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How to close apps on Android: Give your memory a break!
It doesn’t close the app when you back out of an app on your Android device. It runs in the background if you need to bring it up again quickly. Apps running in the background are similar to a minimized window on your computer. But to improve your phone’s speed and give its memory a breather, you need to close an app fully. Here’s how to close apps on Android.
QUICK ANSWER
To close apps on Android, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and hold until the recent apps menu pops up (if you use gesture navigations). If you use button navigation, tap on the recent apps button. Swipe up to close individual apps or tap the Close all button to close all background apps. Depending on your phone, you might have to swipe left or right instead, and not every phone has a Close all or similar button.
JUMP TO KEY SECTIONS
How to close apps on Android
Swipe up and hold from the bottom of your phone screen to open the recent apps menu. Tap the recent apps menu button if you use three-button navigation instead of gesture navigation. It will be on the left or right of the home button, depending on your phone. Some phones will have a button that says Clear all, Close all, X, or something similar. If you want to close out all of the currently open apps on your device, tap that button.
Depending on the phone, you’ll have to swipe up, down, left, or right to close an app. If you’re swiping up to close apps, then swiping left or right lets you scroll through all the currently open apps. If you want to close specific apps, you’ll need to swipe each app away individually.
Force close apps on Android
You may encounter an app that won’t load properly or keeps glitching no matter how you close and open it. When this happens, you need to force close the app. Force closing an app can sometimes mess with the integrity or function of an app, and you may need to uninstall and reinstall it. Force closing an app is mainly used for troubleshooting.
On some phones, you can tap and hold the app that you want to force close. After a long press, a menu with two options will pop up. Tap App info. This will take you directly to that app page in your App Manager. Tap the Force stop button.
Not all phones will have this feature. If you can’t access the app’s information by tapping and holding the app, you’ll need to go through your phone’s settings and find the App Manager. The settings menu section names may be a little different. Go to Settings–>Apps and notifications–>See all apps and find the app you want to close. Then tap Force stop.
Read more: Android OS problems and how to fix them
FAQs
No, closing or force-stopping an app will not uninstall it. Check out our guide on how to uninstall apps on Android if you want to remove an app from your phone completely.
Although your phone won’t stop working if you have too many apps open, it will usually act slower. You will also notice your battery draining faster if you never close your apps after using them. Try to get in the habit of closing your apps right after you use them. If that’s too much to remember, try to close your apps at the end of the day.
Closing an app stops it from running in the background. It won’t sign you out of any apps, but opening the app again will start a new instance. You will need to keep an app running in the background if you want to continue where you left off.