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Google Finalizes Wake‑Lock Battery Metric in Android Vitals, Play Store Warnings Begin in 2026

Developers now receive Android Vitals alerts based on defined wake‑lock thresholds to pinpoint energy‑hungry background behavior.

Overview

  • The excessive partial wake locks metric has moved out of beta and is now a permanent Core/Android Vitals measure available to all developers.
  • A user session is classified as excessive when it records more than two cumulative hours of non‑exempt partial wake locks within a 24‑hour period.
  • An app crosses the unacceptable behavior threshold if at least 5% of its sessions over the past 28 days are excessive, which triggers notifications in Android Vitals.
  • Beginning March 1, 2026, affected apps may receive prominent battery‑use warnings on their Play Store pages and can be demoted or excluded from recommendation areas.
  • Google developed the metric with Samsung and is expanding Android Vitals analysis tools, while exempting system‑held wake locks that deliver clear user benefits.