WhatsApp update ‘drains battery’ on Android phones, furious users claim
FUMING WhatsApp users are up in arms about the app's latest update.
The recent download reportedly drains the battery of some Android phones at lightning pace.
OnePlus owners appear to be the worst hit, according to reports appearing on WhatsApp forums and social media.
"Unfortunately, since the last update I can't download nor send photos [or] videos," one user wrote on WhatsApp's Google Play Store page.
"The screen keeps telling me that the media file doesn't exist on this device. Also, the battery drainage has exponentially grown.
"When I'm on the road I always need to bring my powerbank to ensure I'm reachable for colleagues when working."
Others shared screenshots of their battery usage of Twitter, with some claiming battery life dropped 30% with just half an hour's use of WhatsApp.
One OnePlus 5T user wrote: "It really freaks me when I see the battery stats just to know WhatsApp is sucking the battery like anything".
WhatsApp has not acknowledged the issue and it remains unclear how many people are affected.
The issue is not thought to be widespread, and is believed to only affect OnePlus devices. Apple products including iPhones are not affected.
WhatsApp – a quick history
Here's what you need to know...
- WhatsApp was created in 2009 by computer programmers Brian Acton and Jan Koum - former employees of Yahoo
- It's one of the most popular messaging services in the world
- Koum came up with the name WhatsApp because it sounded like "what's up"
- After a number of tweaks the app was released with a messaging component in June 2009, with 250,000 active users
- It was originally free but switched to a paid service to avoid growing too fast. Then in 2016, it became free again for all users
- Facebook bought WhatsApp Inc in February 2014 for $19.3billion (£14.64bn)
- The app is particularly popular because all messages are encrypted during transit, shutting out snoopers
- As of January 2018, WhatsApp has over 1.5billion users globally
However, users on Reddit reported similar battery issues when using WhatsApp on Huawei, Xaomi and Google Pixel phones.
"WhatsApp has been draining the battery insanely," one person wrote. "I think I've seen 33 per cent of all battery consumption by WhatsApp on the stats."
WhatsApp declined a request for comment.
WhatsApp rolled out its 2.19.308 update at the end of last month. It's not clear when a fix will be available.
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