CFA member ACCAN has published a guide that requires minimal time and effort to implement. An easy way to help consumers from going over their monthly smartphone data allowance.
Smartphones can use up data without you even realising it. You can stop this from happening by changing certain settings on your phone and by knowing which apps use the most data. Since it’s very expensive going over your monthly data limit, it’s also really important you track how much data you’ve used throughout your monthly billing cycle.
Here’s how you can adjust your settings so you use less data on your smartphone:
iPhone
- Turn off “push notifications”
Especially for your emails, social media and GPS apps. Go to Settings > Notifications > Select the app e.g. Facebook app > Turn “Notification Centre” OFF. - Change your Wi-Fi settings
Make sure certain services run only over Wi-Fi, rather than 3G or 4G. You can do this by going to Settings > General > Mobile Data > Scroll down to where it says “Use Mobile Data for:” > choose OFF for those services that you don’t want to run over 3G or 4G. - Turn off iMessage
iMessage uses data to send text messages. If Wi-Fi is unavailable and your plan includes unlimited SMS, turn off iMessage by going to Settings > Messages > turn iMessage OFF. Also, if you’re not connected to Wi-Fi try not to use apps like WhatsApp or Viber as they also use data to send text messages. - Beware of “free” apps
Free apps are increasing in popularity, however they can often use up more data than the premium (paid) version as they generally have more ads. - Manually close certain apps
Make sure apps that use GPS (maps), video or audio streaming (Youtube, Rdio, Spotify) or VoIP (Skype) are not actively running in the background after you exit out of them. Do this by tapping the home button twice > apps that are open should be running along the bottom of the screen > tap and hold any app icon > press the red button to close the app. Be careful when using these apps over a 3G or 4G connection as they tend to use up a lot of data. - Track your data usage
Monitor your data usage. See if your provider has an app you can use or simply check your online account.
Android
- Turn off “push notifications”
Especially for your emails, social media and GPS apps. Go to Settings > In the “device” section, tap “Apps” > Uncheck the box for each app that says “Show Notifications”. - Change your Wi-Fi settings
Make sure certain services run only over Wi-Fi, rather than 3G or 4G. You can do this by going to Menu > Settings > Wireless and Networks > Mobile Networks/Packed Data > Disable “Use Packet Data”. - Data-based text services
If you’re not connected to Wi-Fi try not to use apps like WhatsApp or Viber as they also use data to send text messages. - Beware of “free” apps
Free apps are increasing in popularity, however they can often use up more data than the premium (paid) version as they generally have more ads. - Manually close certain apps
Pressing the back button when exiting out of apps, instead of the home button, will close down your apps. However, for certain apps such as GPS (maps), video or audio streaming (Youtube, Rdio, Spotify) or VoIP (Skype) go to Settings > Application > Manage Applications > Running, then open the app you wish to close and force close. Be careful when using these apps over a 3G or 4G connection as they tend to use up a lot of data. - Track your data usage
Monitor your monthly data. Go to Settings > Wireless and Networks > Data Usage. In this same section you can select “Set Mobile Data Limit” to be sure you don’t exceed your monthly limit.
Original ACCAN article here