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Should you force close your apps?

Should you force close your apps?

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I force close my apps all the time. I double click the home button on my iPhone 6S and close out of every app I've used, even in the past 20 minutes. It's a terrible habit, but it makes me feel good. Maybe it's even an obsessive-compulsive tendency? Regardless, I've always wondered: is force closing apps good for my phone? Is it actually bad for it?

I took to the internet. A couple years ago, SVP of platforms and ecosystems at Google, Hiroshi Lockheimer, tweeted to a couple tech reporters that it's best to leave Android alone. The OS will manage apps for you; there's no need to manually force close them.

iOS does the same. I called up an independent iOS developer, Ish Shabazz, who recommended against it. And even Apple says it's not a good idea. In an email to a user last year, Apple's SVP of software engineering, Craig Federighi, said that quitting iOS apps doesn't help battery life. He doesn't do it. Apple's support page also says to only force close apps when they're unresponsive.

Although I'm willing to accept that force closing apps is bad, I'm not quitting the habit. It feels too good! Sorry 'bout it.