10 Common Smartphone Apps That Are Killing Your Data
As might be expected, then, Netflix also one-ups YouTube in terms of high data usage. The data consumption stats for using Netflix on a browser are themselves high: at standard definition, Netflix videos burn through up to 1 GB per hour; and increasing the quality to Full HD or 4k brings the hourly video consumption up to 3 GB or 7 GB respectively. On the mobile app, watching content at the "Maximum Data" mobile data usage setting can swallow more than 1 GB every 20 minutes. And the "Automatic" setting, for balancing video resolution and data expense, takes roughly 1 GB in four hours.
Like YouTube, Netflix also aims for non-buffering in the user experience. A major consequence of loading future parts of a video is that viewers who do not eventually finish a video would have expended more data than they used. To conserve data, in general, Netflix has options to reduce the quality of videos and downloads, watch videos at only a chosen quality, or toggle on the "Save Data" setting that automatically configures the app for reduced data usage.
There's been a lot of talk about software updates and support in recent years, and it makes sense why. Not only do software updates often bring exciting new features, making a device you've had for a year or two feel fresh, they often carry important security patches that can be vital to keep attackers' hands off your data. Most Android manufacturers offer at least two years of software updates nowadays, with some brands, like Google and Samsung, going the extra mile for up to five years of security updates.
While there's a certain anticipation and excitement around software updates, especially when they contain new features or bug fixes, there are times when you might not want to get an automatic update. Sometimes software updates introduce bugs instead of squashing them, and sometimes there's a degree of performance degradation involved with software updates — especially when it comes to older devices. Sometimes you just don't feel like having to deal with a surprise update that forces a long reboot.
Android gives you a way to disable both automatic operating system and app updates, so you won't have to worry about an update springing up on you when you least expect it. For the record, we recommend keeping automatic updates enabled because it can be easy to fall behind. But it's your phone, so if you i
Note that depending on your Android manufacturer and version, the options may have slightly different names. Sony, for example, buries the update options under "Advanced" in "System," and Google's Pixel devices require you to enable developer options and disable automatic updates in the developer options. If you're struggling to find where the update options are, use the search function in the settings app to search for "Update."
After you've completed these steps, automatic updates will be off, meaning when a new update drops, you will have to go into settings and manually install it. Disabling Android system updates is one thing, and will stop your device from receiving both feature and security updates, but if you're trying to reduce data consumption or stop app updates for some reason, you have to delve into the Play Store settings.
After you've set your apps to "Don't auto-update," your apps will no longer automatically update, which is great if you know of a known bug, but it might cause instability in some apps that rely on a connection to a server to function. Banking apps, online games, and social media services all might experience some form of instability or incompatibility if left out of date for long enough. For this reason, if you notice any strange behavior using any of your apps, an update should be your first course of action.
Over the past decade, the smartphone has gradually positioned itself at the core of human life. Almost every activity today revolves around smartphones, be it interacting with friends, hosting professional collaborations, or relaxing for some entertainment on the weekend. A major reason for this smartphone explosion lies in its versatility: with easy access to the internet and a combination of ever-improving hardware and software features, it enables software developers to build a variety of applications and deliver experiences that people love.
In terms of data consumption, however, some applications may be going too far to deliver these experiences to their users. Obtaining data to use the internet already costs a lot of money: the average American, for instance, spends almost $100 per month and about $1,166 annually on internet plans and streaming subscriptions only (via Reviews.org). And with frequent use of data-demanding apps and services, it is not uncommon to spend up to thrice the average amount on data
Smartphone apps guzzle data in a variety of ways. Platforms like TikTok, which provides a new and high-quality video with every swipe, consume data through these rapid video downloads. Similarly, classic social media apps like Instagram and Facebook hook users on not only viewing multimedia posted by others but also posting theirs in high quality. And most notoriously, many smartphone apps consume data while running in the background. Today we're taking a look at a few common apps that are also notorious data hogs, along with a few suggestions on how to keep them in check.
Instagram originally rose to fame by focusing on photos. The app still retains some features characteristic of its early release: more emphasis on media (and less on text), high-resolution video and imagery, and of course, filters. Due to these features, it was immediately evident that Instagram would require more data than Facebook — widely perceived as the social media standard of the time — for a smoother experience.
With the addition of more functionality over the years and a change in how users navigate the platform, Instagram's data consumption has certainly increased. In terms of functionality, there are now Instagram Stories and Instagram Reels, more filters and edits for uploading media, and more integrations with third-party apps. With respect to use patterns, there's a noticeable increase in the number of videos posted, as well as stark competition among "insta celebrities" for a presence on the Explore page.
It's no surprise, then, that spending an hour daily on Instagram for a week can run your data balance down by 4.2 GB — if you're only scrolling through your home feed. The app will consume more data during uploads, averaging about 2MB per photo and much more for videos. Instagram users are provided with several options to limit data usage: stop pre-loading of videos, view high-resolution media using Wi-Fi only, or upload low-quality media. But all of these come at the cost of a smooth, fast, and enjoyable experience, which is Instagram's major selling point.
TikTok
Along the stretch of content creation history, short videos stand out as a monumental and desired feature of social media apps. Instagram has Stories and Reels, YouTube has Shorts, and Snapchat videos are concise by design. Currently, though, no app dominates the short video space more strongly than TikTok, a platform that has risen so rapidly among the ranks. There are presently over 1 billion monthly active TikTok users, indicating that the app has outperformed projections to reach this figure by 2025.
Similar to Instagram, TikTok offers a slew of features that encourage its users to upload as frequently as they consume. Spurred by the desire to entertain people from everywhere and the status of having millions of followers, TikTokers spend several hours contributing to and receiving from the platform. But while TikTok's focus on short videos might give the impression that the app is data efficient, this is certainly not the case: users quickly discover that the platform tops the chart of data-guzzling social media apps.
Statistically, one hour of going through your TikTok feed consumes about 840MB of data. Scaling this up to the weekly level, it's easy to see how 10 GB worth of data could be used up by TikTok alone. And users who upload videos frequently can expect to use more than these amounts. All in all, the high data demands of TikTok perfectly illustrate the challenge of managing data for not just one application but the entire suite of smartphone apps run by the user.
YouTube
With up to 500 hours of video uploaded to YouTube per minute, the platform services more than two billion active users every month. An observed feature of frequent YouTube use is the habit of users to binge-watch several videos in one niche — or by one creator — for hours on end. And whether these videos are on the latest tech gadgets or mouth-watering food recipes, viewers will not hesitate to exchange large amounts of data for such content.
But the excitement of using the platform quickly disappears upon receipt of a low data notification. And for many users, this notification comes quicker than expected. A detailed YouTube data usage experiment confirmed that YouTube zaps up to 2.7 GB for every 60 minutes of watching videos at 720p (HD) resolution and high bitrate (via Android Authority). This data consumption rises up to 23 GB per hour at 2160p (4k) resolution, and even at the lowest quality of 144p, the app still uses more than 1 MB per minute of video.
YouTube also consumes data "in advance" by loading videos in a fashion that prevents buffering, such that the first five minutes of a 10-minute video could already be available with the user still at the two-minute mark. Plus, these do not put into perspective the enormous amounts of data required to upload video content, which also varies depending on each video's resolution.
Netflix
Also a video streaming platform, Netflix one-ups YouTube in several categories. The platform specializes in long-form content including movies and series, hosts both cartoons and live-action animated films, and — strangely enough — offers video games for its users. In a fiercely competitive streaming market, Netflix has retained its prominence and popularity: as of the third quarter of 2022, Netflix recorded more than 220 million paid subscribers worldwide.
As might be expected, then, Netflix also one-ups YouTube in terms of high data usage. The data consumption stats for using Netflix on a browser are themselves high: at standard definition, Netflix videos burn through up to 1 GB per hour; and increasing the quality to Full HD or 4k brings the hourly video consumption up to 3 GB or 7 GB respectively. On the mobile app, watching content at the "Maximum Data" mobile data usage setting can swallow more than 1 GB every 20 minutes. And the "Automatic" setting, for balancing video resolution and data expense, takes roughly 1 GB in four hours.
Like YouTube, Netflix also aims for non-buffering in the user experience. A major consequence of loading future parts of a video is that viewers who do not eventually finish a video would have expended more data than they used. To conserve data, in general, Netflix has options to reduce the quality of videos and downloads, watch videos at only a chosen quality, or toggle on the "Save Data" setting that automatically configures the app for reduced data usage.
Google Chrome
Available on both Android and iOS devices, the Chrome browser is Google's ultimate tool for the internet. And as the most popular web browser in the world, Chrome does everything a browser should do and more. By default, the Chrome browser uses a lot of data to access the internet — be it for browsing web pages, reading documents, or viewing multimedia. The platform is optimized for speed, and its smooth experience is offered to the user in exchange for data intensity. And with improvements in smartphone hardware and software, Chrome will continue to evolve.
Depending on the website being visited or task being run, Chrome will consume varying amounts of data per unit time of work. The browser will also utilize data in tracking browsing history, recommending news articles in the Chrome feed, and running background processes to keep browser tabs open. Users can reduce Chrome's data consumption through the "Data Saver" settings on the Chrome app. And though this might compromise browser speed and smoothness, it will go a long way in conserving cellular data.
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