Facebook Secretly Drains Phone Batteries, Alleges Ex-Worker

A former Meta employee dropped a bombshell alleging Facebook and Messenger drain energy from users’ phone batteries without permission.

Data scientist George Hayward said he refused to use the battery-draining feature. When his manager asked why, he said, “This can harm somebody.”

Then, she reportedly justified her command by saying harming a few lets them help the greater masses. That prompted Hayward to file a lawsuit against Meta.

Why does Facebook drain battery life?

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Meta reduces their users’ battery lives for Negative Testing. It intentionally drains device power to test its app features.

George Hayward refused to execute the feature because users may be unable to access their phones during an emergency.

As mentioned above, Hayward’s manager justified the feature by saying harming a few people can help the greater masses. 

In response, the former Meta employee filed a lawsuit against the social media firm in the Manhattan Federal Court. 

His lawyer Dan Kaiser supported his client’s claims that negative testing is dangerous. “It’s illegal, and it’s outrageous that anyone can manipulate the battery of my phone.” 

Moreover, George Hayward claimed that Meta provided training material regarding the controversial feature.

He received a training manual named “How To Run Thoughtful Negative Tests,” which cited examples of how to use the feature.

This claim suggests that Meta has been carrying out such activities in the past. However, the social media giant has not yet released a statement regarding the issue.

How to stop Facebook from draining battery life

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What can Facebook users do in light of these battery-draining claims? We cannot control negative testing, but you could try other ways of preserving battery life. 

First, you may maintain your phone’s juice by turning off Facebook video autoplay. Start by tapping Menu in the bottom-right corner.

Next, tap the gear icon to open Settings. Scroll down to the Settings & Privacy section, tap the Media option, and then the Media and Contacts section.

Tap the Autoplay option and then select the Never Autoplay Videos button. Second, you could stop Facebook from draining battery life by turning off its notifications.

Head to your phone’s Settings, then choose the Notifications options. Next, scroll down to the Facebook app and toggle off the Allow Notifications options.

Third, you could prevent other apps from accessing Facebook location data. Begin by opening the Facebook app and tapping the Menu option and the gear icon. 

Open the Location Services tab, then select the Go to Device Settings option. Next, choose the apps that would access Facebook’s location data.

Conclusion

Meta is under fire after a former employee filed a lawsuit for allegedly reducing user battery life without permission.

At the time of writing, we do not have more details regarding George Hayward and negative testing. Also, Meta has not commented on the claims.

You may try the tips above to maintain your phone’s battery life when using Facebook. Also, you can catch more digital updates at Inquirer Tech.