Google flags battery-hog apps pre-install

Google’s Play Store is now warning people before they install some Android apps that have a record of draining battery in the background. (developer.android.com) (9to5google.com) The rollout started March 1, 2026, and Google tied it to “technical quality treatments” for apps that misuse partial wake locks, a feature that keeps the processor awake when the screen is off. (developer.android.com 1) (developer.android.com 2) Google says the warning can appear when an app holds non-exempt partial wake locks for at least two hours in a 24-hour period across more than 5% of app sessions over 28 days. User-initiated tasks such as audio playback, navigation, and active voice calls are exempt. (developer.android.com 1) (developer.android.com 2) A wake lock is Android’s way of letting an app stop the phone from going to sleep while it finishes a job. Google’s change targets the cases where that happens off-screen and out of sight, not when a person is actively using an app. (developer.android.com 1) (developer.android.com 2) The policy change also affects how apps are surfaced inside Google Play. Google says core vitals already shape visibility, and apps that cross bad-behavior thresholds can become less discoverable. (developer.android.com) (support.google.com) For developers, that moves battery use closer to crash rates and application-not-responding errors as a distribution problem, not just a support complaint. Google’s Android vitals dashboard now includes more detail on wake lock names to help teams trace the issue. (support.google.com) (developer.android.com) Google said it developed the wake-lock metric with Samsung, which has pushed its own Android power-management rules for years. The shared goal is to catch hidden battery drain before users blame the phone itself. (developer.android.com) (androidpolice.com) The new warning does not mean every battery-heavy app is breaking rules. Google’s documentation says exemptions cover foreground services and user-requested work, which leaves room for apps that genuinely need long-running tasks. (developer.android.com) (support.google.com) What changes for users is timing: the battery warning can show up on the store listing before download, instead of after a bad review or a dead phone. (9to5google.com) (pcmag.com)