9 Battery Draining Apps and Programs Installed on Your Mac

Battery Draining Apps: You just bought your Mac, so why does the battery already seem to be struggling? Why do you need to charge it so often?

Odds are, you’re running some battery draining apps that you may not be aware of. These apps require the usage of more CPU, causing your power to go down faster in the process.

As most electronics have a limited number of recharges, having to charge your Mac 3x a day is not ideal.

So what can you do?

Keep reading for a full breakdown on 9 apps and programs that might be making your Mac’s battery low.

Spotify

What music streaming app do you use? If you use the popular Swedish app Spotify, you may have noticed that the app can be a real drain on battery life.

Users on Spotify support pages expressed their frustration that the app appears to be a battery hog. This was later determined to be a bug in the software.

So how can you fix the bug? Disable the friends’ feed. You won’t be able to see what your friends are listening to, but your computer battery may benefit!

Google Chrome

Although many Mac users enjoy the default internet browsing app Safari, some prefer to use Google Chrome.

Yet Google Chrome has been known to drain your battery and be a resource hog. This does depend on what you’re doing; if you are streaming a movie online, it will affect your battery. But even just being open in the background can also cause some battery depletion.

Uninstalling it is not necessary, but be aware of when you have it open in the background. If it is, you may be inadvertently draining your battery.

Adobe Photoshop

If you’re a graphic designer or someone who edits photos, you may have noticed the effect it has on your computer.

Adobe Photoshop is one of the most popular editing programs. But all that image editing software requires a lot of computing power. This means that your Mac is going to need to be charged more regularly while doing so.

There is no workaround for this; just be mindful of it when you are editing, and pay attention to how long you spend doing it.

Zoom

2020 has required many individuals and businesses to transition from traditional work methods to remote ones. For many, this means becoming familiar with Zoom.

Zoom is a video communication program that allows you to chat remotely with anyone across the world. It can also quickly bring down your battery if you’re not careful.

Video chatting requires the usage of a lot of CPU, particularly in HD. Sharing your screen and allowing others to see it will further drain your battery.

As with Photoshop, be mindful of how long you are using Zoom. Having a charger nearby may not be a bad idea!

Bitdefender

All computers need a good anti-virus program, and for many Mac users, that program is Bitdefender.

Yet some Bitdefender users have noticed that there computer’s battery goes down while using it. They’ve also noticed that their computer runs slowly while the program is running.

Bitdefender explained that this is due to a real-time protection program called Autopilot, which causes battery drain.

If you use this anti-virus program, turning off Autopilot should help your computer last longer without needing a charge.

Messages

Although Messages may not seem like a battery hogging app, it’s one of those apps that most people keep open in the background and forget about.

Check your Mac’s Activity Monitor, and you may be surprised to see that in the past 12 hours, Messages has used a surprising amount of CPU and energy.

If you don’t have Messages open or running in the background, you can still receive message notifications. Consider exiting out of it unless you are using it to help your battery.

Whatsapp

Whatsapp is another popular messaging platform. It allows users to send messages, as well as make video and voice calls.

Similar to Messages, Whatsapp can run in the background, and for some users, can be a bit of a memory hog.

If you aren’t using it, consider completely exiting it to ensure that it is not wasting computing power and energy in the background.

WeChat

The last of the three messaging apps, WeChat is owned by the Chinese company Tencent and is essentially the Chinese Whatsapp. It also features a social media section similar to Facebook.

Yet WeChat is notorious for using large amounts of data while operating silently in the background.

Luckily, the app requires you to log in each time you turn on your computer, which makes forgetting that you have it open more difficult. However, after you log in, if you aren’t using it at the moment, make sure that it is completely closed out.

Anything Else That Opens At Startup

Have you ever turned on your Mac and had 6 different things pop open? These are startup programs.

Aside from being frustrating and unnecessary, some startup programs may be open that you aren’t aware of. These can then impact your computer’s battery.

Launch agents, monitoring apps, and application login apps are all different types of programs that can run in the background when your computer turns on.

Different programs will allow you to manage these and make sure that only the things you need are running.

Check out this guide on how to control which apps open when your Mac powers on: https://setapp.com/how-to/mac-startup-programs.

Limit Your Use of Battery Draining Apps

If your Mac battery is consistently low, consider investigating what is causing it. It may be one of these apps listed or a group of programs that are running when you turn on your computer.

To ensure your Mac lives a long life, limit your usage of battery draining apps. If you are using one, be aware of how long you spend on it!

Check out our other blog posts for more lifehacks and tips.