A Bug in Google Messages Might Be Draining Your Battery

An anonymous reader shares a report: According to 9to5Google, a recent bug in Google's Messages app on Android phones left the camera running in the background -- a great way to both heat up your phone and run down your battery. The Google Messages app allows you to easily take a photo directly from the app and attach it to a chat message. According to the article in 9to5Google, the camera app would occasionally keep running, even when you did not have it on screen.

Reality check

[fph il quozientatore]

Pray tell, why the actual f*** does the Messages app have enough permissions to open the camera in the background? Are we sure that's not problem #1 here?

Re:

[BladeMelbourne]

Because people can take photos within the Messages app itself using either the front or the back camera. It would seem it uses the camera app behind the scenes, rather than duplicating the photo taking code into the Messages app.

Re:

[ZiggyZiggyZig]

It's more likely something that has to do with a change in the strategy Android uses to pause or shutdown apps when they go to background (see Activity lifecycle [android.com]). I notice Google documentation was last updated on October 27 last year. Not sure what changed. Not really fresh news either.

I also noticed my camera staying on a bit longer than usual after using it lately.

Re:

[slazzy]

Still, there's no reason to take photos when the app doesn't have the foreground. Well, there is a reason involving three letter agencies

Re:

[Merk42]

Because the user granted it those permissions, which they could easily deny.

Why does it request those permissions?
It allows a user to take a photo right in messages and send it, rather than taking a photo, saving it, then attaching it in a message.
The user could easily just deny Messages that permission, lose out on that particular functionality, but still use everything else.

Re:

[thegarbz]

Pray tell, why the actual f*** does the Messages app have enough permissions to open the camera in the background?

I have a better question: Why would Messages app not have enough permissions to do so? It's literally a standard function in *every* messaging app be that Telegram, Messenger, iMessage, WhatsApp, or this one being discussed, not only in terms of sending photos and video calling, but also for things like QR code scanning (which WhatsApp uses to link devices such WhatsApp's PC app to the phone).

I'm not sure what you think "background" actually means by the way. In no cases is there are a requirement for what

Easily checked

[darkain]

On the latest Android (at least on my Pixel), this is easy to check. EVERY time the camera is active, regardless of app, it shows an icon for it up near the wifi/cell icons.

This isn't limited to just the Messenger app either. I see apps all the time (Instagram, Twitter, etc) after I use the camera to make a post, will have the camera still active. I have to close out the apps sometimes to release the camera access.

It really feels more like a bug with Android as a whole, not the Messages app itself.

Re:

[LodCrappo]

I know what you're talking about but at least on my pixel 6 that indicator does not display when this bug is happening. The phone gets unusually hot and battery drops, but no little green dot telling me the camera is active. Denying messages access to the camera seems to prevent it.

Re:

[thegarbz]

On my Galaxy A72 the indicator is lit when this bug occurred.

ok, SS7...

[dowhileor]

Is draining y'alls batteries. got it.

The bane of my phone existence

[Gornkleschnitzer]

"Camera is performing image processing service".... I have awoken to a dead phone many times thanks to this bug. Thanks for that, Google.

I always know when it's happening, because for me in particular, any camera app will hang with a black screen while the bug is active. If I'm smart that day, I take that as a prompt to reboot the phone.

Re:

[bill_mcgonigle]

Useful warning, thanks. Is this happening even when your phone is plugged in (while you sleep)?

Re:

[dohzer]

Yeah, I'm confused. Doesn't every tech-savvy person habitually charge their phone overnight? Or are there other people out there like my Mother who are constantly on 4% battery?

Re:

[Gornkleschnitzer]

I have limited trust in lithium batteries and specifically avoid charging my phone when I'm not conscious. I plug it in typically when I notice it's under 50%, often using a car charger on the way to or from work. Other than an unnoticed camera bug, I've never had it low on battery in the morning.

Most likely the camera bug would still be present if I did charge overnight, but would likely result in the phone getting even warmer.

not mine

[drinkypoo]

Not mine, I use simple messages now. Still have to use the official dialer though, not because you can't replace it, but because you can't use it even when you want to unless it's set as the system dialer. I don't know if that's how it has to be, but there's no good reason not to permit multiple dialers.

Re:

[drinkypoo]

Laughs in iPhone

You mean where you can't change your dialer, and you have to root your device even to change the dialer's font? I see Apple permits you to make the text on the buttons bold as an accessibility feature, but that's about it. You really showed me!

Re:

[cascadingstylesheet]

Laughs in iPhone

You mean where you can't change your dialer, and you have to root your device even to change the dialer's font? I see Apple permits you to make the text on the buttons bold as an accessibility feature, but that's about it. You really showed me!

I know, right? Insane. "Ha, you fools, we don't get to change anything at all, so there!"

samsung phones have a notification

[ltcdata]

Thankfully, samsung phones with one ui 4+ have an indicator that the camera is in use by an app.

Re:

[dohzer]

Plus a whole lot of un-removable bloatware. That's why I made the move away from Sammy.

left the camera running in the background

[nospam007]

Honi soit qui mal y pense.