It's no secret now that some Android apps are killing your battery. These apps keep working in the background all the time, even when you aren't using them. They're pinging the internet and using motion sensors, all of it sucking the battery's life.

While several apps do this, some are far worse than others. The biggest leeches are often some of the most popular apps.

We can also now identify these apps thanks to research conducted by mobile carriers, antivirus makers Avast and AVG, and tech enthusiasts. Here are the worst apps that drain battery on Android devices.

1. Snapchat

Bad news, Snapchat users. This is the most battery-hogging social media app according to every survey out there. Snapchat was ranked #4 in Avast's list and #2 in AVG's list. Several users on the XDA Developers forum mentioned a significant battery boost after uninstalling Snapchat.

What You Can Do

Enable Travel Mode, one of the new Snapchat features you need to know about. Travel Mode prevents Snapchat from pre-loading images and videos in your feed. You'll find it in the app's settings.

You should also disable location tracking, a major battery leech. But be warned, this also disables geofilters, one of Snapchat's cool new features.

Alternatives to Snapchat

Every social network seems to be doing what Snapchat does, copying filters, masks, "stories", and so on. You might want to try Instagram Stories instead of Snapchat.

2. Tinder

Tinder boosts your social life, but it also sucks the life out of your battery. The app is all about finding people who are around you, so it constantly tracks your location and refreshes the data based on that.

What You Can Do

Go from an "always active" Tinder user to a more passive one. Switch off the app's background refresh so it stops working silently when you aren't even looking at it. You might also want to disable all notifications while you're at it. This combination leads to better battery performance, according to several user reports. And when you can, use Tinder Online through desktop browsers.

Alternatives to Tinder

For an app like Tinder, you need to find an alternative that has a similar user base and the same mentality. OkCupid and Match.com are among the most popular apps for online dating. However, all these apps use similar resources if you're an "always active" user type, so stick with Tinder and changing the settings.

3. BBC News (or Any News App)

News apps are important to stay updated, but this comes at the cost of battery life. Apps for BBC News, NYTimes, NDTV, CNN, and others constantly refresh in the background. Thankfully, this is the easiest to fix.

android battery drain bbc news

What You Can Do

Ditch the apps. Uninstall any news app you have. It offers nothing substantially more than their mobile site. So simply turn the mobile web site into a Chrome-based app. It's easy, and it takes less space, data, and battery.

Alternatives to News Apps

For timely updates, you might want to ditch apps altogether and use Twitter as your news source. All the major news media houses are active on it.

4. Microsoft Outlook

This is a surprising contender on the battery hogs list. Microsoft makes some great Android apps, and the Outlook email app has been winning people over. Unfortunately, it was #10 in Avast's list, so it might be time to reconsider.

android battery microsoft outlook

What You Can Do

Email apps would be useless if they didn't refresh in the background. While one can make a case to disable email notifications, you're better off simply changing to a different app.

Alternatives to Microsoft Outlook

There is no shortage of email apps on the Play Store, so take your pick. Personally, I would recommend Inbox by Gmail, the productivity-email hybrid. As a full-time user and someone who gets hundreds of emails every day, I can vouch for its battery efficiency.

Download -- Inbox by Gmail for Android (Free) [No Longer Available]

5. Facebook and Messenger

The biggest social network in the world is also one of the biggest battery drainers. The Facebook app, and its sister app Messenger, constantly rank high in all these reports. It's logical when you consider how many Android permissions Facebook asks for.

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What You Can Do

Remove the main apps and install Facebook Lite and Messenger Lite, the company's lightweight alternatives. Both apps use less data, resources, and battery. You'll miss a few functions, like video calling, but the overall experience is excellent.

Alternatives to Facebook

Let's face it, there is no social network that is a real alternative to Facebook. The best you can do is not to use any of its apps, and instead use the Facebook mobile web site instead.

Download -- Facebook Lite for Android (Free)

Download -- Messenger Lite for Android (Free)

6. Amazon Shopping

If you have the Amazon Shopping app installed on your phone, get rid of it right now. Amazon has plenty of deals and offers, but the app is not well optimized for Android, according to Android Pit. The result is that it drains battery as the app constantly pings servers in the background to get you the latest deals.

What You Can Do

The Amazon Shopping app is hardly any different from the Amazon mobile web site. Uninstall the app and do all your shopping from a browser instead. Or browse clutter-free Amazon sites on desktops.

Alternatives to Amazon Shopping

No online store really compares to Amazon, so don't bother looking for alternatives.

7. Samsung's Default Apps

Android has a bloatware problem, and it's most evident with Samsung. Samsung devices come preinstalled with a whole bunch of their proprietary apps. You probably don't use many of these, but they are working in the background, using up precious battery. The three biggest culprits are Samsung Link (or AllShare), Beaming Service for Samsung, and WatchON.

What You Can Do

Unless you root the Android device, you can't remove these preinstalled apps. The next best thing is to disable them. Go to Settings > Applications > Applications Manager > All and tap on the Samsung Link app. Uncheck the "Show notifications" box, which is ticked by default. Then tap Clear Data, followed by tapping Disable. Do this for all the Samsung apps you don't use.

Alternatives to Samsung's Default Apps

Several of the preinstalled Samsung apps are redundant, so install better alternatives from the Play Store. For example, instead of the S-Voice app, you can use Google Assistant.

8. musical.ly

This relatively-new social network for aspiring music stars has been growing in popularity and taking its slice of battery life with it. Musical.ly is filling the void left by Vine, but it isn't the background process that kills battery here. When you run the app, it uses a tremendous amount of hardware resources and is a data hog as well. The result is that it consumes far more battery than the average app.

What You Can Do

Like Facebook and Messenger, you can download musical.ly lite [No Longer Available] for Android. This lightweight version has most of the features of the main app, but uses less resources and data.

Alternatives to musical.ly

This isn't the first app of its kind. You can try out Dubsmash for a similar experience.

Download -- musical.ly lite for Android [No Longer Available] (Free)

Download -- Dubsmash for Android (Free)

9. YouTube, Netflix, and Other Streaming Apps

If you prefer to stream all your movies and music, then it's only natural that those apps will use a lot of battery. After all, they're using either Wi-Fi or data, and in the case of video streaming, your screen is also on all the time.

android battery netflix

What You Can Do

There's not much you can do here, since the experience requires battery usage. The best you can hope to achieve is through small tricks. For example, manually set the screen brightness to the lowest for comfortable viewing when streaming videos, or use wired headphones instead of Bluetooth ones.

Alternatives to Streaming Apps

There aren't any real alternatives to streaming apps except the new YouTube Go for Android. It's more battery-efficient and reduces data usage too.

Download -- YouTube Go for Android (Free)

10. LionMobi Power Battery and CleanMaster

Ironically, battery optimizers and system cleaners are some of the biggest battery culprits. Avast found LionMobi's Power Battery series to be among the top 10 guzzlers. AVG has similarly warned users about the popular Clean Master.

What You Can Do

It's simple, actually. Stop looking for these magical optimization cures and uninstall these popular apps.

Alternatives for Battery Optimization

The only battery optimization app we can recommend is Greenify. It stops apps from running in the background until you actually use the app yourself. It's just one of our excellent tips to make Android faster.

Download -- Greenify for Android (Free)

How Is Your Battery Life?

Android makers are increasing battery sizes in phones. Now you can get Android devices with batteries as large as 5000 mAh.

But it's not just apps to watch out for. Habits like charging a phone overnight can drain large batteries until they perform no better than smaller ones. You can also take a look at our tips for extending your Android battery life for additional things to try.