\u00a0<\/p>\n
Android also has a huge and widely varied user base distributed across the globe. Many of these users operate in regions where free or paid Wi-Fi isn\u2019t even an option. In such instances, going online via cellular data is the only choice they have.<\/span><\/p>\n In all cases, internet activity can take a big bite out of your data allowance \u2013 and ultimately, your pocket. Here are some tips and techniques for minimizing your data usage on Android<\/span><\/p>\n If you don\u2019t know how your mobile data is being used, you won\u2019t know where to make cutbacks and adjustments. So the first thing you should do is get an overview of your data usage.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Go to the Network & Internet section of your device\u2019s Settings menu, and tap \u201cMobile network\u201d then \u201cApp data usage.\u201d If you\u2019re using an older version of Android, the options you need may be labeled \u201cData usage\u201d and then \u201cMobile data usage.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The display you\u2019ll see will give an overview of how your mobile data was consumed over the most recent 30-day cycle. You can tap on the dates at the top of the screen and select an earlier range, to look at your data consumption further back in the past.<\/span><\/p>\n Social media, news, and weather apps tend to check into their home base at regular intervals during the day, in order to download new updates or notifications. This uses background data \u2013 and if you\u2019re not on Wi-Fi, the drain on your allowance can be quite considerable.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n There are two approaches to handling this, but both of them require you to check on the status of each app, individually.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In the first method, you can scan through each app entry in the \u201cApps & Notifications\u201d section of your Settings menu (Note that if system apps are involved, you may have to specify the \u201cSee all apps\u201d option, first). Under the section with the heading \u201cData usage\u201d or \u201cMobile data & Wi-Fi\u201d, uncheck or deactivate the toggle next to \u201cBackground data.\u201d This will cut off the offending app at the source \u2013 but if background data is essential to its operations, this may effectively cripple it.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The alternative approach is to open each app and delve into its individual settings, to fine tune how it uses Wi-Fi and mobile data.<\/span><\/p>\n Social media apps require particular attention, as in addition to their dedicated mobile app settings (or the settings in any third-party software that gives you access to your social accounts), there\u2019s also usually a multitude of settings governing your account\u2019s behavior on the platform itself.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Most social apps have similar settings to the Android version of Facebook, which has a \u201cSettings & Privacy\u201d section on its main menu. Here, you\u2019ll find a \u201cData Saver\u201d sub-section, with options for governing or eliminating data-draining behaviors.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Autoplay for videos in your feed and the automatic downloading of images are two of the biggest consumers, and the Data Saver option will reduce the image file sizes and stop those pesky videos from playing or following you down the screen.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve made your desired changes in the app, you should use a web browser to access the social website, check into your account profile, and change any settings there that conflict with what you\u2019ve just configured for the app.<\/span><\/p>\n Speaking of web browsers, Chrome and most of its other Android equivalents now offer data-saving options of their own, as well as settings affecting autoplay and the downloading of large media files. In Chrome for example, tapping \u201cSite settings\u201d, \u201cMedia\u201d, then \u201cAutoplay\u201d will take you to an On \/ Off switch, which you can toggle to block the automatic playing of media on websites.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Chrome also offers a \u201cLite Mode\u201d which routes pages through Google\u2019s servers so they\u2019re compressed by the time they reach you. And most browsers offer simplified views of web pages optimized for mobile screens. All of these options consume less data, and can also speed up your web experience.<\/span><\/p>\n Streaming music and video may make for an entertaining real-time experience, but if you\u2019re not using Wi-Fi, these media files can quickly eat up your entire data allowance for the month.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n If you insist on streaming, apps like Google Play Music typically have options for setting the sound quality of the music you stream, or the picture resolution for videos. \u201cLow\u201d or \u201cNormal\u201d settings tend to be much easier on your data reserves, and may offer high enough quality to enable you to avoid streaming at higher definitions.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n An alternative approach is to let the app cache or download media files in the background (while you\u2019re on Wi-Fi), so that you can listen to or watch them offline, in your own time. In the settings menu, look for options to \u201cDownload only on Wi-Fi\u201d or to \u201cCache music \/ media while streaming.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n If you have a regular commute or are planning a trip with a known itinerary, it\u2019s more economical on data to view your route while you\u2019re offline. Open Google Maps or your navigation app in advance, while you\u2019re still somewhere with Wi-Fi, and simply download the required maps.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Google Maps and similar software will typically have an \u201cOffline maps\u201d section, where you can manage all of your downloaded maps.<\/span><\/p>\n In addition to \u201cmobile friendly\u201d websites having clearer text and fewer complex graphics, Google and various other Android developers now offer light or \u201cLite\u201d versions of mobile software, which take up less storage space and use less data while they\u2019re running.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Google has an entire suite of light apps under its \u201cGo\u201d label, with several available for general use \u2013 specifically, Google Go, Google Maps Go, Navigation for Google Maps Go, and Gallery Go by Google Photos. Others in the range such as YouTube Go are currently restricted to Google\u2019s cut-down operating system, Android Go, but may be generally released in future.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Elsewhere, you can find lightweight app versions for platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Skype, Uber, Amazon Kindle, Spotify, and Instagram, at the Play Store.<\/span><\/p>\n Finally, to save data you can do some general configuration and cleaning up on your Android device. You can start with the Play Store, by making sure that its option to \u201cAuto-update apps\u201d\u00a0 is set to \u201cWi-Fi only.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In the \u201cAccounts\u201d or \u201cUsers & accounts\u201d section of your system settings, tap the line for your main Google account and select \u201cAccount sync.\u201d For Google apps that you never use, deactivate the toggle next to the application name. This will prevent these unused apps from browsing for update information throughout the day.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n If you have multiple Google accounts connected to your phone, repeat this process for each one.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Whether your data plan has a monthly cap or you pay for data directly as you use it, these strategies for reducing your Android data usage can enable you or your employer to graduate to a cheaper level of service, or simply lower your monthly bill.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0 If you\u2019re an Android user, relying on data from your cellular provider is one way of avoiding the risks of free public Wi-Fi \u2013 especially if you don\u2019t have the tools or services necessary to give you full protection. \u00a0 Android also has a huge and widely varied user base distributed across the globe. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":6811,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poweradmin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poweradmin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poweradmin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poweradmin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poweradmin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6810"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.poweradmin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6810\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6814,"href":"https:\/\/www.poweradmin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6810\/revisions\/6814"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poweradmin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poweradmin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poweradmin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poweradmin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Use Network & Internet Settings To View Your Overall Data Usage<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.poweradmin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/mobile-data-usage.png\")
<\/a>(Image source: Computerworld![](\"https:\/\/www.poweradmin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/external-links-nofollow-open-in-new-tab-favicon\/images\/extlink.png\")
<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\nCut Back On Your Use Of Background Data<\/span><\/h2>\n
Manage Your Social Media Settings<\/span><\/h2>\n
Put A Leash On Your Android Web Browsers<\/span><\/h2>\n
Cache And Download To Avoid Streaming<\/span><\/h2>\n
Use Offline Navigation With Maps<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.poweradmin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/boston-map.png\")
<\/a>(Image source: Computerworld<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\nConsider Going Lite<\/span><\/h2>\n
Do Some General Housekeeping<\/span><\/h2>\n