New EPWL policy will reduce app visibility starting 2026
Google is cracking down on battery-draining apps by introducing stricter measures that may reduce their visibility on the Play Store if they exceed power consumption thresholds. The policy aims to improve overall battery performance across Android devices and starts enforcement in 2026.
At the core of the policy is EPWL (Excessive Partial Wake Locks), which measures how often an app prevents a device from fully entering sleep mode. Many apps keep devices awake unnecessarily while the screen is off, causing rapid battery drain even if background tasks could finish quickly.
After months of collaboration with Samsung, Google has refined EPWL to better reflect real-world usage. The threshold is set so that if an app keeps the device awake for over 2 hours in 24 hours and affects at least 5% of user sessions over 28 days, it will be flagged as a high battery-consuming app.
Developers will receive notifications via Android Vitals dashboards to identify and fix issues. From March 1, 2026, apps that violate the policy may see reduced visibility, such as being excluded from recommendations, with warnings displayed to users about high energy usage due to abnormal background activity.
EPWL joins other key quality metrics developers must monitor, including app crashes (ANR) and overall excessive power consumption. Google has designed the system to pinpoint issues clearly, giving developers time to optimize before full enforcement.
This move demonstrates Google’s commitment to improving battery efficiency across the Android ecosystem and Pixel devices, signaling that all developers must prioritize energy management to ensure better user experiences.
ORIGIN: Techspot
