It isn’t a nice feeling when you get a notification saying you’ve used up your mobile data for the month. It’s even worse when you receive a surprise bill for out-of-bundle data usage because you forgot to set a limit. Either way, it’s frustrating and costly. The good news is that these situations are totally avoidable if you follow our 5 simple tips to slash your data usage.
__Switch to Wi-Fi:__
Whenever possible, connect to free Wi-Fi hotspots at malls, restaurants and even at your workplace. If these are places you visit frequently, all you have to do is enter the login and password details once and your mobile device will automatically connect whenever you’re in range. Just be cautious when using public Wi-Fi hotspots – these connections may not be secure, so avoid tasks such as online banking.
__Background App Data__
Go to the Settings menu on your smartphone to see which apps have access to data. You can manually turn off the unnecessary apps.
On an [iPhone](https://www.mondo.co.za/page/Apple-iPhones) , open *Settings* > *Mobile Data* to see the apps you’ve allowed to use data and to toggle them off accordingly.
On Android, open *Settings* > *Data Usage* > *Open* *each app* you’d like to turn off and select Restrict app background data.
__Watch and Listen Offline__
Music streaming services such as Google Play Music and video-on-demand services like Netflix feature offline modes, which help you save enormous [amounts of data](https://www.mondo.co.za/page/Selected-Data-Deals) while you binge-on-the-go. Just download your favourite music playlists, movies, and TV shows to your device when you’re connected to a free Wi-Fi hotspot to preserve your mobile data.
__Use a Data Monitoring App__
If you just can’t stay on top of your data usage, get an app that’ll do it for you. Two of the most popular data monitoring apps for both Android and iOS are Traffic Monitor and My Data Manager. These apps keep track of your usage and even allow you to set custom alerts when you exceed a certain amount of data.
__Restrict Auto-Download of Media on WhatsApp__
WhatsApp is one of the most popular instant messaging apps in the world, but it’s also one of the biggest culprits when it comes to unnecessary data usage. By default, WhatsApp is set to automatically download every photo, video, audio clip and document attached to messages. The good news is that you can change this setting so that these files will only be downloaded when you’re connected to Wi-Fi.
In WhatsApp, go to *Settings* > *Data and Storage Usage* where you’ll find a section for *Media Auto-Download*. Select *Wi-Fi* instead of the default *Wi-Fi and Cellular* for each option.
