Close Waze completely with one of three methods

Waze stays running in the background on most phones even after you close it, which is why it keeps sending notifications and draining your battery. You can force it shut three ways: swipe it away from your recent apps, turn off background activity in your phone's settings, or uninstall it entirely if you no longer need it.

The fastest method depends on whether you want Waze gone for now or permanently disabled. If you're in the middle of a trip and want to stop it immediately, swiping from recent apps takes five seconds. If Waze keeps restarting or you want it off your phone for good, the settings method or uninstall is more reliable.

Key Takeaways

  • Closing Waze from your recent apps list stops it temporarily, but it may restart on its own if background activity is still enabled.
  • Turning off background app refresh in your phone's settings prevents Waze from running when you're not actively using it.
  • Disabling notifications in Waze settings stops alerts without closing the app entirely.
  • Uninstalling Waze removes it completely, which is the only way to stop it from ever restarting.

Swipe Waze away from your recent apps (temporary)

This method closes Waze immediately but does not prevent it from restarting later. On most Android phones, swipe up from the bottom of the screen to open your recent apps, find Waze, and swipe it upward or to the side. On iPhone, swipe up from the bottom (or swipe left from the right edge on older models) and swipe Waze upward off the screen.

Waze will stay closed until you open it again or until your phone restarts. If Waze keeps reopening on its own, background app refresh is still enabled — move to the next method to turn that off permanently.

Turn off background app refresh for Waze on Android

Open your phone's Settings app and go to Apps or Application Manager. Find Waze in the list, tap it, and look for Battery or App Battery Usage. Tap Battery, then select Restrict or Don't Allow Background Activity. The exact wording varies by phone brand, but you're looking for any option that says "background" or "restrict".

Some Android phones also have a Battery Saver or Adaptive Battery setting. If you see Waze listed there, tap it and choose to restrict its background use. After this change, Waze will only run when you actively open it.

Turn off background app refresh for Waze on iPhone

Open Settings, scroll down to Waze, and tap it. Look for Background App Refresh and toggle it off. If you don't see Waze in the main Settings list, go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh, find Waze in that list, and toggle it off.

You can also turn off notifications from Waze while you're in Settings. Tap Notifications, then select None or turn off Allow Notifications. This stops Waze from sending alerts without closing the app entirely.

Uninstall Waze if you no longer need it

If you want Waze completely off your phone, uninstalling is the only permanent solution. On Android, open Settings > Apps, find Waze, tap it, and select Uninstall. On iPhone, go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage, find Waze, tap it, and select Offload App or Delete App. Offload App removes it but keeps your data; Delete App removes everything.

You can reinstall Waze later from the Google Play Store (Android) or App Store (iPhone) if you change your mind. Uninstalling does not affect any other apps or settings on your phone.

Stop Waze notifications without closing the app

If you want to keep Waze installed but silence the alerts, open Waze and tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the bottom left. Go to Settings > Notifications and toggle off all notification types. You can also do this from your phone's Settings app — go to Apps > Waze > Notifications and turn them off there.

Turning off notifications does not close Waze or stop it from running in the background. If you want it to stop using battery and data entirely, use the background app refresh method instead.

Why Waze keeps running even after you close it

Waze is designed to run in the background so it can send you traffic alerts and location updates. Your phone's operating system allows apps to do this unless you specifically tell it not to. Background app refresh is enabled by default on most phones, which is why Waze restarts automatically.

Turning off background app refresh does not delete Waze or prevent you from opening it manually. It only stops the app from running when you're not actively using it. If you want Waze to work normally when you do open it, just turn background refresh back on in Settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will closing Waze stop it from tracking my location?

Closing Waze from recent apps stops it temporarily, but it may restart if background app refresh is enabled. To fully stop location tracking, turn off background app refresh in Settings or uninstall the app. You can also go into Waze Settings > Permissions and turn off Location access.

Does uninstalling Waze delete my saved places and routes?

If you signed into Waze with a Google account, your saved places and routes are stored in the cloud and will come back when you reinstall. If you did not sign in, uninstalling deletes everything. Check Waze Settings > Account to see if you're signed in before uninstalling.

Can I close Waze without it restarting when I get a call or text?

Incoming calls and texts do not restart Waze. If Waze keeps restarting, background app refresh is still on. Go to Settings > Apps > Waze > Battery and select Restrict or Don't Allow Background Activity. On iPhone, go to Settings > Waze > Background App Refresh and toggle it off.

What's the difference between closing Waze and disabling it?

Closing Waze stops it temporarily but it may restart. Disabling it (by turning off background app refresh) prevents it from running unless you open it manually. Uninstalling removes it completely. Disabling is the middle ground if you want to keep Waze but stop it from running all the time.