Facebook and Messenger Apps for Android Causing Battery Drain, Users Report

Social media giant Facebook's official mobile app for Android (as well as Messenger) is slowing smartphones by 15 percent and is consuming excess battery power, a media report citing users said on Tuesday.

The hugely-successful apps were hit with controversy this week after a number of reports showed they drained battery life and slowed phones, express.co.uk reported Monday.

Facebook fans discussed the impact of the apps on Reddit, with one user publishing a chart to show the drain caused by them, the report said.

It was found during the test that involved launching 15 popular apps in succession. Each app loaded significantly faster when Facebook was not installed on the same smartphone.

"So yeah, I think that settles it for me... I am joining the browser-app camp for now," a Reddit user posted.

"Messenger seems to be worse than FB. Both apps individually caused a slow-down of roughly five percent in the test," the user claimed.

Another user said that, "I think it had just become so bloated with features, things they kept adding to the main site that people wanted in the mobile apps also," adding, "Combine this with Android's tendency to let apps run wild in the background."

Last year, some iPhone users reported a similar problem saying the app began draining almost 40 percent of the battery.