Key Facts

• The author's Google Maps app was consuming a significant amount of battery power, ranking near the top of his battery usage list, ahead of Gmail and other frequently used apps, despite not having used the app in four days.
• The issue was caused by Google Maps running constantly in the background, pinging the author's location throughout the day, using GPS, Wi-Fi, and mobile network signals to fix his position, which drained the battery.
• The author had previously set the app's location permissions to "Allow all the time" without fully understanding the implications, allowing Maps to access his location even when not in use.
• To fix the issue, the author changed the location permission to "Allow only while using the app", which prevented Maps from running in the background and consuming excessive battery power, and also turned off background data for the app.
• The author noted that some Google Maps features, such as commute suggestions, proactive traffic alerts, and location history, rely on continuous location access, but for him, the battery cost outweighed the benefits, and the change resulted in a noticeable improvement in battery life.