Google Photos uploading in the background IS a background app refresh situation so not enabling it will mean it doesn't upload or download in the background. It may try to continue for a brief period after you've opened and left the app but it cannot do so behind the scenes entirely without background app refresh. 1. I turned off background app refresh, but apps like safari and YouTube are still prone to refreshing (iPhone SE running iOS 11.4.1) Apps like YouTube and safari are still restarting even though I turned off the background refresh. It looks like the feature is a joke and that it does not stop the restarting of apps. Open the Settings app and go to General. Tap Background App Refresh. Tap Background App Refresh once again. From here, select: Off: To disable background content fetching for all apps and on both Wi-Fi and cellular data. Wi-Fi: If you want Background App Refresh to happen only on Wi-Fi, tap Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi & Cellular Data: Finally, if you want to Here's how to turn "Background App Refresh" off. First, open the "Settings" app on your iPhone. In "Settings," tap "General." In "General," tap "Background App Refresh." Next, you'll see the "Background App Refresh" settings. If you'd like, you can disable Background App Refresh on an app-by-app basis here. Just tap the switch beside each app Background App Refresh. Background App Refresh is a setting that lets apps refresh their content when simply open the Settings app on your iPhone and scroll down to the General section What is iPhone Background App Refresh? Background App Refresh is a setting that allows apps to run in the background of your iPhone, even when you aren't using them. With this setting enabled, your apps can download new content so the information is up-to-date when you open them again. dYD1.