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Life360 Tips: How to Disable Battery Draining Location Tracking

Life360 is a popular family location sharing and communication app used by over 30 million families worldwide. It allows you to view the real-time locations of family members on a map and set up alerts when someone leaves or enters a designated place.

However, some users have complained about Life360 draining their phone’s battery quickly due to the constant location tracking in the background. Fortunately, there are a few tweaks you can make in the app and your phone’s settings to reduce battery drain while still using Life360.

Why Does Life360 Drain Battery?

Life360 relies on GPS, cellular data, and WiFi to pinpoint and update locations frequently. This constant tracking and data transfer can be taxing on your phone’s battery.

Here are some key reasons why Life360 may drain your battery faster:

  • Frequent location updates – Life360 may update locations as often as every few minutes to provide real-time tracking. Frequent GPS usage can be battery intensive.
  • Background app activity – The app continues to run location tracking services in the background even when you aren’t using it actively in the foreground. This constant background activity can drain battery.
  • Data transfer – Sending and receiving location data requires cellular data or WiFi connectivity. This data transfer also uses battery.
  • Notifications – You may get notifications when Life360 detects a change in location. The vibration and screen wake up uses extra battery.

Tips to Reduce Life360 Battery Drain

Here are some tips you can try out to extend your phone’s battery life while using Life360:

1. Adjust Location Accuracy

You can reduce battery drain by lowering location accuracy in the Life360 app settings:

  • Open the Life360 app > Tap the profile icon > Select “Settings”
  • Tap “Location” and set accuracy to “Approximate” instead of “Precise”.

With lower accuracy, Life360 relies more on cellular data and WiFi instead of battery-draining GPS to estimate locations.

2. Limit Background Activity

Stop Life360 from running in the background unnecessarily:

  • Go to your phone’s settings > Select “Apps” > Tap “Life360” > Disable “Background activity”

This will limit constant tracking and updates when you aren’t actively using the app.

3. Disable Unimportant Notifications

Turn off non-essential notifications in Life360 app settings:

  • Open Life360 > Tap profile icon > Select “Settings”
  • Go to “Notifications” and disable alerts you don’t really need

Fewer notifications means less battery spent on vibration and screen wake up.

4. Enable Battery Saving Mode

Use Life360’s built-in battery saving mode:

  • Open the Life360 app > Tap the profile icon
  • Go to “Settings” > Turn on “Battery saving mode”

This limits background activity and updates when battery is low.

5. Lower Screen Brightness

Dimming your phone’s screen brightness saves battery across all apps:

  • Go to phone settings > Select “Display”
  • Drag the brightness slider to around 30-50% brightness

Since Life360 uses a map interface, lower brightness significantly reduces battery drain.

6. Close Background Apps

Force close apps running passively in the background:

  • Access the recent apps menu
  • Swipe out all apps not being used actively

This prevents non-essential apps from draining battery in the background while you use Life360.

Does Life360 Drain Battery When Not in Use?

Life360 continues to run basic location tracking and data transfer even when you aren’t actively using the app. However, battery drain is significantly lower compared to when the app is open.

Here are some ways Life360 uses battery in the background:

  • Basic GPS and cellular data pings to update location periodically
  • Background data transfer
  • App data processing and syncing

So while Life360 does use some battery when not in active use, it is optimized to avoid excessive battery drain.

Is Life360 Safe for Battery Health?

With responsible use, Life360 does not pose any significant risks to long-term battery health. The key is to avoid excessive battery drain cycles.

Try to charge your phone before the battery dips below 20% when using Life360 actively. Also use the battery saving tips to prevent rapid drain cycles.

Moderate Life360 battery usage with periodic full recharges is safe for your phone’s battery. But frequent full to empty drain cycles can degrade battery capacity over time.

In Conclusion

Life360 provides invaluable safety and communication benefits for families. With the above battery saving tips, you can enjoy Life360 without compromising your phone’s battery life or health. Focus on reducing unnecessary location tracking, background activity, notifications and screen usage based on your specific needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Life360 run on iPhone or Android?

Life360 is available for both iPhone and Android smartphones. The battery saving tips in this article can be applied to both platforms.

How much battery does Life360 use?

Life360 uses about 10% more battery over a 24 hour period compared to not running the app. Battery drain can be higher with excessive app usage.

Should I force close the Life360 app when not using it?

Force closing the background app can help save battery. However, you will need to manually reopen Life360 to get updated locations. Keeping it running in the background has less impact on iPhone compared to Android.

Will Life360 battery drain affect my phone’s lifespan?

Occasional battery drain is not inherently harmful. But best practice is to avoid excessive drain cycles (like fully charging then completely depleting multiple times). Moderation is key for long-term battery health.

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