How to Disable Background App Refresh in iOS 7

Among the new features introduced by Apple in iOS 7 is the ability for apps to continue refreshing their content in the background when you aren’t actively using them. While this is generally useful, some have found that it decreases performance or battery life. While closing the app will halt such updates, it can be a hassle to have to close active apps every time to avoid this new behavior.

Fortunately, Apple has provided an even easier way to turn off background app refreshing – and it can be done directly from the iOS settings. To disable background app refresh, simply launch Settings.app, enter the General settings page, tap on Background App Refresh, and slide the toggle to the off position.

If you only want to disable this for certain apps, you can also turn the feature on and off for each specific app on your device by scrolling down and locating the name of the app. It’s easy and effective! Let us know how it works for you!

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J. Glenn Künzler

Glenn is Managing Editor at MacTrast, and has been using a Mac since he bought his first MacBook Pro in 2006. He lives in a small town in Utah, enjoys bacon more than you can possibly imagine, and is severely addicted to pie.