Q: Is there an app that turns off apps running in background?

No, there is no such app nor need of one.

See this article for further explanation:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4211

Best of luck.

The vast majority of apps cannot and do not run in the background.  For more info on Multitasking...

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4211

http://whenwillapple.com/blog/2010/04/19/iphone-os-4-multitasking-explained-agai n/

http://www.macworld.com/article/1164616/how_ios_multitasking_really_works.html

http://speirs.org/blog/2012/1/2/misconceptions-about-ios-multitasking.html

Well I believe there is a need for one.

An app called SYS Activity Manager (and reportedly, other similar apps too) shows camera running in background.

I can receive emails, VoIP calls and texts, updates from my city's transit service app and they don't even show in the double tap menu. Some of them happen even without notification for them turned off. Lord knows how many other apps run like that.

So yes, for some of us who run their phones on something called "battery" and "wireless data", there is a serious NEED for viewing what apps are running in background and a way to pick and close them.

Your belief is completely incorrect, and you obviously have no understanding of how multi-tasking works on iOS devices.

Try reading and understanding: http://speirs.org/blog/2012/1/2/misconceptions-about-ios-multitasking.html

hah. I may have little understanding how this works (Level 1 for a reason) but I am really really sick and tired of getting referenced to that same kind of links.

Also, I wasn't even talking about multi-tasking bar. I need a way to close apps that don't show up in multi-tasking bar but still uses RAM and battery power.

Well, you can't and you don't need to on iOS.

Only essential system processes/apps that are part of the OS can truly run in the background unhindered. The OS automatically handles these (sleeping, waking, killing and launching them as necessary) and there is no user accessible functionality for managing them.

If you want a mobile operating system where the user has to control system processes and background tasks manually, feel free to buy a mobile phone from 10 years ago. Mobile OSs have moved on since then, and such technical knowledge and manual control over such things is no longer required.

"Oh you think schools need to be improved? Don't come to school at all, problem solved!" :/

Thank you for your feedback. Oh what could we do without you?

The apps I mentioned are in no way "essential processes/apps that are part of the OS" and they do use battery power and wireless data even when I need to save them.

snozdop wrote:

 

Well, you can't

 

Well, that answers my questions.

snozdop wrote:

 

... and you don't need to on iOS.

 

and that doesn't.

.

BTW, since there is no possible way to legitimately kill tasks, are there higher capacity batteries for iPhone 5?

http://www.mophie.com/

remnian, your problem is not the same as that of the OP: start a new thread insteadof hacking this one. And do not show your emotions like you do here here.

The apps I mentioned are in no way "essential processes/apps that are part of the OS" and they do use battery power and wireless data even when I need to save them.

You mentioned the camera app - which doesn't run in the background, but the camera frameworks may still be resident (but frozen) in memory if it has been used recently and those are part of the OS.

I can receive emails, VoIP calls and texts, updates from my city's transit service app

All of those are handled by the system multitasking processes which are part of the OS. POP emails are only fetched when you open the email app (or on the interval you've set in Settings), but the app itself may still reside (frozen) in memory if it has been used recently. Background processes exist to receive Push email notifications. As the purpose of a Push email account is to receive notification of new emails instantly, something has to be running to receive those notifications. If you don't want instant notification of emails, don't use an email account that is designed for that purpose, or turn off notifications in Settings.

Since incoming VOIP calls are initiated by a third-party, something needs to be running to receive them as you won't usually know when you'll be called. VOIP apps can be disconnected (signed out of) from within the app, thereby stopping the processes that run to receive VOIP calls.

If you start a new app, and it requires more memory to run than is currently free, the OS will automatically close the least recently used app(s) until enough free memory is available. It's not something a user needs to do.

Every phone on the planet capable of receiving text messages has to have some process running in memory to receive them, otherwise you wouldn't get any texts. As receiving texts is a fundamental function of any mobile phone, I don't see why you would need to stop that process.

Updates (push notifications) from transit and other apps can be configured and turned off in the Notifications section of Settings.

Requiring a task manager is not the Apple-way of doing multi-tasking. See: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/08/jobs-if-you-see-a-stylus-or-a-task-manager-th ey-blew-it/

If you don't like the way Apple designed multi-tasking in iOS, other phone operating systems may be more suitable for your needs.

As a new iPhone4 owner, I too have been looking for a way to close all of the apps that are running in the background. It seems the more apps I download, the shorter my battery life gets.

I found SEVERAL websites that explain how to turn off all of the apps that are running in the background.

http://www.theiphonemom.com/how-to-turn-off-apps/

http://www.wikihow.com/Close-iPhone,-iPad-and-iPod-Touch-Apps

When I followed these instuctions on TheiPhoneMom's website, I was amazed at all of the apps that seemed to be running! Camera, Videos, Photos, eBay, Clock, Calender, Calculator and on and on.... No wonder my battery was running down after about 8 hours!

• Tap the home button twice.
• At the bottom of the screen you’ll see a row app icons. These are  the apps that are running. Slide your finger to move forward or backward  through the apps. Chances are you’ll have more than the four that first  show up.
• Touch one of the app icon’s and hold your finger on it until they  all start wiggling. A small red circle will appear at the top left of  the icon.
• Tap on the red circle and the app icon will disappear. The app is now no longer running in the background.
• When you’re done shutting things down tap the home button and the apps will stop wiggling.
• Tap the home button again to return to your home screen.
• These steps will work even if you are currently using an app. In  other words, you don’t have to be on the home screen to bring up the row  of running apps.

I just did this "tweak" so I'll have to see how well it really effects my battery life. I'm hoping for the best...

Excuse me for saying so, but it seems like most of you responders didn't understand the question or work for Apple. The original question was "how do I turn off apps running in the background or is there an app that does that" and your response was "no there isn't one and you don't need it!". I've been working with Windows based computers for the last 20+ years and this is my first iPhone4 after purchasing an iPod Touch, so I'm not computer stupid, maybe just Apple niave.  Basically, you are telling us we are a bunch of idiots for even asking.. Check out the links above and yes, you CAN turn off all of the apps that are running in the background.

I normally don't sign up for websites because I know it get's into a debate and degrades into nothing that had to do with the original topic, but some of these replies show me the arrogants of the responders or the lack of understanding to the original (and following) questions.

Flame me all you want....

iPhone4user

If you have twenty or so running (not exceptional for kids playing with the iPhone): just turn off the iPhone (with the Power button and slider), then turn on.

iPhone4user2014 wrote:

 

Excuse me for saying so, but it seems like most of you responders didn't understand the question or work for Apple. The original question was "how do I turn off apps running in the background or is there an app that does that" and your response was "no there isn't one and you don't need it!". I've been working with Windows based computers for the last 20+ years and this is my first iPhone4 after purchasing an iPod Touch, so I'm not computer stupid, maybe just Apple niave.  Basically, you are telling us we are a bunch of idiots for even asking.. Check out the links above and yes, you CAN turn off all of the apps that are running in the background.

No, we're not telling you you're idiots for asking. We're telling you that this is not a Windows computer, that what you think you should be doing based on your Windows experience is not correct. And personally, I'm more inclined to believe what Apple says about how their devices work than random answers on Wikihow.

However, you my believe what you wish and use your device in the way you see fit. If you want to spend your time deleting apps from the Recents tray (which is what you're doing, not necessarily closing out running apps), it's your time to spend. 

Best of luck.

In Windows you can not stop drivers, and other system software components that run to keep the system going, you are getting problems doing that. You can stop running applications. That you can do in iOS and OSX, not running internal system pieces of software. Like Meg says.