How to make phone data last longer

If you don’t have an unlimited data plan, it can be annoying to always have to be careful to not go over your data allowance. Because if you do, chances are, you’d get charged.

Luckily, there are ways to save some money by tweaking little things on your phone.

Here are four easy ways to reduce data usage on your iPhone or Android:

Disable auto-play videos

Auto-play videos and ads can really drain your data and you may have noticed the way Facebook videos begin playing automatically when you’re scrolling through your newsfeed, regardless of whether you want them to or not.
To avoid autoplay:
1. Open the Facebook app
2. Tap ‘More’ on the bottom right of the screen
3. Scroll down and tap Settings > Account Settings
4. Tap Videos > Autoplay
5. Choose an option.

Disable background app refresh

Even when you’re not using them, some apps like Facebook and email continue to use data. This is caused by the background app refresh function, which updates the latest information in the app (like your friend’s new status update). To save data, you can disable this data and that only means that new information will only load over wifi or when you choose to open the app.

To turn off background app refresh:
iPhone:
1. Open the Settings app from your Home screen
2. Tap on ‘General’
3. Tap ‘Background App Refresh’
4. Toggle the ‘Background App Refresh’ switch to the right to turn it off or simply select the individual apps you want to turn off.

Android:
1. Open the Settings app from the swipe down menu at the top of the screen
2. Tap ‘Data Usage’
3. Tap on the menu button
4. Hit Restrict background data > OK.

Turn off mobile data

If you’re really desperate to stop using data, the easiest way to reduce data use is to turn it off altogether and enable it only when you need it. This is a good last-ditch effort if you’ve already reached your data allowance for the month. Otherwise, make a conscious effort to turn mobile data off if you have a wifi connection somewhere, like at home.

To turn off mobile data:
iPhone:
1. Open the Settings app
2. Tap ‘Mobile’
3. Toggle the ‘Mobile Data’ option off.

Android:
1. Open the Settings app from the swipe down menu at the top of the screen
2. Tap ‘Data Usage’
3. Toggle the ‘Mobile Data’ option off.

Have you tried these before?