How To Prevent Apps From Auto Starting On Android

Keeping a limited number of background processes

Rather than stopping and force-closing an app. You can enable Android limit processes to some number that is in use. Also, Android keeps processes in the background.  You can select a limit of processes that can run on your phone. You can also limit the number of background processes by following the steps below carefully.

Step 0:

Initially, unlock Developer options after opening Settings > About phone and clicking on Build number many times.

Step 1:

Also, open Settings and move to System > Advanced > Developer options.

Step 2:

However, under the Apps section, click on the ‘Background process limit option’ and choose your choice.

• Standard limit: Selecting this will keep background apps and services the way Android select them to run.
• At most, ‘x’ processes: You can also limit or restrict ‘x’ number of apps from running in the background. So Android mobiles stop apps older than the current ‘x’ number of apps from absorbing resources.
• No background processes: Choosing this will enables the system to secure any process from accessing resources in the background.

Step 3:

At the bottom of the Apps section, simply toggle the switch adjacent to ‘Don’t keep activities’ to ON position.

Taking Benefits of Battery Optimization

An alternative way of restricting apps from auto-starting is through Android’s native Battery optimization feature. Using this feature, you can limit apps from absorbing resources in the background. However, securing it from beginning automatically on its own. Your install apps on your Android device are listed below to get battery optimized on their own but you can manually configure that if you like to.

To allow Battery Optimization for an app simply follows the steps below.

Step 1:

Firstly, open the Settings app on your Android device and move to Apps and notifications >> Advanced >> Special app access >> Battery optimization.

Step 2:

Click on the ‘Not optimized’ option if not chosen by default. Choose an app you like to turn on Battery Optimization and click on Optimize.

Using OEM’s Autostart tool

Some OEMs like Xiaomi and Huawei offer tools of their own to secure apps on your phone from auto-starting. These tools enable you to configure the applications that are running and initiating automatically on their own in the background.

on Huawei and Honor phones

You can check and restrict unnecessary app activities on Huawei and Honor using the steps below:

Step 1:

Initially, Open the Settings app and then move to the Battery > App Launch.

Step 2:

Choose any application you like to secure from auto-starting. On the other screen, there is a list of applications installed on your device using three checkboxes for each of them. These three checkboxes include Secondary launch, Auto-launch, and Run in background.

• Auto-launch: Unmark this box if you don’t like the app to automatically initiate when the phone is turn ON.
• Secondary launch: Uncheck the box if you don’t like another related app to open this app automatically. Such as the Messenger app launch every time whenever you open the Facebook app.
• Run in the background: Unmarking this box means that the app turns off when the phone’s screen is off and the device transitions into sleep mode.

Step 3:

Simply repeat step 2 for all the applications you like to secure from auto-launching.

on Xiaomi phones

Redmi, Xiaomi and Pocophone devices all run on the company’s MIUI skin. Also, it offers a clean tool having Autostart tag which stops applications from initiating automatically when you restart your phone. Simply follow the instructions below to do so:

Step 1:

Firstly, open the Settings app then move to Manage apps > Permissions > Autostart.

Step 2:

A list of apps that are installed on your Android will be shown using Autostart-enabled apps display in the first section. Also, the remaining apps are shown in the next section. If you like to turn off auto-starting for a selected app. Simply click on the toggle adjacent to the app to switch it to the OFF position.

Step 3 (optional):

You can also turn off autostart for system apps. But you can do this using your own risk and turn off only those apps that are not essential to you. You can also secure system apps from auto-starting by clicking the 3-dot menu on the corner of the Autostart page. Choosing ‘Show system apps’ from the drop-down menu and then switching Auto-start OFF for those apps.

Limiting apps through Greenify Hibernator app

Google launched a Doze mode to Android years ago. However, Greenify is an app introduced by Oasis Feng. Greenify provides the user with the ability to force doze inactive apps without a waiting period. Also, it tracks those apps that wake up your phone the most. Follow these simple steps to set up Greenify and use it to protect apps from auto-starting:

Step 1:

Install and download the Greenify app from Google Play. To block pre-installed apps on Greenify, you want the Greenify (Donation Package). Once installed, just open the app.

Step 2:

Follow the instructions that are available on-screen. Issue commands to enable Smart Hibernation and keep tapping Next until you reach the app homepage.

Step 3:

If you want to choose the apps that you want to prevent from auto-starting. Simply click on the ‘+’ sign at the top right. Also, choose the apps and click on the mark under the bottom right.

Step 4:

You can also click on the Greenify icon inside the app’s home screen. Also, create a hibernation shortcut by a move to 3-dot icon then create Hibernation Shortcut and choosing an option. Clicking the hibernation button or the shortcut will quickly kill the app that auto-started or is running in the background.