Google is taking a significant step to improve mobile user experience by introducing new tools to identify and flag apps that drain battery excessively.
Starting March 1, 2026, applications that fail to meet battery efficiency standards could lose visibility on the Play Store and receive warning labels.
The tech giant has launched a new core vitals metric, “excessive partial wake locks,” as part of its Android vitals program. This metric measures how long apps prevent devices from entering sleep mode, a primary cause of battery drain.
Google Flag Apps on the Play Store
The company defines excessive usage as sessions in which apps hold more than two cumulative hours of non-exempt wake locks within 24 hours.
If an app exceeds this limit in 5% of user sessions within 28 days, it will be flagged. This initiative represents a collaborative effort between Google and Samsung, combining real-world user experience data with Android platform insights.
Samsung’s deep knowledge of battery consumption patterns helped refine the algorithm to be more accurate and representative of actual user needs.
Android Developers currently have until March 1, 2026, to address battery drain issues before facing consequences.
Apps that do not follow the rules may be removed from prominent places where users can easily find them, such as recommendations or personalized suggestions.
In some cases, Google may display warning messages on app store listings that inform users the application may cause excessive battery drain. To help developers fix problems, Google is providing several resources.
The Android vitals dashboard now includes an enhanced wake lock names table that breaks down sessions by specific tag names and durations.
This detailed breakdown allows developers to identify long wake locks in their development environment and debug issues more effectively.
This new rule is added to other essential quality rules that Google Play expects all apps to follow, such as keeping crash rates low and avoiding “App Not Responding” (ANR) issues.
This comprehensive approach aims to ensure consistent quality across the entire Android ecosystem. Google emphasized that Android developers should review their apps’ performance immediately and consult technical documentation, blog posts, and videos to understand best practices for reducing wake lock usage.
The company is committed to helping developers build efficient, stable applications that provide excellent user experiences while preserving device battery life.
This initiative reflects growing user frustration with battery drain and demonstrates Google’s commitment to enforcing performance standards on its platform.
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