Nowadays, the main trend is the issue of data being exhausted a few minutes after purchase which to me is just like daylight robbery i.e MTN 4GB for N1000 is being exhausted before 24 hours
Normally, Android users are familiar with this scenario; talk more of iPhone Users who consume large data daily just on social media and the rest. We also know that lack of data limits us to getting access to the net.
This same issue is the backbone of why we are all in search of free browsing daily, however, I promise you that by the time you’re done reading this article, you’ll know how to efficiently manage your data and make it go around for you.
We are going to provide a hint that will likely work out, iPhone and Android Users are not exempted from trying this; having known this, If you’re keen on lowering your data usage to save some money, then check out our 8 tips to reducing data usage on your smartphone.
How to Reduce Data Usage on iPhone and Android
The truth is Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, Snapchat and Twitter suck data a lot, and here is how you can put them under control from app settings.
1. WhatsApp – Deactivate Auto-Download
Most times, we set our WhatsApp to auto-download Images, video, and voice notes which can consume data and also space on our disk.
Getting rid of this will enable us to download only relevant images, voice notes and videos without regret, follow the below steps to get started:
- → Go to the “Settings” section in your WhatsApp APP
- → Click on “Data and Storage Usage”
- → Select the “Media Auto-Download” option
- → Deselect all options under “When Using Mobile Data”
- → You can also enable low data usage for WhatsApp Calls.
2. Facebook – Turn OFF Auto-Play
This feature allows videos to autoplay once you’re on it, this feature is also on the YouTube app, and trust me it consumes data a lot, because, it will just autoplay videos while you’re scrolling past them.
Getting rid of this will enable us to download only relevant videos without consuming data, follow the below steps to get started:
- → Go to your Facebook option icon (the three horizontal bars at the top right corner)
- → Click on App Settings (Under help & settings)
- → Click on AutoPlay
- → Select “Never Autoplay Videos“.
⏭ Also, you can activate the “Data Saver” option
- → Navigate to the options icon,
- → Then go to Settings & Privacy
- → Select Data Saver,
- → Toggle the data saver ON.
3. Instagram – Use Less Data
Instagram, the data haunter is ready to wipe away your 180GB just for watching a comedy skit on the platform. To curb this; I will advise you to turn on data saving mode which will help reduce the rate at which your data is being consumed. To set up, kindly follow the settings as illustrated below:
- ↦ Open Instagram options
- ↦ Go to Settings
- ↦ Select Cellular Data Use
- ↦ Then tick Use Less Data
4. Twitter – Deactivate Auto-Play
Auto-Play is the only feature that sucks data on Twitter, it allows the video to play immediately after you’re on it which isn’t advisable if you are the type that saves data, follow the below steps to deactivate this.
- ↦ Go to your Twitter profile icon.
- ↦ Click on Settings and Privacy
- ↦ Select Data Usage and Tick it
↦ OR, Set Video Autoplay to Never
5. SNAPCHAT
- ↦ Go to Snapchat Settings
- ↦ Click on “Manage” under “Additional Services.”
- ↦ Tick the “Travel Mode” box
6. YouTube – Limit Mobile Data Usage
YouTube goes a long way in consuming your data, especially with the catchy content it has on it. However, there’s a way you can curb the way your data is being consumed, and it can be achieved by integrating the below settings into your account.
↦ Open the YouTube App
- ↦ Tap on the profile icon at the top right corner
- ↦ Select Settings
- ↦ Click on General
- ↦ Turn on “Limit Mobile Data Usage”
7. Playstore – Updates Apps Only On WiFi
Without much argument, we all know that Play Store also drains data through auto-updating our apps when we don’t want to, setting this to be done only over WiFi will go a long way to save your data to serve you for other things. Quickly follow the below steps to turn on data saving on Google Playstore.
- ↦ Go to the Google Play store
- ↦ Click on Menu & go to Settings
- ↦ Click on Auto-update apps.
- ↦ Select “Auto-update apps over Wi-Fi only”.
- ↦ You also have the option to choose “Do not auto-update apps“.
8. Restrict Background Data App (Android)
Restricting background data apps will help you monitor which app consumes most of your data. For instance, when you are on WhatsApp; only messages from WhatsApp will be received other platforms will be knocked off till you switch back to the app.
It also helps especially in the aspect of Google Play Store auto-update and Google Drive synchronization as they won’t load on this restricted mode; to restrict background data, kindly follow the below steps.
- Navigate to Settings
- Click on “Data Usage“
- Click on the 3 icons by the right-down side (Position differs).
4. From the menu, select “RESTRICT BACKGROUND DATA”
CONCLUSION
The above tips should go a long way in reducing your data usage on iPhone and also on Android.
That’s all.
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