Have you ever wondered how to turn off background apps – or even if you can? On Windows 10, some apps that you download from the store will continue to run in the background, even when they’re closed. They do this to take advantage of features they can access as a result, like background update downloading and Live Tile updates.
Apps running in the background don’t use as much processing power or battery life. However, every app running in the background will continue to eat up a little bit of your computer’s power.
Fortunately, you can turn off individual background apps — or block background apps entirely — with a few simple steps.
To quickly disable apps from running in the background, follow these steps:
You can also use the toggle at the top of the menu to disable all programs from running in the background.
Apps that can’t run in the background will still run as normal when opened. However, once you close them, they will close all the way — meaning that you won’t receive updates or push notifications from the app until you’ve opened it again.
By default, the built-in Windows Battery Saver will stop background processes automatically when your battery is running low. You can activate this feature at any time to stop background processes, if your laptop or tablet isn’t plugged in.
Background programs will stay off until the next time you charge. You can also quickly turn on Battery Saver by clicking on the battery icon at the bottom right of your taskbar.
If you just want to stop one background app right now, and don’t care if it runs in the background in the future, you can use the Task Manager to quickly stop that individual app.
Use this method carefully. The list of processes in Task Manager includes both apps from the Windows store and essential system processes. Ending the wrong task could cause issues.
You should also make sure that app data is saved before you end a task. If you close an app with Task Manager, you’re likely to lose any unsaved data associated with that app.
On Windows 10, some apps that you download from the store will continue to run in the background, even when they’re closed. They do this to take advantage of features they can access as a result, like background update downloading and Live Tile updates.
Apps running in the background don’t use as much processing power or battery life. However, every app running in the background will continue to eat up a little bit of your computer’s power.
