WhatsApp for iPhone's Recent Update Drastically Impacting Battery Life, User Reports

The problem appears to affect users on WhatsApp for iPhone version 2.19.112.

By Jagmeet Singh | Updated: 8 November 2019 18:43 IST

Latest WhatsApp for iPhone included updated group privacy settings for global users

Highlights

WhatsApp seems to consume battery in the background
Multiple iPhone users have reported the issue on Twitter
OnePlus users have also reported similar battery-related problems

WhatsApp is resulting in a battery draining issue on iPhone devices, multiple users have reported on social media. The user reports suggest that the issue has come in the limelight after the Facebook-owned company released WhatsApp for iPhone version 2.19.112 earlier this week. Alongside iPhone users, some Android users have complained about the similar battery draining problems on the latest WhatsApp version. The issue appears to impact battery life due to the continued activity of WhatsApp in the background.

As raised by famed WhatsApp beta watcher who owns popular Twitter account WABetaInfo, the latest version of WhatsApp for iPhone brings the battery draining issue for some users. The issue increases the background activity of the instant messaging app, some users mentioned while responding to the tweet posted by the tipster.

We were able to see the sudden increase in the background activity of WhatsApp on couple of our iPhone devices running iOS 13.2 and iOS 13.1.3. Notably, the time reported in the background activity of the app was significantly higher than its on-screen time.

The issue has emerged on WhatsApp for iPhone version 2.19.112 that included the updated group privacy settings for the global users. It brought the new "My Contacts Except..." option in place of the earlier "Nobody" option under the group privacy settings. The addition was initially provided to beta testers.

Aside from iPhone users, some Android users have reported battery issues after installing the WhatsApp for Android version 2.19.308. Multiple OnePlus users have taken to Reddit as well as official OnePlus forums to raise complaints about severe battery draining of their smartphones. The issue is affecting even some OnePlus 7T users running Android 10. Also, several users on other Android devices have reported battery draining issues on Google Play.

We've reached out to WhatsApp for clarity on the issue and will update this space when we hear back.

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