THE apps that use the most data are typically the platforms folks use the most – think popular social media and streaming destinations.
But there are five changes users can make in their settings to limit the amount of data these platforms can eat up.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the six apps secretly sucking up your data and consequently racking up your phone bills are these:
- Netflix
- Snapchat
- Spotify
- YouTube
The first big change is to limit how much data can be spent on these apps.
If you’re an iPhone user, you can do this by heading into your settings, and following these steps:
Open Settings > Mobile Data (or Cellular in the US) > turn off the toggles for apps your don’t want to use mobile data.
This means they will only load up content when you’re connected to Wi-Fi.
Alternatively, if you’re an Android user, you can stop apps using mobile data in the background.
Open Settings > Apps > select your chosen app > click Mobile data and Wi-Fi> switch the toggle off for Background Data.
Autoplaying Videos
Next, you can stop apps like Facebook, Twitter and Netflix stop autoplaying videos.
Videos eat up a lot of data, which can happen unintentionally when the autoplay feature is switched on.
- Open the app, tap the triple-line button in the lower-right corner and then tap Settings.
- Select Account Settings and then tap Videos and Photos.
- Tap Autoplay and then choose either On Wi-Fi Connections Only or Never Autoplay Videos.
- Open the Twitter app, tap the Me button in the lower-right corner.
- Tap the gear icon at the top of your profile page and select Settings.
- Tap Data usage.
- Tap Video autoplay or just High-quality video and then choose either Wi-Fi only or Never.
Netflix
- Open the app and go to your Account page settings.
- Then toggle Autoplay previews while browsing on all devices to off.
Offline content
The third trick to do make sure apps like Spotify and Netflix know when you want to consume content offline, while you’re not using mobile data out and about.
Spotify
- When viewing an album or playlist, just tap the toggle switch for Download to add the tracks to your phone so you no longer will need to stream them.
Netflix
- Open the app, click your profile icon in the top right corner of the screen and tap App Settings.
- Open up the Mobile Data Usage page and switch off the toggle for Automatic data usage and opt for Wi-Fi Only.
Streaming quality
Apps like Spotify, Netflix and YouTube all give users the option to choose what type of quality they want to stream videos in.
If you’re streaming in the highest quality, this can really rinse your monthly data allowance.
Spotify
- Tap Your Library in the bottom-right corner and then tap the gear icon in the top-right to open settings and tap Streaming Quality.
- You’ll see four options: Automatic, Normal, High and Extreme– it’s best to choose normal so you’re still getting good quality streaming while using Wi-Fi but not extreme quality when using mobile data.
Netflix
- Open the app and head to the Mobile Data Usage section in the settings.
- Here you can choose what video quality you want to stream in.
- Automatic: The Netflix app selects a setting that balances data usage and video quality. You can watch about four hours per GB of data.
- Wi-Fi Only: Stream only while connected to Wi-Fi.
- Save Data: Watch about six hours per GB of data.
- Maximum Data:
- Highest possible quality for your device and the TV show or movie you’re watching.
- Can use 1GB per 20 minutes or more, depending on your device and network speed.
- Recommended only if you have an unlimited data plan.
YouTube
- Open the YouTube, tap the account profile button in the upper-right corner and tap Settings.
- Tap to turn on the toggle switch for Play HD on Wi-Fi only.
- While you are in settings, scroll down and tap to turn on the toggle switch for Upload over Wi-Fi only if you are a YouTube auteur that regularly uploads videos.
Pre-loading data
If you’re concerned too much of your data is being spent on Snapchat, you can stop the app from pre-loading data.
Pre-loading makes sure all Stories and Snaps immediately appear whenever you open the app to check your feed – but it’s pretty unnecessary and uses data.
Snapchat
- To turn this off, open the Snapchat app and swipe down to see the profile screen.
- In the upper-right corner, tap the gear icon.
- Scroll down and tap Manage and then tap to turn on Travel Mode.
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