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1. Compress Chrome pages
Assuming you use Chrome for all your web traffic, this tip alone can save you 30-35 percent of your mobile browser data consumption. Compressing Chrome pages, now know as Data Saver in the settings, compresses web pages before loading them in your browser.
Using Data Saver does slow things down a tiny bit, but you quickly get used to it and a moment's delay is worth it when your data lasts so much longer. Just launch Chrome, tap the three dots in the top right hand corner, go down to Settings and then to Data Saver. Keep an eye on the graph every now and then to see your data savings grow.
2. Ditch the Facebook app
It's pretty well known amongst Android aficionados that Facebook is one of the worst contributors not only to data consumption, but also to resource usage and battery drain. That thing is just always chewing up the stuff you want more of on your phone. So why not replace it with something less demanding?
3. Restrict background data
The easiest way to save data is to tell your apps (or the Android system itself) to restrict background data. Background data is all that internet traffic that goes on when you're not actually using an app: things like email syncing, feeds updating, weather widgets and more.
You can also tell the Android system to restrict background data in Settings > Data usage > Restrict Background Data or for individual apps in Settings > Apps (depending on which version of Android you have). You can also change your sync settings for Google services in Settings > Accounts > Google > select the account and then un-check the services you don't want syncing automatically.
4. Disable auto-updating apps
Another huge drain of your data allowance comes from the occasional bout of Google Play app updating. If you've got the Play Store set to auto-update apps, even over data connection, this could be chewing its way through your allowance every month without you even knowing.
5. Put some music on your phone
Streaming services like YouTube, Spotify, Vine and other video and music sites are huge data killers. If there's a tune or album you're constantly listening to at the gym or on the way to work, you're much better off just loading it onto your phone and listening to it offline than endlessly streaming it from the web.
If you don't have a microSD card on your phone or are otherwise unable to free up too much space, you can always save music for offline listening too. It won't be as large as if you copied the album to your phone and it's easy to get rid of or replace. Trust me, if you can curb your streaming cravings, even a little, you'll see a huge reduction in data consumption.
How do you manage your mobile data usage? Any other great tips to share?
Assuming you use Chrome for all your web traffic, this tip alone can save you 30-35 percent of your mobile browser data consumption. Compressing Chrome pages, now know as Data Saver in the settings, compresses web pages before loading them in your browser.
Using Data Saver does slow things down a tiny bit, but you quickly get used to it and a moment's delay is worth it when your data lasts so much longer. Just launch Chrome, tap the three dots in the top right hand corner, go down to Settings and then to Data Saver. Keep an eye on the graph every now and then to see your data savings grow.
2. Ditch the Facebook app
It's pretty well known amongst Android aficionados that Facebook is one of the worst contributors not only to data consumption, but also to resource usage and battery drain. That thing is just always chewing up the stuff you want more of on your phone. So why not replace it with something less demanding?
3. Restrict background data
The easiest way to save data is to tell your apps (or the Android system itself) to restrict background data. Background data is all that internet traffic that goes on when you're not actually using an app: things like email syncing, feeds updating, weather widgets and more.
You can also tell the Android system to restrict background data in Settings > Data usage > Restrict Background Data or for individual apps in Settings > Apps (depending on which version of Android you have). You can also change your sync settings for Google services in Settings > Accounts > Google > select the account and then un-check the services you don't want syncing automatically.
4. Disable auto-updating apps
Another huge drain of your data allowance comes from the occasional bout of Google Play app updating. If you've got the Play Store set to auto-update apps, even over data connection, this could be chewing its way through your allowance every month without you even knowing.
5. Put some music on your phone
Streaming services like YouTube, Spotify, Vine and other video and music sites are huge data killers. If there's a tune or album you're constantly listening to at the gym or on the way to work, you're much better off just loading it onto your phone and listening to it offline than endlessly streaming it from the web.
If you don't have a microSD card on your phone or are otherwise unable to free up too much space, you can always save music for offline listening too. It won't be as large as if you copied the album to your phone and it's easy to get rid of or replace. Trust me, if you can curb your streaming cravings, even a little, you'll see a huge reduction in data consumption.
How do you manage your mobile data usage? Any other great tips to share?