preventing apps from auto starting

hi all, im an owner of a sam.charge. I use the app called "System" and it lists about a dozen apps that are stored in my cache or that are using memory when I have not innitiaited the service or app...
I'm most familiar with computers so I'll relate it to that; is there some type of command line that I can use to stop some of these apps from auto start and being stored. For instance on windows you can 'msconfig' what programs are allowed to start on boot up.
Here is a list of apps that I want to stop: AccuWeather.com, Android Booster, Google Voice, HeyTell, Amazon's Appstore, Market, Music, etc.
Most are cached/ inactive but none the less in my task manager when freeing up memory when I notice things to be lagging I'd imagine these to be guilty. Android Booster always lists these as killed apps as well when optimizing...
Im familiar somewhat with how android works being that it often fills a large portion of your memory with what it wants to and frees space as it is needed but these apps for me are rarely used...
Im big on battery life being Im in and out of Sales accounts and rely on my phone heavily so I dont want these things running in the background sucking up resources. Not to mention I like a snappy phone...
If anyone could educate me on this topic Id really appreciate it... I may be mistaken on a few things so call me out on it, since im sure I am... Also, I know their are app freezers and applications you can program to kill apps at a set interval but again I would like the least amount of garbage running as I can
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk
Some of the basic services are must to be initiated/running all the time such as launcher, keyboard, google voice, market, etc.. so as to run your phone smoothly . This is the default setting of android os. And anyway why do you want to close/stop the services case restarting services uses more battery than kepping them running on the memory ....
mlm2588 said:
hi all, im an owner of a sam.charge. I use the app called "System" and it lists about a dozen apps that are stored in my cache or that are using memory when I have not innitiaited the service or app...
I'm most familiar with computers so I'll relate it to that; is there some type of command line that I can use to stop some of these apps from auto start and being stored. For instance on windows you can 'msconfig' what programs are allowed to start on boot up.
Here is a list of apps that I want to stop: AccuWeather.com, Android Booster, Google Voice, HeyTell, Amazon's Appstore, Market, Music, etc.
Most are cached/ inactive but none the less in my task manager when freeing up memory when I notice things to be lagging I'd imagine these to be guilty. Android Booster always lists these as killed apps as well when optimizing...
Im familiar somewhat with how android works being that it often fills a large portion of your memory with what it wants to and frees space as it is needed but these apps for me are rarely used...
Im big on battery life being Im in and out of Sales accounts and rely on my phone heavily so I dont want these things running in the background sucking up resources. Not to mention I like a snappy phone...
If anyone could educate me on this topic Id really appreciate it... I may be mistaken on a few things so call me out on it, since im sure I am... Also, I know their are app freezers and applications you can program to kill apps at a set interval but again I would like the least amount of garbage running as I can
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you find apps that you don't use, you can use a program to freeze them. Just search for freeze in the market. I personally use a free app called System Tuner. Freezing prevent them from starting up and therefore you cannot use them, but later on you can un-freeze them if you need to.
Optimize toolbox
I use this one, had a bunch of other features.https://market.android.com/details?id=cn.opda.a.phonoalbumshoushou&feature=search_result
Thanks all for the feedback...
To reply to the first response; I have read that about battery life. That, the more you kill apps and reopen them that it takes longer for the app to start up and thus sucking up battery life... I probably should not have mentioned battery life in my post being that I have a car charger and that it contradicts what im trying to accomplish (going over my post, it was stupid of me given what you just mentioned). Also, I'm not so much concerned with market apps or google voice as I am about the apps I installed myself. Those ones are the ones that bother me.
To the other posts thanks for the recommendations I will like into those options. I'm just trying to prevent extra apps from running in the background so freezing them is a last resort.
I'm looking for something that I can type in terminal possibly on program into the OS or app itself to keep it from auto starting... possibly a command line?!
Any developers input? Can this even be done. I'm still very much a beginner but its not beyond my comprehension to do something like this... I know its different but I play around with linux, web design, c++ stuff so if you post directions I can follow smoothly our atleast figure it out if you point me in the right direction
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk
It's not exactly what your asking for but have you tried Gemini App Manager:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.seasmind.android.gmappmgr
You can use it to disable/re-enable an app's autorun settings. When you first open it it will list all user apps currently in memory. Clicking menu then expert mode will give you a list of all apps. Long press an app then click configure autorun.
Just be careful with changing the autorun settings of system apps like market.
"preventing apps from autostarting"
I like this topic a lot!
I think the question(s) and "assumptions" the OP holds are all valid. So I'd really like to hear the answer to the actual question, not a spew of why the question isn't valid.
How do you stop apps from starting up on their own? (like microsofts msconfig)
Pretty simple question and I cannot find the answer! I've been in software for many year and I'm rather stunned by the responses people are giving - which basically say "who cares, android O/S handles it for you".
Well, lets face it:
*If* the user didn't call for the app, and had no desire to use it, then the "system" loading it even ONCE, is one too many.
*If* the app is a DESIRED app, (OR device required), *BUT* uses data - then if the user didn't want to use it; "yet" - then thats DATA & BATTERY life --> **WASTED**
If the user suspects the APP is misbehaving; one sure fire way would be to SEE it running, when they didn't ask it to!
If you are pure paranoid, or simply want extreme app control....
The kinds of answers people are giving is truly along the the lines of "we dont know, but you're silly for caring"
SOYLENT GREEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:cyclops:
jr67 said:
It's not exactly what your asking for but have you tried Gemini App Manager:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.seasmind.android.gmappmgr
You can use it to disable/re-enable an app's autorun settings. When you first open it it will list all user apps currently in memory. Clicking menu then expert mode will give you a list of all apps. Long press an app then click configure autorun.
Just be careful with changing the autorun settings of system apps like market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to test this out too! And I'll post success if it does well!!!

[Q] freezing apps and privacy

This is my first post. I have been contemplating freezing some apps through titanium backup. Ive notice that apps like pulse news and bloomberg run in the background when i never opened them in the first place. I would think that that's unnecessary strain on my battery and I want to freeze them. But if i freeze an app does that mean that I will need to unfreeze it in order to ever use it? If so how can i prevent an app from running in the background without completely disabling its use? My second question pertains to app permissions. A lot of the apps I download have permissions that seem a little too intrusive on my privacy. Is there a way I can store files so that no application has access to it? Again this is my first post. I did some research to see if these questions had been answered and I didnt see much. So thank you and pardon my ignorance.
The only way to effectively stop an app from running is to freeze it. And a frozen app cannot be run.
And yes the app constantly running does affect the battery. That's the main frustration with bloat. It'd be one thing if they just sat there, but they regularly run on their own. Most alternatives on the market to them don't run by themselves nearly as much.
By far the majority of permissions are not as bad as they sound. Contact the developer to see why the permissions are required. The reasons may surprise you.
What apps are you concerned about?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA App

[HELP] Trying to find a solution to apps running in background. Any way to stop them?

First of all, I KNOW THIS HAS BEEN BROUGHT UP BILLIONS OF TIMES, SO BEFORE YOU REPLY WITH "Search the forums" READ THIS.
I have been looking for WEEKS trying to find an answer to this,and no answer given on any forums are what I am looking for.
I have an android phone (sidekick 4g) and there are apps that run in the background when not necessary. Now I know some stuff need to be aways running for the phone to function. But I also know that apps like Facebook, Market, Gmail, T-mobile's Media Store, MyYearBook, Maps, Aptoide, etc don't. When I force close them, they just start up a few seconds later. I've tried task killers and got the same result. I've read the "Why you shouldn't use a task killer" articles but everyone keeps saying different things about it so I'm confused.
Like many others, I want my battery to last at least half way through the day. The above mentioned apps (and some others) DRAIN THE BATTERY WHEN RUNNING IN THE BACKGROUND WHEN I DON'T WANT THEM TO.
Please does anyone know of a way to fix this?
My phone is rooted, if that matters.
Also, "freezing" the apps don't help cause then I can't use them when I actually want to.
Thank you very much in advance anyone who can help me out!
magnoidgoat said:
First of all, I KNOW THIS HAS BEEN BROUGHT UP BILLIONS OF TIMES, SO BEFORE YOU REPLY WITH "Search the forums" READ THIS.
I have been looking for WEEKS trying to find an answer to this,and no answer given on any forums are what I am looking for.
I have an android phone (sidekick 4g) and there are apps that run in the background when not necessary. Now I know some stuff need to be aways running for the phone to function. But I also know that apps like Facebook, Market, Gmail, T-mobile's Media Store, MyYearBook, Maps, Aptoide, etc don't. When I force close them, they just start up a few seconds later. I've tried task killers and got the same result. I've read the "Why you shouldn't use a task killer" articles but everyone keeps saying different things about it so I'm confused.
Like many others, I want my battery to last at least half way through the day. The above mentioned apps (and some others) DRAIN THE BATTERY WHEN RUNNING IN THE BACKGROUND WHEN I DON'T WANT THEM TO.
Please does anyone know of a way to fix this?
My phone is rooted, if that matters.
Also, "freezing" the apps don't help cause then I can't use them when I actually want to.
Thank you very much in advance anyone who can help me out!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Applications running, doesn't mean cpu cycles are being used. Sitting in memory is no different then a song sitting on your sdcard. Your issue with the battery has to do with processes using cpu cycles. If you have applications that update, force updates manually.
Just having apps in memory isn't your issue.
Use the features built into the os, find out what apps are causing the problem. Look at the settings. If you have looked at your settings, then you have one of three choices. Open bugreports with the application developers, don't install the apps causing problems, or upgrade your phone.
lithid-cm said:
Applications running, doesn't mean cpu cycles are being used. Sitting in memory is no different then a song sitting on your sdcard. Your issue with the battery has to do with processes using cpu cycles. If you have applications that update, force updates manually.
Just having apps in memory isn't your issue.
Use the features built into the os, find out what apps are causing the problem. Look at the settings. If you have looked at your settings, then you have one of three choices. Open bugreports with the application developers, don't install the apps causing problems, or upgrade your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you that makes sense.
I would think those apps would use battery because it pushes notifications for the app (like new messages and stuff). Does that not use battery?
magnoidgoat said:
Thank you that makes sense.
I would think those apps would use battery because it pushes notifications for the app (like new messages and stuff). Does that not use battery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does use battery because to process the notification it needs to use the cpu. If you force applications to update manually. Your batter would be better. Check into battery saving tuts. All that information has already been discussed plenty. Won't change in this scenario either.
The more apps you have updating information the more data and notifications are being processed.
lithid-cm said:
It does use battery because to process the notification it needs to use the cpu. If you force applications to update manually. Your batter would be better. Check into battery saving tuts. All that information has already been discussed plenty. Won't change in this scenario either.
The more apps you have updating information the more data and notifications are being processed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you!
Also, I have another problem, if you know anything about this kinda stuff. The Facebook app icon just (like 10 minutes ago) disappeared from my home screen, and it's not in the app drawer either. I uninstalled and reinstalled and still having the problem. I can only open it by manually searching "facebook" in the google search widget and that's when it gives me the option to open the app. It's really bizzare and I have no idea what's going on.
Sent from my SGH-T839 using xda premium
magnoidgoat said:
Thank you!
Also, I have another problem, if you know anything about this kinda stuff. The Facebook app icon just (like 10 minutes ago) disappeared from my home screen, and it's not in the app drawer either. I uninstalled and reinstalled and still having the problem. I can only open it by manually searching "facebook" in the google search widget and that's when it gives me the option to open the app. It's really bizzare and I have no idea what's going on.
Sent from my SGH-T839 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like a issue with the rom or launcher. Try installing another launcher from the market and see if the application is installed. If its there with another launcher then its your stock launcher, if its not then its the rom.
lithid-cm said:
Sounds like a issue with the rom or launcher. Try installing another launcher from the market and see if the application is installed. If its there with another launcher then its your stock launcher, if its not then its the rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Worked thank you!

Is an app killer what I need?

There are at least two apps (that I've noticed) which seem to act strange when I run them again after running them once. The strangeness vanishes if I go into recent apps, swipe the app away, then run it from scratch. I get annoyed at having to do this frequently. Would one of the many background app killers out there achieve the same effect automatically without me having to swipe the app away? Any recommendation for a killer I can restrict to just certain apps? Is there any setting on the s21 to say "never cache this app in memory"?
Claghorn said:
There are at least two apps (that I've noticed) which seem to act strange when I run them again after running them once. The strangeness vanishes if I go into recent apps, swipe the app away, then run it from scratch. I get annoyed at having to do this frequently. Would one of the many background app killers out there achieve the same effect automatically without me having to swipe the app away? Any recommendation for a killer I can restrict to just certain apps? Is there any setting on the s21 to say "never cache this app in memory"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No offense but it sounds like the issue is with the apps and using an app killer to autokill the app is nothing more than band aid. The app killer would be yet another service that will run in the background using up your resources. I think you would be better off contacting the developer and see if they will allow you to submit logcats so they can fix the issue(s). This would help you and potentially help others as well. I would also see if there any alternative apps that can do the same thing.
aybarrap1 said:
No offense but it sounds like the issue is with the apps and using an app killer to autokill the app is nothing more than band aid. The app killer would be yet another service that will run in the background using up your resources. I think you would be better off contacting the developer and see if they will allow you to submit logcats so they can fix the issue(s). This would help you and potentially help others as well. I would also see if there any alternative apps that can do the same thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The most irritating one is the Chase mobile app. Attempting to contact the "developer" gets me chase customer service who wants to help me reinstall the app. Pleas to forward my mail to the actual developer are met with total incomprehension .
Okay. We might try going deeper here. Did the problem always exist or did it start randomly? If each one was working fine at one point it could be an update from the developer broke Apps. Did it start after an update to the app or the phone Rom?
Did you customize and/or disable the os or rom baked services/apps?
How long have you had the phone? Did you upgrade from android 11 to 12 and do a factory reset? Just some questions to see if there might be other root causes.
Everything is stock with all system updates from samsung applied. I'm pretty sure it started after an app update. The chase app insists "You are not connected to a network", but since I was just on chrome looking at web pages, that seems unlikely. It acts more like the app doesn't clean up everything correctly on exit, then if android keeps it around in memory, it has trash in uninitialized variables when starting back up again. I've gotten pretty good about swiping it away from recent apps, so even if they fix the bug someday, I'll probably keep doing it from reflex .
Have you looked at recent comments for the app on the play store? Are there similar complaints that started around a certain time? That would be a definitive indicator if it was an update issue.
I commented about it and since then 15 people have found my review helpful, so maybe that means they have the same problem.
Claghorn said:
I commented about it and since then 15 people have found my review helpful, so maybe that means they have the same problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah...that is unfortunate. It looks like you may have to wait on the company and developer to fix it.

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