diff --git a/.changeset/khaki-carpets-win.md b/.changeset/khaki-carpets-win.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c43eb8ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/khaki-carpets-win.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@capacitor/background-runner": minor
+---
+
+(Android): Replaces the default proguard file proguard-android.txt with proguard-android-optimize.txt which allows proguard optimizations
diff --git a/packages/capacitor-plugin/android/build.gradle b/packages/capacitor-plugin/android/build.gradle
index 00ca7d84..0a7fffd6 100644
--- a/packages/capacitor-plugin/android/build.gradle
+++ b/packages/capacitor-plugin/android/build.gradle
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ android {
     buildTypes {
         release {
             minifyEnabled false
-            proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'
+            proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android-optimize.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'
         }
     }
     lintOptions {