Bad news, smartphone owners: Unlimited data plans are, for the most
part, a thing of the past. Even if you’ve managed to hang on to your
unlimited data plan on AT&T or Verizon, it’s likely not truly
unlimited—your carrier probably throttles your data speeds if you exceed
2GB of downloaded data in a given billing period.
Telecoms want you to buy bigger data allowances, and they have the leverage to do so: We’re using more data than ever these days thanks to apps, social media, Web services, and our obsessive email-checking. So what’s a hard-working, socially connected, tech-savvy person such as yourself to do with a limited data plan? Follow these tips to cut back on your data habit, track and monitor your usage, and extend your data plan—so you never have to pay overage charges again.
Monitor usage
Before you can start reducing your data usage, you need to know how much data you actually use. The only way to do that is to monitor and track your usage so that you learn exactly what your phone is doing—even when you’re not using it (thanks, background data).
Checking your data usage on your device is convenient, but the function is limited, and you should rely on it only in a pinch. It’s better to track data through a carrier-specific app, such as AT&T’s MyAT&T app or Verizon Wireless’s My Verizon Mobile app. The main benefit of using one of these apps is that you’ll have an accurate estimate of how much data your carrier believes you’ve used, and therefore how much your carrier will charge you for.
If you want more data and tracking options than either your device or your carrier can provide, consider using a third-party app such as Onavo Extend to track your data in a more detailed manner. Onavo Extend, which is available on both Android and iOS, is a free app that offers detailed monthly usage reports and data plan analysis, information that can help you determine whether you’re using all of the data that you’re paying for each month. Onavo Extend also “extends” your data plan by compressing your incoming and outgoing data so that you use less data overall.
Keep certain apps off of cellular data
Pop open the Settings app, then tap Cellular. Here, under Use Cellular Network Data For:, you can see how much you’ve consumed—but only since the last time you reset the tracker. If you don’t reset the tracker at the beginning of each new billing cycle, this statistic is useless.
You'll also notice a toggle switch next to each app’s name. If you want to keep any of these apps from using your data plan, slide the toggle to the off position.
Use Wi-Fi whenever possible
If you have regular access to a Wi-Fi network at home or at work, use that instead of your cellular data connection: When you connect to Wi-Fi, apps will use that for uploads and downloads, thus sparing you from going over your data cap. The downside? Using Wi-Fi may drain your battery a little more quickly.Trying to find a good Wi-Fi network can be tedious, so use a free Wi-Fi finding app, such as JiWire’s Wi-Fi Finder. Available for both Android and iOS, Wi-Fi Finder contains a database of over 550,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in 144 countries. You can use the app’s regularly updated hotspots map in conjunction with your phone’s GPS function to find the best Wi-Fi in your area, or you can download JiWire’s database so that you can still peruse its map of Wi-Fi hotspots even if you’re currently offline.
For every hotspot, Wi-Fi Finder lists details that you can’t get from your phone’s settings menu, such as the provider (AT&T, Comcast, or the like), the type of location (hotel, cafĂ©, and so on), and whether it’s a free or paid hotspot.
Avoid streaming music or video on the go
If listening to podcasts while commuting are your thing, consider downloading the episodes you want to listen to using your home Wi-Fi connection before you leave in the morning. The same goes with music: Transfer a playlist from your iTunes library to your iPhone so you don't have to stream it later.
At the very least, see if the app you’re using to stream audio gives you the option to adjust the audio quality (bitrate). If you can adjust it—and if you can tolerate lower-quality audio—that’s another way to limit the strain you put on your data plan.
Cut back on other data-heavy apps, too
You now know that it’s best to keep Netflix and Pandora mobile marathons to a minimum, but don't forget about other data-sucking apps. Social networking apps (which are constantly updating in the background), games (which push ads and notifications to you), and cloud-storage apps such as Dropbox or Google Drive (which constantly download files to stay synced) can drain data without your knowledge.
Onavo Count also has a “You vs. Everyone” analysis feature, which tells you how much data each of your apps is using in comparison with other people’s apps. This function is helpful because it can alert you to excessive data usage; for example, if your Dropbox app is using way more data than other people’s Dropbox apps are, you should probably tweak your sync settings and rein in your mobile Dropbox use to reduce data consumption.
