You've been charging your smartphone all wrong

All smartphone batteries have a limited lifespan, but the common habit of charging phones overnight could actually be shortening that lifespan, according to a battery-technology expert.Smartphone companies like Apple, Samsung, and LG aren't too bothered about whether you charge your phone overnight, and Google says most phones have systems in place to protect your phone's battery from overcharging.But at the end of the day, smartphone batteries still don't like being at 100% for too long.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you might be reducing your phone battery's lifespan with certain charging behaviors.

Specifically, if you often charge your phone overnight or keep it plugged in for hours after it's reached 100%, you're accelerating the aging process of lithium-ion smartphone batteries.

"If you're going to charge your phone to 100% and keep it at 100% — just keep on charging and charging overnight — this will have negative influence on aging," Dominik Schulte, the managing director of the German battery-technology consultancy firm BatterieIngenieure, told Business Insider.

Indeed, as a lithium-ion battery ages, the chemistry within changes and becomes less efficient at storing and delivering power to your device.

To be sure, all lithium-ion batteries age and have a limited lifespan. No matter what you do, your phone's battery capacity — which translates to its lifespan — will degrade as you use it. But you can have a say in how quickly your smartphone battery ages.

Meanwhile, the companies behind the smartphones in your hands and pockets don't seem overly concerned about you letting your phone charge for too long.

Check out what you need to know about charging your smartphone's battery:

Original author: Antonio Villas-Boas