As technology improves, so does the speed of our data connectivity and before we know it, we’re burning through data faster than before. But by doing what we’ve always done – watching YouTube tutorials, bingeing on our favourite shows on Netflix, catching up on Instagram stories or just getting entertained on TikTok, which alone can result in going down a rabbit hole. 

Before we share a bunch of useful tips to help you limit your data use and be in control of your spend, did you know that Vodacom has its own Data Limit Lock feature? This prevents users from accidentally using their airtime for out-of-bundle data once a data bundle or Vodacom ticket has been used.

Set-up a data limit lock

Users can dial *135# to get started and have to opt-in to the service, but can also opt-out from the same menu. Simply select Services > Next > Out-of-Bundle Limit Lock > Opt in/Opt out of data limit lock and choose your limit as R0.00. 

Apart from a data lock, customers can also choose between airtime and SMS locks. You can go into these settings anytime to check what your limit is or adjust the amount. You will no longer get surprise balances and have your airtime run out.

Monitor data usage by apps

If you are struggling to see which apps use the most data, simply download the My Vodacom app, register and and view your usage. The detailed data usage can be found under account settings. You can check usage for yesterday, the last 7 days, the last 30 days or a custom date range. The results are colour coded graphs for easy reference. They are listed for Instagram, Twitter, Spotify, Google, streaming media, peer to peer file sharing, etc.

Set time limits on Android and iOS

Both Android and iOS have digital wellbeing and screentime settings that can help you limit the time you spend on apps that you feel consume the most data. You can limit time on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or Twitter by choosing a time frame that it can be accessed or by number of minutes or hours per day. With this in place, it will give you more control in how you spend your time.

Tweak your social media settings

Most social media apps that feature video content will allow users to go into the settings and choose when to stream video. You can set it to WiFi only, and not data. Otherwise, if you need to stream over a data connection, you can allow for a low quality stream to be used, which should help for apps like Netflix or YouTube.

Other general tips for ways to limit data usage include turning off any auto-play features, frequently kill apps that run in the background, using your GPS in offline mode and deactivating any WiFi assist features.

To get more tips on how to be data savvy, check out the Datawyze articles here. 

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