Why can't this application be deactivated after screen is locked? I recently installed WhatsApp. I thought it would be clever to deactivate it while my screen is locked to save battery: data can update when I have my screen active.

But it looks there is something special about this application that prevent it from being deactivated.


I often get notifications involving WhatsApp in high consumption while my phone is locked
there is a red message Can't refresh when closed on it's side when I go to "Battery > Close apps after screen lock" ... well, that's pretty much what I would like!




Anyone knows what I can do to avoid this? (apart from uninstalling this tyrannic application)? Is there a feature I'm missing and that I should change?
WhatsApp employs a mechanism that ensures messages are always notified (as long as data connectivity is present) , which is well explained here How is WhatsApp able to receive messages when not in use?. That's the reason on your device, the red warning is displayed

You can instead Greenify WhatsApp . For details  see greenify questions like How does hibernating an app work technically? and XDA - Greenify

Edit Protected apps feature may be used. I am not sure if this feature exists in the emui version you have. What is protected apps in Huawei phones?