South Africans primarily use their smartphones to access the internet, more than a laptop or PC. Because of this, we’re most often using mobile data, which can run out quickly if you're not smart about using it. So in this post, we’ll show you how to be #Datawyze with tips on how to best manage your data usage along with some money-saving tips, so that your data will last longer.
The VodaPay app
As a Vodacom customer, you have access to detailed data usage stats on the VodaPay app under “My Account”. You can view your history from the day before, over seven days, 30 days, or do a custom search. A monthly overview is likely to be the best way to see where you’re using the most data. Otherwise, the “Yesterday” filter will help find anything usual from a particular app update or new download.
On iPhone
If you’re on an iPhone, go to “Mobile Service”, where you can see your total data usage, as well as by individual app. This is another good way to monitor usage and find the data-intensive apps. In a simple toggle, you can turn off data for each individual app and limit it to Wi-Fi usage.
Top tip: Under “Mobile Service”, scroll down to “Wi-Fi Assist” and turn it off so it doesn’t automatically use data when Wi-Fi connection is poor.
On Android
If you’re an Android user, go into your “Mobile Network” settings and then “Data Usage” to view stats by day, week, and month. Here you can also choose what apps to use on Wi-Fi, mobile data – or roaming if you use Vodacom’s travel data bundles.
Top tip: Look for the “Smart Data Saver” setting to prevent apps from using data in the background or limit data for apps you use, e.g., images will be shown only when you tap into an app.
Third-party apps
Several third-party apps are available to track your data usage. These are handy for families, such as the My Data Manager app with a family plan, which allows you to manage everything under one profile. It works on both iPhone and Android, with the latter offering a widget function. As with any third-party app, make sure you read all data and privacy labels.
5 more data-saving tips
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For apps like Spotify, YouTube, Netflix, Showmax, and TikTok, download content for offline play while you’re on Wi-Fi. Besides saving data, this is handy when you’re travelling.
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Set data-heavy apps like cloud services, streaming, photo backups, app updates, Instagram, and TikTok to “Wi-Fi only”.
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Double-check your app store settings and only update apps when you’re on Wi-Fi. The same goes for new operating system updates.
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Check individual apps to see if they offer a data-saving mode. For example, WhatsApp lets you choose to download photos, audio, video, and docs on Wi-Fi only.
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Save your video calls for when you’re on a Wi-Fi network, as they tend to use a lot of data.
These data-saving tips are a great way be #Datawyze and stretch your megabytes and gigabytes further. But there is no point in these tips if you don't have a data plan in place. You can find some great SIM-only data deals at Vodacom online.
