The battery drain issue remains a concern for many users, even to the point where we have to sacrifice some features for the sake of battery life. Apple has made significant efforts in managing battery power, such as the low power mode, dark mode, battery health section, and identifying which apps are draining the battery. While using certain apps, you might notice a fast battery drain, and among them, Facebook and Messenger apps are at the top, as pointed out by a former Facebook data engineer. The company may secretly drain the batteries of iPhones and Androids as part of their internal testing.
In an interview with the New York Post, George Howard claimed that he was fired from his job in November for refusing to participate in what is known as "Negative Testing" while working on the Messenger app. Negative Testing is a method of testing a specific app and determining if it can handle incorrect data inputs in areas it's not supposed to. For example, if the user tries to type a letter in a field that requires numeric input, a message "Incorrect data type, please enter a number" would be displayed.
According to George Howard, the Negative Testing technique is used to intentionally cause battery drain on devices. The company tests this by making their app run in the background and making constant requests, which can cause significant battery drain. However, Facebook denies these allegations and states that they prioritize battery optimization for their apps.
The claim of the former employee is a serious matter and has raised concerns about the privacy and ethical implications of the tech industry's testing practices. Nevertheless, the accuracy of the claims remains unverified, and further investigation is necessary.