If you’re like many smartphone owners, there are a lot of apps on your device that you can’t stop using. This is fine for getting all the information you need in one place, but it might be time to think about how much data these apps use.
Media streaming apps such as Netflix, YouTube, etc., and other social media apps, are some of the highest data-guzzling apps you should consider getting rid of if you’re getting a high bill each month.
Data use can quickly add up, so it’s essential to know how much data you’re using. Whether trying to conserve data or save money on your monthly plan, you should control apps like these.
This article breaks down the apps on your phone that consume the most data and some tips for reducing overall data usage and checking app data usage.
How To Check App Data Usage
Before we dive in to see which apps generally use the most data, we should first know how to see data usage for apps.
There are a few ways to check the data usage of your apps. You can view each app’s data usage in the settings, or use a data monitoring tool like GlassWire, etc.
The following steps will show you how to view data consumption statistics in your phone’s settings.
- Open your phone’s Settings, regardless of whether it’s an iPhone or Android.
- View your apps’ data consumption on iPhone or Android.
- If you have an iPhone, you can see how much data the apps use by going to the “Cellular” option.
- If you have an Android, you can see your app’s data usage under “Connections” > “Data Usage”.
Checking app data usage can help you better understand which apps use more data than necessary and make changes where necessary.
What Kind of Apps Use the Most Data?
Now that we’ve figured out how to check app data usage, the next thing we can look at is what kind of apps use the most data.
Let’s take a look at some of the categories of most data-hungry apps and see how they use up your data plan.
Video Streaming Apps
Video streaming apps like Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime, etc., use much data. This is because these apps use a lot of bandwidth to stream videos.
If you’re watching a lot of video content, your data usage will probably skyrocket—especially if you’re streaming in high quality or at higher bitrates.
Music Streaming Apps
Spotify, Apple Music, and other music streaming apps can consume a lot of data, not quite as much as video streaming apps, but still a considerable amount.
Spotify and Apple Music, in particular, can eat up as much as 60 MB per hour.
Social Media Apps
Social media apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc., are notorious for using a lot of data.
When you’re on one of these apps, you’re constantly getting new content and updates in the form of videos and images, which consumes a lot of data.
Web Browsers
Google Chrome is one of the most popular browsers today, but it is also one of the most data-hungry web browsers.
And that means that when browsing the web with Google Chrome, your smartphone consumes a lot of data, which can leave a dent in your monthly data plan.
How To Reduce Overall Data Usage
Reducing data usage on your smartphone or tablet is essential because it conserves your cellular data and can help you keep more of your hard-earned money.
Below are some tips that can help you minimize your overall data usage.
- Lower the video quality when streaming in apps such as Netflix, YouTube, etc.
- On an Android, enable the Data Saver option; on an iPhone, enable Low Power Mode to conserve data.
- Turn off the Auto-Play feature on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
- Enable Travel Mode in Snapchat to stop the preloading of videos.
These options will help you reduce your phone’s overall data usage.
Conclusion
By taking these simple steps, not only will you save money on your cellular plan, but you will also be preserving precious bandwidth for other uses.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are several reasons your data usage might be high, such as streaming high-quality content or enabling auto-updates.
By turning off background data usage, you can prevent apps from using your cellular network when they are closed.
Streaming HD videos is by far the biggest culprit when it comes to draining your monthly data plan,
Streaming 4K videos on Netflix or YouTube will consume between 5 and 12 GB of data per hour, but lower-quality videos use less.
