These are the apps killing your Android phone’s battery

Avast has revealed the most power-hungry apps draining Android battery life, data, and storage in a new quarterly report.

The quarterly Avast Android App Performance & Trend Report Q1 2017 includes a list of the top 20 apps deemed to be the ‘greediest’.

Avast compiled the ‘greediest’ list after combining the app’s impact on battery life, storage capacity, and data plan usage.

This time around the biggest offenders on the various lists, which include data usage, storage, and battery life, include Netflix, Google Maps, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Related: Best Android apps

More than 3 million Android users provided information for the report, with app data covering a time period of January 2017 through March 2017.

Google has eight apps across the various the top 10 lists of both start-up and user-run apps, while Samsung has seven of its apps in the tables – though, Avast notes the fact both companies’ apps are often pre-installed on most Android devices could play a part.

Here’s the list of the 10 worst apps for draining battery life that automatically start when your phone turns on:

1. Samsung AllShare
2. Samsung Security Policy Updates
3. Beaming Service for Samsung
4. ChatON Voice & Video Chat
5. Google Maps
6. WhatsApp Messenger
7. Facebook
8. WeChat
9. AppLock
10. DU Battery Saver

And here are the top 10 worst user-started apps for draining battery life:

1. Samsung WatchON
2. Samsung Video Editor
3. Netflix
4. Spotify Music
5. Snapchat
6. Clean Master
7. LINE: Free Calls & Messages
8. Microsoft Outlook
9. BBC News
10. ES File Explorer File Manager

Storage-wise, Facebook, Instagram and Amazon Kindle are the worst offenders, with Samsung Media Hub and Lenovo’s SHAREit app also appearing on the lists for the first time.

Among instant messenging apps, the discontinued ChatON, Google Hangouts and LINE all crop up in the top 10 lists.

The 10 worst data-hogging apps, which automatically run when the phone is turned on are:

1. Facebook
2. Instagram
3. Yahoo! Japan
4. Firefox Browser fast & private
5. The Weather Channel
6. WhatsApp Messenger
7. Google Chrome
8. DU Battery Saver
9. Facebook Lite
10. Google Play Home

The top 10 data-hogging apps which users run themselves are:

1. Netflix
2. Spotify Music
3. Snapchat
4. BBC News
5. LINE: Free Calls & Messages
6. Microsoft Outlook
7. Clean Master
8. Samsung WatchON
9. Amazon for Tablets
10. PicsArt Photo Studio & Collage

Facebook, Instagram and Chrome are perhaps the most worrying entries on the list, as they will use up your data without having to be open.

Storage-wise, the top 10 apps that automatically run when the phone is turned on are:

1. Facebook
2. Instagram
3. Amazon Kindle
4. Facebook Messenger
5. CosmoSia
6. Google Quick Search Box
7. Google Maps
8. Google Chrome
9. Firefox Browser fast & private
10. Tango – Free Video Call & Chat

The top 10 which users run themselves, are:

1. Spotify Music
2. Snapchat
3. LINE: Free Calls & Messages
4. Samsung Video Editor
5. SoundCloud – Music & Audio
6. PicsArt Photo Studio & Collage
7. Amazon Shopping
8. BBC News
9. Clean Master
10. Photo Grid

Avast says Facebook, Instagram, and Kindle will store local cache files, photos or books, and are therefore some of the more troubling among the top 10.

The final lists identified apps which drain performance. Those which automatically run when the phone is turned on are:

1. Samsung AllShare
2. ChatON Voice & Video Chat
3. Samsung Push Service
4. Google TalkBack
5. Google Play Music
6. Google Maps
7. Google Play Newsstand
8. Google Plus
9. ChatON
10. Google Hangouts

Those which users run themselves, are:

1. Samsung WatchON
2. Google Docs
3. Samsung Media Hub
4. SHAREit
5. Samsung Video Editor
6. Flipboard
7. Google Text-to-Speech
8. Clean Master
9. LINE: Free Calls & Messages
10. Adobe Acrobat Reader

Snapchat managed to earn the quarter’s ‘most improved’ award, along with Facebook and music streaming behemoth Spotify.

“Industry stats show smartphone sales grew 9.1 percent in the first quarter of this year and Android devices continue to dominate market share. Affordable smartphones, however, can compromise on features like device storage so the experience of the user is increasingly important and how apps affect a phone’s performance is critical,” said Gagan Singh, SVP and GM Mobile Business, Avast.

“For many of us, our smartphones are the main device in our everyday lives. Knowing which of our favorite apps are the hardest-hitting on battery life, data usage, and storage is important so we can manage any that we are regularly using on our phones.”

Tweet us your take on the report @trustedreviews.