Recently, many Android users have been reporting increased battery drain on their phones, with Instagram being pointed towards as the culprit. We have been keeping an eye on these reports for a while now. In fact, just a few days ago, I covered this very issue, noticing a surge in complaints about Instagram causing Android phones to overheat.
It appears these two problems, battery drain and overheating, are very much linked. The reports about devices overheating are actually the result of Instagram hogging up the CPU. This increased usage is why users have been reporting that their devices have been overheating and/or consuming excessive battery.
But now, a recent post on Reddit suggests that Meta might be investigating the issue. The confirmation about the bug actually came from Samsung in a reply to a user, who shared a screenshot of a message from Samsung’s support on the r/oneui subreddit. The user had contacted Samsung support about a device issue, likely related to battery performance.
In their response, the Samsung Gulf customer support team explained that their engineers checked the logs and found the issue was “related to the Instagram app excessively consuming CPU in the background.” They also added that Meta’s engineering team is “currently investigating it.”
This acknowledgment from Samsung sheds a lot of light on what has been a frustrating experience for many. On the Reddit thread, numerous users echoed the sentiment, with some stating that Instagram constantly runs in the background, even when deep sleep mode is enabled. One user, Majestic_End8006, mentioned, “The damn Instagram is constantly running in the background. Even if I take deep sleep mode and turn off all the activities, nothing changes.”
Just note that in some situations, a company’s support team might not be the most reliable source of information. That said, it seems this response might indeed be accurate. I suspect the fix might arrive as a server-side change or perhaps a minor app update. In the meantime, users can try clearing cache, force-stopping the app, or using Instagram through a browser as a temporary workaround.
I’ll keep an eye on Meta’s progress and report back if there’s a beta or stable release that addresses this. If you’ve been hit hard by battery drain, I’d love to hear what’s worked for you.
Dwayne Cubbins
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For nearly a decade, I've been deciphering the complexities of the tech world, with a particular passion for helping users navigate the ever-changing tech landscape. From crafting in-depth guides that unlock your phone's hidden potential to uncovering and explaining the latest bugs and glitches, I make sure you get the most out of your devices. And yes, you might occasionally find me ranting about some truly frustrating tech mishaps.
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