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Optimize by form factor
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Phones, tablets, foldables
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Android for Cars
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Android TV
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Android XR
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Android Studio preview
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Jetpack & Compose libraries
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Wear OS releases
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Privacy Sandbox ↗️
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Excellent Experiences
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Learn more
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UI Design
*
Design for Android
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Mobile
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Desktop experiences
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XR Headsets & XR Glasses
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AI Glasses
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Widgets
*
Wear OS
*
Android TV
*
Android for Cars
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Architecture
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Introduction
*
Libraries
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Navigation
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Modularization
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Testing
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Kotlin Multiplatform
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Quality
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Overview
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Core value
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User experience
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Overview
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Core areas
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Samples
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User interfaces
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Background work
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Data and files
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Connectivity
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All core areas ⤵️
*
Tools and workflow
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Write and debug code
*
Build projects
*
Test your app
*
Performance
*
Command-line tools
*
Gradle plugin API
*
Android Bench
*
Device tech
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Phones, tablets, foldables
*
ChromeOS
*
Android for Cars
*
Android TV
*
Android XR
*
Wear OS
*
Android Health
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Better Together
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All devices ⤵️
*
Libraries
*
Android platform
*
Jetpack libraries
*
Compose libraries
*
Google Play services ↗️
*
Google Play SDK index ↗️
*
Play Console
*
Go to Play Console
*
Learn more ↗️
*
Fundamentals
*
Play Monetization
*
Play Integrity
*
Play Policies
*
Play Programs ↗️
*
Games Dev Center
*
Overview
*
Play Asset Delivery
*
Play Games Services
*
Play Games on PC
*
Level Up guidelines
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All Play guides ⤵️
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Libraries
*
Play Feature Delivery
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Play In-app Updates
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Play In-app Reviews
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Play Install Referrer
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Background work
Stay organized with collections
Save and categorize content based on your preferences.
Background work
Background work is any task your app needs to perform when it's not visible in the foreground,
such as fetching data from a server or processing images.
Navigating the complexities of background execution is key to building apps that are
"good citizens"--that is, resilient, responsive, and efficient applications that work
well on all devices.
About background tasks
Get started with background work
View the guide on choosing the right background work API for your use case, and consider it in the context of Android's process and app lifecycle.
Guide
Choose the right option
Choosing the right background work API can be complex. This page gives you clear guidance on when to use asynchronous work, WorkManager, foreground services, or an alternative choice. Learn which API is best for your specific use case.
View the guide
Guide
Process and app lifecycle
Explore the fundamental concepts of the Android process lifecycle and how it impacts your app's behavior and resource management. Learn how the system manages app processes based on activity state, enabling you to design resilient and efficient applications that respond gracefully to system-initiated terminations.
View the guide
Key solutions
Some of the more common APIs and tools for performing work in the background, include WorkManager, foreground services, alarms, and broadcasts. Each solution will have varying implications for the battery life of your users's devices.
WorkManager
WorkManager is the recommended solution for persistent background work on Android. Learn how to use this powerful library to schedule tasks that persist across app restarts and device reboots, and understand its key features for handling constraints and flexible retry policies.
Learn more
Foreground Services
Foreground services offer a powerful way to run tasks immediately that out not to be interrupted. Learn when and how to declare, launch, and stop a foreground service with a persistent notification, ensuring your app performs critical tasks without being terminated by the system.
Learn more
Alarms
Alarms are a critical tool for scheduling time-based work. This page explains how to use AlarmManager to schedule both exact and inexact alarms for tasks that must run at a specific time or within a given window, even when your app is not running. It also covers best practices for managing alarms and ensuring they are optimized for battery life.
Learn more
Broadcasts
Learn how to send and receive broadcasts to handle system events and messages from other apps. You'll also learn about context-registered and manifest-declared receivers and the modern system restrictions that apply to them.
Learn more
Background guidance by use case
The right solution varies by your use case. Android provides many task-specific APIs, which
are optimized for particular scenarios, and will often lead to greater power savings and
fewer restrictions than when using WorkManager and Foreground Services.
This section lists some of the more common use cases, and the recommended solution.
Location
Most use cases only require location when the user is engaging with the app. However, if your app needs to access location in the background, use the Fused Location Provider API. Leverage this API to get the cached last known location, or request periodic location updates.
Widgets
Update GlanceAppWidgets efficiently when the app is in the background by using the update method.
Bluetooth and Connected Devices
Use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to communicate with peripheral devices in the background. Learn how to scan, connect, and maintain a persistent connection to devices while respecting system-level restrictions and conserving battery.
Step Tracking
For tracking steps on mobile devices, consider reading steps from Health Connect, the Android data store for Health & Fitness data.
User-Initiated Data Transfer
For user-initiated background tasks that involve data transfer (including download and upload) and are meant to keep the user informed on progress, use the User-Initiated-Data Transfer Job type. This job type is optimized for long-running data transfers, and is granted priority by the system.
Media Playback
Use the Media3 library to support background playback while your app is not visible to the user.
Understand power optimizations
Considering your background work's effects on power is crucial for creating high-quality Android apps. It allows you to build more resilient and battery-efficient apps by understanding how the system manages resources. Optimizing for power reduces battery drain, prevents your app from being terminated by the system, and delivers a smoother user experience.
Guide
Understand Power Management Resource Limits
The system prioritizes apps' requests for resources based on the device state, app state
and the app's standby bucket.
Learn more about how your app can work within the device's power management resource
limits to reliably execute work in the background.
View the guide
Guide
Keep the Device Awake
Your app may need to keep the device's CPU from going into the suspended state in order to complete critical work. This guide helps you select the most appropriate methods for keeping a device awake.
View the guide
Guide
Optimize for doze and standby
Learn how to adapt your app to Doze and App Standby to improve battery efficiency and enhance the user experience. By understanding these power-saving modes, you can ensure your app runs optimally while minimizing its impact on device battery life.
View the guide
Guide
Test power-related issues
Beginning with Android 9, devices have power-management features that affect all apps. Learn how to test your app to make sure it runs properly on all devices, including with features such as battery saver, App Standby Buckets, and background restrictions.
View the guide
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Links found on this page
- Skip to main content [direct]
- Essentials [direct]
- Get started [direct]
- Hello, world! [direct]
- Developer Verification [direct]
- Adaptive apps [direct]
- Compose for UI [direct]
- AI-powered IDE [direct]
- Training [direct]
- Monetization with Play ↗️ [direct]
- Phones, tablets, foldables [direct]
- Android for Cars [direct]
- Android TV [direct]
- Android XR [direct]
- Googlebook [direct]
- ChromeOS [direct]
- Wear OS [direct]
- Games [direct]
- Camera & media [direct]
- Social & messaging [direct]
- Health & fitness [direct]
- Productivity [direct]
- Enterprise apps [direct]
- Latest updates [direct]
- Experimental updates [direct]
- Android Studio preview [direct]
- Jetpack & Compose libraries [direct]
- Wear OS releases [direct]
- Privacy Sandbox ↗️ [direct]
- Design & Plan [direct]
- Learn more [direct]
- Design for Android [direct]
- Mobile [direct]
- Desktop experiences [direct]
- XR Headsets & XR Glasses [direct]
- AI Glasses [direct]
- Widgets [direct]
- Wear OS [direct]
- Android TV [direct]
- Android for Cars [direct]
- Introduction [direct]
- Libraries [direct]
- Navigation [direct]
- Modularization [direct]
- Testing [direct]
- Kotlin Multiplatform [direct]
- Overview [direct]
- Core value [direct]
- User experience [direct]
- Accessibility [direct]
- Technical quality [direct]
- Overview [direct]
- Privacy [direct]
- Identity [direct]
- Fraud prevention [direct]
- Develop [direct]
- Learn more [direct]
- Samples [direct]
- Multidevice support [direct]
- User interfaces [direct]
- Data and files [direct]
- Connectivity [direct]
- Write and debug code [direct]
- Build projects [direct]
- Test your app [direct]
- Performance [direct]
- Command-line tools [direct]
- Gradle plugin API [direct]
- Android Bench [direct]
- Android for Cars [direct]
- Android TV [direct]
- Android XR [direct]
- Wear OS [direct]
- Android Health [direct]
- Better Together [direct]
- Android platform [direct]
- Jetpack libraries [direct]
- Compose libraries [direct]
- Google Play services ↗️ [direct]
- Google Play SDK index ↗️ [direct]
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