For years, popular apps have claimed to make Android phones speedier, but in reality, they simply kill background processes in bulk, causing more harm than good. But, with Android 14, Google is finally taking action.
“Speed booster” or “task killer” apps typically delete background programs in an attempt to make your phone feel faster. It appears to work at first glance, but it never has a long-term effect. Nevertheless, in reality, it only makes Android work harder to restart those background activities.
Google is taking steps to prevent malicious apps from harming your smartphone, as first reported by Mishaal Rahman on Esper. Apps on Android 14 are prohibited from terminating background processes that are not their own. According to Google, apps that use the “killBackgroundProcesses” API can no longer “affect the process lifespan of other apps.” Google previously advises against using this API for this reason, but as of Android 14, any attempt to kill processes for another app will result in an error.
The error reads:
Invalid packageName: com.example.anotherapp
What does this imply for users? Nothing but good can be said. The disadvantage of “task killer” software is that they frequently kill processes that only need to be resumed by the system later. This causes the system to work harder and, as a result, drains the battery. This change will basically disrupt the functioning of the apps that do this duty since they will no longer be able to do what they were supposed to do.
Google also states in its documentation that “it isn’t possible for a 3rd-party application to improve the memory, power, or thermal behavior of an Android device” and advises developers to reconsider if their app is in compliance with Google Play policy regarding deceptive claims. It will be fascinating to observe if this change results in the demise of “speed booster” and “task killer” apps in the Play Store, though considering how long new Android versions take to acquire momentum, we expect it to be fairly sluggish.