The vast majority of Android apps use background services to sync data, check for location updates, and perform various silent tasks. These background services can start up whenever they'd like, and they continue to run in the background even when you're not actively using the app that they originated from.
As you can imagine, these silent background services have a significant impact on your phone's battery life. While they help make sure everything their parent app needs is queued up and ready to go, the associated battery drain outweighs any such benefits in most use cases.
Famed Android developer Francisco Franco has come up with a creative solution to this issue. His latest app will automatically kill any background service at a preset interval, but it makes sure you're not using the parent app before doing so. In the end, you should no longer have to worry about background services eating away at your phone's battery life.
Step 1: Install Servicely
Before we begin, I should note that this app requires root access. If you need to get up to speed in that regard, check out our always-updated root guide, which covers most modern Android devices.
Franco's service-killing app is called Servicely, and it's available on the Google Play Store for free. Search the app by name to get it installed on your device, or head directly to the install page at this link.
Step 2: Add Apps to Your "Hit List"
When you first launch Servicely, the app will ask for Superuser access. Tap "Grant" on this popup, then you'll be taken to the main menu.
From here, use the toggle switch in the top-right corner to enable Servicely. At this point, you'll need to select the apps whose background services you'd like to kill automatically—tap "Add a new app to the hit-list" to do just that.
From here, you'll be taken to a list of all services that are currently running in the background on your device. The free version of Servicely will only allow you to select up to 3 of these services, which will then be automatically killed at a preset interval. The Pro version is unlimited in this regard, but I'll get into that in more detail later.
Step 3: Adjust Other Settings & Enable Pro Features
From Servicely's main menu, tap "Interval period between checks" to change the frequency at which Servicely will check for and kill your selected background services. The default setting here is 60 seconds, but you can enter any value you'd like.
While the Pro version of Servicely removes all restrictions for $2.16 and would serve as a great way to support the developer's work, Franco has been kind enough to offer these same features for free. Tap "Enable Pro" to remove the three-service limit to your "hit list," and this will also allow you to enable the "Start on boot" option.
From here, you can add as many services to your hit list as you'd like, and Servicely will check at your preset interval to make sure that these services are never running.
Have you seen a boost in battery life or performance since installing Servicely? Let us know in the comment section below, or drop us a line on Android Hacks' Facebook or Twitter, or Gadget Hacks' Facebook, Google+, or Twitter.
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