How do I turn off background app refresh on Android?

Last reviewed: October 29, 2026 · Markdown version

Short answer: there is no single switch called "Background App Refresh" on Android. What that setting does elsewhere is split here into two controls you set per app: how much the app may run in the background (a battery setting) and whether it may use mobile data in the background (a data setting). You can use one or both.

Is there really no switch with that name?

Not in Google's own help that we read today. The Pixel pages on battery optimisation, on Data Saver and on mobile data usage describe background activity under battery and data settings, and none of them uses the words "background app refresh" (Keep Adaptive Battery & battery optimization on, Use less mobile data with Data Saver and Reduce & manage mobile data usage, Pixel Phone Help, all read 29 October 2026). On that phrase they are silent.

Control 1: stop an app running in the background

This is the closest equivalent, and it is per app. Android's developer guide describes three options on the Battery usage page of system settings, and the strongest is Restricted: it "Fully prevents an app from running in the background. Apps may not work as expected" (Background optimization, Android Developers, read 29 October 2026). On the phone, the Pixel help reaches that page through Settings › Apps › See all apps, the app, App battery usage › Allow background usage (the Pixel page above). That Pixel page only walks you to the Optimized choice and does not list Restricted, so what you see on that screen depends on your phone and Android version.

Two things to expect. Opening the app lifts the restriction while you use it: the developer guide says the system "temporarily treats your app as if it were in the "unrestricted" state" until you switch to another app. And on stock Android its list for a restricted app includes "Alarms aren't triggered" and "Jobs aren't executed", which is why reminders and syncs from that app can stop.

On a Galaxy phone, Samsung's own version is Deep sleeping apps, under Settings › Battery and device care › Battery › Background usage limits: "Shows you all apps that will never run in the background. They'll only work when you open them" (Sleeping apps on your Galaxy device, Samsung US, read 29 October 2026).

Control 2: stop background mobile data

If what bothers you is data rather than battery, Data Saver works phone-wide. Google says it "lets most apps and services get background data only via Wi-Fi", and it is under Settings › Network & internet › Data Saver; the same page lists apps you can exempt under Unrestricted data (the Data Saver page above). The Pixel mobile-data page also lists "Allow or restrict background data usage by app" as a setting, but on that page it is only a link to app permissions, without steps, so the exact route varies by phone.

Which one to use

One app draining the battery: set that app to Restricted (or Deep sleeping on a Galaxy).
Running out of mobile data: turn on Data Saver and exempt only the apps you need.
Everything feels slow to update: you may have the opposite problem; this page covers allowing background work.

What counts as a background app in the first place is explained on its own page.

A note for Adinand Auto File Sorter users

Restricting this app is a choice that turns off its automatic sorting, a Pro feature, because that sorting is exactly the kind of scheduled job a restricted app may not run. Data Saver does not matter to it: sorting works fully offline, and the only network use is Google Play Billing. If you restrict it, the free Sort Now button still sorts whenever you open the app.