"Turn off the lights!", "save water!" and similar spells shaped our childhood. For the older generation of the family, saving was a key indicator of the younger generation's responsibility. And as it often happens, today we ourselves are succumbing to what we resisted throughout our childhood years. We're saving data 👌!
Why saving background data is important
Limiting background mobile data usage is an extremely important matter for anyone who has a data download limit in their mobile service contract. Once you exceed it, one of three unpleasant situations will occur.
- You'll buy extra GB of data to somehow make it to the end of the billing period. But nobody likes doing that. We are in the 21st century, and who has ever heard of forcing a Viking to do something as mundane as buying extra mobile internet.
- Your internet will slow down from the usual LTE or 5G to a embarrassingly low transfer rate of around 32-64 kilobits per second.
- Situation number three – you're dying of FOMO, or in the version for those older than Gen Z – you're trembling that you'll miss something.
Being cut off from the internet or having its speed reduced to absolutely minimal transfer values in the 21st century is an unusual situation. And since we are all slowly becoming addicted to network access, it's worth ensuring continuous operation.
How to enable and disable background data saving?
On Android, you can implement data saving in two ways.
The first is to find the "Network & Internet" section in Settings and then find the "Data Saver" option there. Then, simply activate it and enjoy reduced background data download usage.
Some versions of Android also offer the ability to activate data saving from the quick settings menu. To find it, swipe down from the top of the screen and select the appropriate icon.
If you want to reduce the amount of data downloaded on iOS, the matter becomes a bit more complicated, as you can divide this activity into regular packet data transfer and that obtained via Wi-Fi.
For regular data downloads, go to the settings section and then tap the "Cellular" section. Next, select "Cellular Data Options" and then tap the "Low Data Mode" option, which will either be available immediately or under the "Data Mode" section.
It's different for data transfer via Wi-Fi. In Settings, find the Wi-Fi entry, then tap the "i" button, which is the information icon next to your Wi-Fi network, and turn on "Low Data Mode."
With the above methods, you can enable/disable data saving mode on your phone. 🙂
What happens when you enable data saving?
The enabled "Data Saver" function on your phone affects your experience of using internet resources and reduces its quality. You may encounter the following issues:
- Mobile websites, especially images and graphics on them, will load slower.
- Notifications from instant messaging apps like WhatsApp or msg may stop displaying or arrive with a significant delay – for example, when you connect to a saved Wi-Fi network on your phone.
- Currently unused applications generally stop transferring data in the background.
- Applications running in the background will stop refreshing/synchronizing.
- The quality of streams will significantly deteriorate, as will loading speeds.
- Services will not be updated.
It's worth remembering that with applications, you can add exceptions to the rule and mark applications that the data saving mode will bypass. This can usually be done in the place where you activate data saving.
Where to check data usage levels?
Mobile data! How to check how much we've already used? This classically depends on the system you're operating on, dear Viking. On iOS, go to – of course! – the "Settings" section, then "Cellular" or "Mobile Data."
On the other hand, when checking data usage levels on Android – no surprises – go to the "Settings" section, then "Network & Internet," and finally tap "Data usage."
Thanks to the above actions, you'll check how much your mobile internet can still allow you. May you only see favorable numbers 🚀!
And what consumes the most internet on your phone?
Cats.
Yes, funny cat videos are the main reason why we run out of phone internet packages so quickly.
But seriously, the main data consumers are the following:
- Streaming applications. As phone capabilities and screen sizes grow, it's becoming increasingly popular to watch Netflix, HBO, or Amazon Prime through them.
- Websites that contain a lot of multimedia resources, such as videos or heavy graphics.
- Music applications, like Spotify, Tidal, or Apple Music.
- Watching video reels on Instagram, YouTube, or FB for a long time (again 🐈).
- And of course, downloading large files – e.g., system updates.
Whatever you do, avoid these "cursed," cute kitties 🙃!
