WhatsApp update drains battery on Android phones, users claim

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

The latest update to WhatsApp is draining the battery of Android phones, according to some users.

Owners of OnePlus phones appear to be particularly affected by the issue, with reports appearing in forums, Google Play Store comments and across social media.

Other problems with the popular messaging app also seem to have surfaced since the release of the most recent version for Android.

"Unfortunately, since the last update I can't download nor send photos [or] videos," one user wrote in one of the most popular comments on WhatsApp's Google Play Store page.

"The screen keeps telling me that the media file doesn't exist on this device. Also, the battery drainage has exponentially grown. When I'm on the road I always need to bring my powerbank to ensure I'm reachable for colleagues when working."

Other WhatsApp users shared screenshots of their battery usage on Twitter, complaining that the app was accounting for the majority of their battery use despite not using it much.

One OnePlus 5T user wrote: "It really freaks me when I see the battery stats just to know WhatsApp is sucking the battery like anything".

Despite being tagged in many of the tweets, the Facebook-owned app did not respond to affected users. The Independent has reached out to WhatsApp for comment.

Reddit users reported similar issues with other devices, including the Google Pixel 3, Pixel 4, Huawei P20 Pro and certain models of Xiaomi smartphones.

"WhatsApp has been draining the battery insanely," one user wrote. "I think I've seen 33 per cent of all battery consumption by WhatsApp on the stats."

The latest WhatsApp 2.19.308 update introduced several new features, including biometric security that allows users to secure their private conversations and group chats with their fingerprints.

Owners of iPhones and other iOS devices do not appear to be facing any problems with their battery when using WhatsApp.