Facebook confirmed to TechCrunch Thursday that its iOS app is running in the background and draining batteries in the process.
A spokesperson told the publication that it hopes there will be a fix completed “soon.”
“We have heard reports of some people experiencing battery issues with our iOS app. We’re looking into this and hope to have a fix in place soon,” said the spokesperson.
The battery drain reportedly occurs even when the background app refresh feature is disabled. Per TechCrunch:
Facebook isn’t commenting on any of the various theories about what’s going on here — whether it’s audio hijacking and/or using VoIP to keep the app awake against users’ wishes. But it is apparently fixing something — bug or sly ‘feature’ — that’s responsible for the various reports of extraneous background app activity. So there’s that.
What to do to remedy the situation until a fix is created? Delete the app.