Facebook would voluntarily drain the battery of smartphones

That some social media apps were particularly power-hungry was already common knowledge. That Meta apps, like Facebook and Messenger, can intentionally and unknowingly drain the battery of their users’ smartphones was less so. This is revealed by George Hayward, 33, a former employee of the famous Californian group. This data specialist, who says he was fired last November for refusing to participate in “negative tests”, sued his former company in Manhattan federal court, before finally withdrawing his complaint. But he stands by his charges.

According to him, these internal tests allow the platforms to test certain new features or to solve problems, such as the speed of operation of an app or the loading of images, he confides to the «New York Post». The man, who worked on the Facebook Messenger app, said he was concerned about user safety. The Facebook or Messenger app could drain a smartphone’s battery when its user needs it to contact an emergency person or help. “I said to my manager, ‘It can hurt someone,’ and she said by hurting a few, we can help the many,” said George Hayward.

The ex-employee does not know how many people have been affected by Facebook’s ‘negative tests’. He believes, however, that the company engaged in this practice because he received an internal training document called “How to perform thoughtful negative tests” which included examples of experiments carried out. “I have never seen such a horrible document in my career,” he said.