Google Says To Update Instagram To Fix Android Battery Drain Issue

In a rather curious announcement on Wednesday morning, Google told users to update Instagram to “fix a battery drain issue on Android devices.”

This “Battery drain on Android devices” post on the Android Help Community is quite short: “Starting today, Instagram is rolling out an updated app that should fix a battery drain issue on Android devices. Please make sure you have the latest version of the Instagram app (build 382.0.0.49.84) to resolve this issue.”

It does not provide any other details about the problem, including whether a particular manufacturer (Pixel, Samsung, etc.) or Android OS version is impacted. Google just specifies version 382.0.0.49.84 of Instagram, which rolled out via the Play Store today, as having the fix.

Update: In response to some reports about Pixel battery drain with the May 2025 OTA, Google directed us today to the above Android announcement.

We haven’t noticed or heard about any particular problem in recent days with Instagram battery drain. Google must consider this a widespread enough issue to warrant such a public announcement, though it is a major application. In general, Instagram is one of those apps that people — rightly or wrongly — prescribe as being responsible for battery drain. Keep in mind that it is both a camera and video consumption app.