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You already know about the downfalls of apps like Facebook and Snapchat — they drain your battery fast and can use your data and send it to third-party advertisers (among other issues). But there are other apps out there that are much more subtle. They aren’t on the top of your must-delete list, nor are they time-consuming social media apps that you can tell from a mile away are murder on your battery. Harriet Chan, co-founder of CocoFinder, spoke with SHEFInds.com about the four apps you should never have on your iPhone, according to security experts.
Smartphones have come a long way in recent years and, because of newer technology, the habit of charging your phone overnight won’t cause immediate destruction. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t slowly chipping away at your battery and causing long-term damage.
“The good news is that modern smartphones have built-in chips that keep them from overcharging,” Komando says. “They’re smart enough to stop taking in excess electrical currents once it reaches a full charge. The bad news is that due to the inherent properties of lithium-ion batteries, smartphone batteries are gradually losing their capacity with each charging cycle.”
Montage
“The Montage app violates Google developer policies by using tricks like displaying costs and terms in grey fonts to make them invisible,” Chan says. “The provided information may be misleading or true only that it’s invisible.”
Dynamic Wallpaper
“This app also lures users with a free trial without saying how long the free trial lasts and what it will cost once the trial ends,” Chan says.
A better way of charging your iPhone is to provide it with shorter, periodic charges whenever it dips down below 40 percent (but do not wait until your phone has drained down to zero, which is another no-no).
“The ideal charge level for a stable battery is in the upper mid-range,” Komando says. “Keeping a battery between 40 percent and 80 percent charged as often as possible will help you get the most out of its lifespan. This is because a battery containing a higher voltage is under considerably more stress, and stress can potentially have degrading effects on the overall battery life by wearing down the battery’s internal chemistry.”