How Doze works

Doze Mode activates when a device is on battery, screen off, and stationary for a period. The system then suspends background network access, ignores most wake locks, and defers AlarmManager alarms, syncs, and jobs.

Periodically the device exits into a brief maintenance window, during which deferred work, syncs, and jobs all run at once, then returns to idle. As idle time grows, these windows are spaced farther apart. Android 7.0 added a lighter, on-the-go Doze that triggers with the screen off even while moving.

Apps can be exempted via the battery optimization allowlist, but Google Play restricts which app categories may request that exemption. Time-critical delivery still uses high-priority Firebase Cloud Messaging rather than working around Doze.

Impact on a cleaner

Doze limits when a cleaner's background cleanup can run. Periodic WorkManager scans are batched into maintenance windows instead of firing on a strict schedule, so an overnight idle scan may complete in bursts rather than continuously.

This is why a cleaner schedules heavy filesystem walks with idle and charging constraints: those conditions align naturally with Doze, letting the OS run the scan during maintenance windows without the user noticing battery drain.