If you keep tabs on your Android app updates in the Play Store, you might have noticed something odd: You have an app called “Android Pulse” on your phone. Most of us have way too many apps on our phones, and it’s easy to forget that we downloaded some of them—especially when we install them once and never use them again. But I’d wager that not only do you have no recollection of downloading Android Pulse, but you have no idea what Android Pulse even is.
I had certainly never heard of Android Pulse before Monday morning, though I admit I spend far more time on iOS than on Android. Luckily, I don’t think any level of Android knowledge or use would prime one to know about the app, as it appears Android Pulse is only three days old. As reported by 9to5Google, Android Pulse started appearing in Play Store updates as early as Saturday morning. In fact, its Play Store listing shows that it was released on August 21 of this year by none other than Google itself. And yet, after only three days on the Play Store, Android Pulse has over 10 million downloads.
Android Pulse has been working in the background on your phone
As it turns out, Google didn’t silently install a random app on tens of millions of Android users’ devices. Rather, it’s the Play Store listing itself that’s new, not Android Pulse. According to its Play Store description, Android Pulse “facilitates rule distribution for anomaly detection in critical system resource consumption by the Android operating system and installed applications.”
In layman’s terms? Android Pulse keeps a virtual eye out for any suspicious processes that consume excessive system resources in both Android and your phone’s apps. There are many possibilities there: It may be that Android Pulse looks for apps that put an unnecessary strain on the CPU or GPU, or system processes that drain your battery more than usual. Whatever the case, Android Pulse monitors for unusual activity affecting your phone and how it functions. And despite its new “app,” there isn’t much you can do with it. It isn’t even clear if Android Pulse helps Android OS fix itself, or if Google simply receives the reports to help with future stability updates.
What do you think so far?
Interestingly, while the Play Store says the app is three days old, APKMirror says its first iteration dropped in March. Whatever the case, Android Pulse only made itself known this weekend, so it’s news to most—if not all—of us.
What should I do about Android Pulse?
The short answer? Nothing. Android Pulse appears to be a background system resource that just so happens to appear in app form. In fact, based on screenshots from Android Authority, it doesn’t even appear that you can uninstall it. You might be able to disable or force stop Pulse, but I’m not sure you’d want to. The “app” is designed to root out system hogs; I suspect it won’t become one itself.
