Anytime your phone connects to the internet when it’s not connected to WiFi, it’s using data. Sometimes it’s obvious which services are draining your data – like when you’re streaming series while waiting for the train. But other times it’s like you were just living your life and suddenly, bam, data bundle’s finished. If that’s happening to you, start by identifying your data-heavy apps. The culprits may surprise you. 

How to find out what’s draining your data 

One way to check is to go into your phone’s “settings” app and tap “mobile data”. As long as you have mobile data usage statistics enabled, you can see all the apps on your phone that use mobile data and how much each of them is using. If you sort them in order of usage, you’ll quickly spot your data-heavy apps.  

If you’re a Vodacom customer, login to the VodaPay app, tap on “My Account” and then “Detailed data usage” to see what’s draining your data over different time periods. Your train station series binge may have been a once-off, but your daily TikTok uploads are another story! Typically, data-heavy apps will fall into one of a few categories. 

Social media apps 

Apps with lots of pictures and videos are heavier on data, which is why social media apps are often what’s draining your data.  

Try this:  

1. Disable auto-play videos on social media.  

2. Use low-data versions of your favourite social media apps – these are stripped-down versions of more data-heavy apps to make them less of a drain.  

Browser 

Browsing the internet can drain data, depending on what you’re doing.  

Try this:  

1. Save image and video-heavy browsing for when you’re connected to WiFi.   

2. Some browsers let you opt for reduced quality images or no images to save data. Find the option under “settings”. 

3. If you’re planning to stream content, download what you want to watch when you’re connected to WiFi and watch it offline on your device. 

Background data usage 

Your phone’s background activity can often be what’s draining your data if you haven’t changed your settings to be more data-conservative.  

Try this:  

1. In “settings” disable mobile data for cloud backups – your phone will only back up to the cloud when you’re connected to WiFi. 

2. While they’re there, disable mobile data for document transfer. 

3. Disable mobile data for app updates and downloads – you will only be able to download and update apps when connected to WiFi. 

4. Disable mobile data for your gallery to prevent pictures and videos being uploaded and downloaded from the cloud. 

Is WhatsApp what’s draining your data? 

Left unchecked, WhatsApp can be a surprising secret data drainer.  

Try this:  

1. In WhatsApp, tap “settings”. Go to “storage and data”. Disable cellular data for media auto-downloads. This means if someone sends you a picture, video or document, it won’t download automatically when you’re not connected to WiFi.  

2. Still in WhatsApp “settings”, make sure your media upload quality is set to standard, not HD. 

3. If you’re low on data, you can opt to use less data for calls.  

Making these changes will ensure that you don’t drain your data too fast. To learn more about making your data last visit our #Datawyze section. Also, to find a data deal for you, check these SIM-only deals.