How to close apps on Android

Once you launch an app on your Android device, it continuously runs in the background, even if you left it on your Android device. Back out an app doesn't completely close on your device. When several apps get opened and run in the background, the device performance lags out because all the opened apps simultaneously consume the device's RAM. However, it is not a big deal for feature rich devices like Galaxy S9 or Google Pixel 2, but devices having low RAM face some problems.

Android apps running in the background are similar to Windows minimized on your laptop or PC. When you minimize a window screen on a laptop, it doesn't get fully closed; instead, they run in the background. To fully close a window on a laptop, you have to press the X (close) icon located at the top right corner of the screen. But the way to completely close apps on Android phones is different.

So you need to know how to completely close running apps on your Android phone or tablet to improve device speed.

How to Close Apps on Android from the Home Screen

There are a few ways to close running apps on Android. You can close your background running apps from the Home screen or built-in Apps manager app section.

Through the device Home screen, you can instantly close the running apps at any time:

1. The steps and process to close apps on an Android device depends on your phone model and OS version. If you are not sure how your device shows running apps, try all the different ways that are used:
   • Tap or long-press on the small square icon (in some devices, it has three horizontal lines) present at the bottom of the phone or tablet screen.
     
   • Swipe up from the bottom of the device screen (but don't swipe too far; otherwise, the app drawer opens).
   • In Samsung Galaxy phones, tap on the Recent Apps button present at the left of the Home button.
2. Swipe up and down or left and right (varies on the phone model and OS version) the open app you want to close.
   
3. Swipe up the app screen you want to close as you are throwing it off from the screen. Swiping up on the app only works if your apps are listed horizontally.
   Or, for vertically arranged apps, swipe the app left or right to close the app quickly.
   Some Android devices offer a Clear all button that you can use to close all open apps at a single tap.
   Some Android phones also offer an exit (x) icon at the upper-right corner of each opened app screen to close the app. If the three-line button appears at the bottom, tap on it to close all your recently opened apps.
4. When you finish closing entire running apps, choose a space next to the edge of the screen or press the Home button.

How to Close Apps Using the Built-in Apps Manager

Other than the above method, Android smartphones or tablets also have an alternate way to close apps. Every Android device has a built-in apps manager that you can use to close background running apps. Using apps manager, you can also close such apps that are running but don't show up when you follow the above method (closing app using Home screen).

When you use device settings to close running apps, you will even find more options than you'd find swiping methods. This option is not as user-friendly and is designed to kill unresponsive apps rather than smoothly exit them.

1. Launch the device's Settings app and tap on the App management. In some devices, it has Apps & notifications, Application manager, or General > Apps.
   
2. Tap on the App list (or see all) and then find the app you want to completely close. Some devices directly take you to the list of apps screen on your device.
   
3. Choose the app and click on Force stop.
   
4. Tap on Force stop or OK to confirm that you want to close that running app.
   

Note: Once the app is closed, you can reopen it normally. However, the harmful nature of forcing an app to close may lead to some misbehave on the app or device.

How to Stop Running Services on Android

Running services on Android is generally not something that the average user needs to focus on. Especially when there is no default setting option available to perform it; however, if you know what you are doing and need to kill the service running by a particular app, the process is simple.

1. Enable the developer option feature on your Android phone. The developer option is a special mode that facilitates viewing and editing phone settings that the general setting doesn't offer, and a normal user can't see.
2. After enabling the developer option, navigate to its location as Settings > Additional settings and then Developer options. In some devices, it appears on the Settings screen.
   
3. Under the Developer screen, tap on the Running services.
   
4. On the next screen, select the app that is running and consuming the service you want to close.
   
5. Finally, tap on the Stop option to remove the service; if a pop-up screen appears (depending on the device), tap on OK to confirm.
   

Always prefer to close your apps frequently:

Even if you have opened many apps on your Android phone, there is nothing to be worried about that it will not work; your phone will work a little slower than standard performance. And secondly, if you do not close after using the apps on your phone, you will see the device battery draining very fast. To avoid all this, it would be better to close the apps after using them.