What Does Force Stop Do to An App? Everything You Must Know

Last Updated on January 12, 2024 7:41 PM IST

Force stopping an app is a common troubleshooting technique on Android devices. But what does force stop do to an app? Is it safe? Will you lose data? When should you use it? Let’s find answers to all the questions about force stopping apps on Android in this blog.

Force stopping an app completely shuts down the app and all its background processes. When you force stop an app, the system closes the app and kills any background services or notifications associated with the app. Essentially, it renders the app inactive until you manually open it again.

The force stop option is found in the App info screen for each app. To access it, go to Settings => Apps or App Manager => See all apps. Tap on the app and then tap Force Stop.

However, you should note that force stopping or force closing an app will not clear the app data or caches. It will only stop the app from functioning, but your date will be intact.

Many users are afraid to press this button even when they need to in fear of what does force stop do to an app. But in order to enhance your smartphone’s performance, you may need to execute it. So, here are a few key reasons you may want to force stop an app on your Android device:

• The app is frozen or unresponsive: If an app freezes or becomes unresponsive, force stopping it will shut it down completely so it can be restarted fresh. This often resolves app freezing issues.
• The app is draining battery: Apps running background processes can sometimes drain your battery quickly. Force stopping the app shuts down these processes and prevents battery drain.
• You want to troubleshoot app issues: Force stopping an app resets it completely, clearing any data or cache. This can help troubleshoot app crashes, bugs, or other issues.
• An app has persistent notifications: Sometimes, app notifications get stuck. Force stopping the app will dismiss any notifications.
• You want to restart an app: Force stopping closes the app so it can be restarted from scratch, often fixing minor performance issues.

Force stopping an app helps reset it to a clean state, resolve app freezing/crashing, stop battery drain, and dismiss stubborn notifications.

Force stopping an app is generally not harmful to your device as it is considered a safe process. As long as you only use it to troubleshoot app issues, force stopping works as intended to restart misbehaving apps.

However, there are a few downsides to avoid:

• Don’t force stop apps unnecessarily: Only force stop apps when troubleshooting issues. There’s no benefit to forcefully stopping normally functioning apps. Don’t make this a regular practice to save the battery of your phone.
• Don’t force stop system apps: Avoid force stopping pre-installed system apps as this can cause instability. System apps need to be enabled in the background for hassle-free performance of your device, so don’t stop them.
• Data loss is possible: Force stopping apps can sometimes cause data loss or the need to log in again. This is very occasional and happens with only a few apps, so you need to keep this in mind.
• Relaunching may consume battery and performance: Relaunching an app after force stop will take time, and it may lead to power consumption.

So, the answer to your question, “Is it safe to force stop an app?” is that as long as you use force-stop cautiously on user-installed apps showing problems, it is considered safe for your device. Do not make force stopping apps a regular habit.

It’s important to understand that force stopping an app doesn’t equate to deleting the data stored on your device. Any data that has already been saved remains intact post the force stop action. However, there are exceptions where certain types of unsaved data might be lost.

For instance, if you have been drafting a note on an app that doesn’t have an auto-save feature, and you force stop the application, you risk losing the unsaved draft.

In the case where an app is involved in a background process like downloading data from the web or uploading data to a server, forcefully stopping it can interrupt these processes. This may sometimes result in data corruption.

After force stopping an app, if you don’t want to use it, you can keep it that way. However, you can also restart the app to get a better and hassle-free experience.

To restart and use an app after the force stop action, you must launch it from your device’s app gallery or home screen. As explained earlier, the app will launch as if it were a fresh installation, and any unsaved data would have been lost.

It’s worth noting that repeated force-stop actions don’t usually yield better results if the initial attempt didn’t rectify the issue. If you face an issue restarting the app after force stopping it, you will need to reboot your device and try again to restart the app.

If you are wondering how to undo a force stop app on Android then let us tell you that there is no specific “undo” option after force stopping an app. However, you can essentially undo a force stop by simply restarting your Android device.

When your device boots back up, the force stopped app will no longer be stopped and will return to normal function. Of course, any unsaved data from when you force stopped it will remain lost. But the app itself will work again as normal.

If you accidentally force stopped an important app that now has issues restarting, rebooting your Android device should undo the force stop action and restore the app.

As stated above, force stopping an app does not delete data saved on the app. Only unsaved data gets lost in this process. When you launch the app, it opens like a fresh app that you had just installed or hadn’t opened in a while.

In some cases, you may need to tweak the following things:

• Logins: You may need to log in again since force stop clears credentials.
• Notifications: You may need to re-enable notifications in the app.
• App settings: Double check options and preferences in the app to make sure they are set as desired.
• Data: Data specifically saved to your device storage will still be there, but you may need to resync app data.

Check core app functionality after force stopping to make sure everything is working as expected. Reconfigure any settings or preferences that were reset back to default.

“Disable” and “Force Stop” are two distinctive methods of managing apps on Android devices. Each serves a unique function, but their impacts and implications vary significantly.

• Force Stop: Stops the app and all processes immediately until you relaunch it. The app remains installed and visible.
• Disable: Prevents the app from running or sending notifications. The app remains installed but is hidden from the home screen until you enable it again.

Key Differences:

• Force stopped apps remain visible; disabled apps are hidden
• Force stop doesn’t clear app data; disable deletes app data
• Force stop takes effect immediately; disable requires a reboot
• Force stop is temporary; disable is permanent until re-enabled

So, force stopping is a temporary solution to stop a misbehaving app at the moment. Disabling an app completely restricts it from running at all until you enable it again.

Force stopping an Android application can be an invaluable troubleshooting tool, useful in solving issues like unresponsiveness, battery drain, and persistent notifications. While safe and does not delete saved data, use with caution if using on system apps as repeated force stops may lead to data loss or instability. Following a force stop, the app can be relaunched, but repeated force stops should be avoided as they may only worsen issues further.

You should immediately force stop or disable the app, if you find any spy app on your android phone. If you are unaware of such apps, do checkout the detailed guide of how to find hidden spy apps on your android phone.