Android 13 may add a toggle to disable Android’s new background app limitations

Android 12 is a massive update, bringing a host of changes, ranging from the biggest visual overhaul we have seen since Android 5.0 to enhancements like privacy indicators and a new Privacy Dashboard. While most of these changes are welcome, the newest Android version also introduces some rather controversial changes. One such change is the introduction of a pretty aggressive background process killer called “Phantom Processes.” Last month, we reported how the PhantomProcessKiller can run havoc on apps like Termux. But looks like Google will let users disable this arbitrary background app policy in a future Android version.

As spotted by Mishaal Rahman, Google has submitted a patch to AOSP that adds a toggle in Developer Options to turn off the Phantom Process monitoring.

An update on the phantom process issue: Google has just submitted a patch that adds a toggle in Developer Options to disable the monitoring of phantom processes!https://t.co/Nfn2npZMkX

We probably won’t see this until Android 13, though.

CC @agnosticapollo https://t.co/iPP4fO6GAE

— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) December 14, 2021

For the uninitiated, the PhantomProcesskiller is a new mechanism in Android 12 that kills forked child processes started by apps if they’re using excessive CPU while their parent app processes are also in the background. Moreover, the change only allows up to 32 child processes, thus greatly limiting the number of operations an app can complete in the background. But it looks like Google will add a new option to turn off the Phantom Process Killer in a future Android version — likely Android 13.

The description for the patch reads:

Add settings to toggle the phantom process monitoring in dev options

For power users, the monitoring on phantom processes could be turned
off from the Settings->Developer Options->Feature flags.

Developers and power users will be able to disable Phantom Processes by navigating to Settings > Developer Settings > Feature flags. Once disabled, forked child processes that use too much CPU won’t be killed nor they will be subject to the 32 child process limit. However, this exemption will only apply to child processes and not to main app processes.

The toggle to turn off Phantom Process monitoring will likely be added in Android 13. Google could also add the option in Android 12L, a feature drop for Android 12 designed specifically for foldable, tablets, and large-screen devices.

The post Android 13 may add a toggle to disable Android’s new background app limitations appeared first on xda-developers.

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