Google has taken a significant step towards enhancing the Android user experience by introducing a new system aimed at identifying apps that excessively drain battery life. This initiative features an “excessive partial wake locks” metric, developed in collaboration with Samsung, to help developers better manage background power consumption.
What are Wake Locks?
Wake locks are mechanisms that allow applications to keep a device awake, preventing it from entering sleep mode while they perform background tasks. While these locks can be beneficial, particularly for functions like audio playback or user-initiated data transfers, their misuse can lead to substantial battery drain. Google has indicated that certain wake locks will remain exempt from scrutiny, as they provide clear advantages to users.
Developed with Samsung’s input
This new metric is the result of a collaborative effort between Google and Samsung, merging Samsung’s expertise in battery consumption with Google’s extensive platform-level data. The system has been in beta testing since April 2025, during which Google has fine-tuned the algorithm based on feedback from developers to ensure its accuracy and relevance to real-world usage scenarios.
How the system works
According to the new guidelines, a user session will be flagged as “excessive” if it accumulates more than two hours of non-exempt wake locks within a 24-hour timeframe. Google has defined poor app behavior as occurring when five percent or more of an app’s user sessions over the past 28 days exceed this threshold.
Consequences for developers
Apps that surpass the established bad behavior threshold may face repercussions on the Play Store. These consequences could include removal from prominent discovery surfaces, such as recommendations, and the potential display of a red warning message on their listings, indicating: “This app may use more battery than expected due to high background activity.”
Rollout timeline
The new policy is expected to be implemented starting 1 March 2026, providing developers with ample time to identify and rectify any excessive wake lock usage prior to enforcement. To assist in this transition, Google has also made available additional debugging tools and documentation aimed at helping developers optimize their applications and mitigate user-facing battery drain warnings.
