Battery optimization mode

Kontalk will ask you to be put in the battery optimization whitelist, so the system will not disable it when not used.

Android 6.0 Marshmallow introduced a new power-saving feature called Doze mode. This feature allows the system to defer background activity for apps when the device is unused for long periods of time. Among other things, it totally suspends network connections for background apps.

Kontalk needs network connection and Doze mode is not really designed for instant messaging apps, unless they pass through Google (proprietary) communication channel. Technically it's a good thing, but since Kontalk is a distributed network and a FLOSS project, we can't really rely on Google to work.

Kontalk is already heavily optimized. We designed a very smart algorithm to save as much power and network traffic as possible, but keeping real-time delivery. If your device supports push notifications (Google Play version only), the app will disconnect from the server altogether when the app is not being used, leveraging push notifications. And even if you don't have push notifications, the long-lived connection is optimized to periodically ping the server depending on network condition and stability.

If you have issues with battery consumption concerning Kontalk, please help us improve it! Discuss it on our forum or open an issue. Thanks!