For someone on the go, it is incredibly important to have a good data plan. While more and more people are moving to unlimited data plans, many people have a data limit of 3-20 Gigabyte (GB). As such, it is important to ration your data usage so as not to burn through it in a few days. In a world where we spend most - if not all - of the day using the internet, running out of data can be extremely frustrating and inconvenient. Panda Security has figured out how much data you need, how much you use, and how to keep your usage to the minimum.
On average, young adults use 2.9GB a month, while people over 55 use 1.4GB a month. However, hourly usage can depend on what apps you use. Gaming apps on average use 0.01GB an hour, while an hour of Instagram use will cost you 0.72GB of data. To give you a bit of perspective, 1GB can get you 160 songs on Spotify or 1 hour of hi-res Netflix. 5GB lets you watch 341 YouTube videos or send 170,666 emails. To use up 10GB, you’d have to be on a 45-hour-long Skype call or wander around for 170 hours using Google Maps. Obviously, these aren’t small amounts of data. And still, our internet usage can run through our data plans pretty quickly.
This is often because a lot of the apps we use are really good at draining data. Snapchat, Spotify, Netflix, Facebook, and Instagram are all popular apps that use a lot of data without us even realizing it. For example, Snapchat automatically preloads stories and snaps, even the ones you aren’t intending to look at. All these apps provide ways to reduce such background data usage, which can often be found in their settings. For Snapchat, you can turn on Travel Mode, while for Netflix, you can reduce the video quality to keep data usage low. Apps like Facebook and Instagram autoplay videos, so toggling off that feature is an easy way to reduce your data.
There are also some general steps you can take to reduce your data usage. A good starting point is to disable Background App Refresh on your phone and set up data alerts so you can keep track of how much data you have left. Accessing desktop versions of websites on mobile devices can drain your data, so try to stick to the mobile versions of any sites you look at. Additionally, using WiFi whenever you can is a great habit to start up and an easy way to reduce how much data you use.
These tips and more are conveniently presented in the visual below, so keep it on hand so you can reduce your data usage and even help out friends who run out of data quickly. And if you have an unlimited data plan, the tips and tricks still help you save battery to keep your phone running all day long.
On average, young adults use 2.9GB a month, while people over 55 use 1.4GB a month. However, hourly usage can depend on what apps you use. Gaming apps on average use 0.01GB an hour, while an hour of Instagram use will cost you 0.72GB of data. To give you a bit of perspective, 1GB can get you 160 songs on Spotify or 1 hour of hi-res Netflix. 5GB lets you watch 341 YouTube videos or send 170,666 emails. To use up 10GB, you’d have to be on a 45-hour-long Skype call or wander around for 170 hours using Google Maps. Obviously, these aren’t small amounts of data. And still, our internet usage can run through our data plans pretty quickly.
This is often because a lot of the apps we use are really good at draining data. Snapchat, Spotify, Netflix, Facebook, and Instagram are all popular apps that use a lot of data without us even realizing it. For example, Snapchat automatically preloads stories and snaps, even the ones you aren’t intending to look at. All these apps provide ways to reduce such background data usage, which can often be found in their settings. For Snapchat, you can turn on Travel Mode, while for Netflix, you can reduce the video quality to keep data usage low. Apps like Facebook and Instagram autoplay videos, so toggling off that feature is an easy way to reduce your data.
There are also some general steps you can take to reduce your data usage. A good starting point is to disable Background App Refresh on your phone and set up data alerts so you can keep track of how much data you have left. Accessing desktop versions of websites on mobile devices can drain your data, so try to stick to the mobile versions of any sites you look at. Additionally, using WiFi whenever you can is a great habit to start up and an easy way to reduce how much data you use.
These tips and more are conveniently presented in the visual below, so keep it on hand so you can reduce your data usage and even help out friends who run out of data quickly. And if you have an unlimited data plan, the tips and tricks still help you save battery to keep your phone running all day long.
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