8 easy ways to slash your mobile data usage on Android

With unlimited data plans disappearing faster than the rainforests and data consumption on the rise, cherishing every MB is becoming standard practice. So what if I told you that you could cut your mobile data usage in half in less than a minute? It's easier than you might think. Just follow these eight steps to use less mobile data on Android.

Note: Individual data savings will vary, but these eight steps literally cut my data usage in half. You can adapt these tips for the apps you use the most or your particular usage habits.

Compressing Chrome pages can result in some huge data savings

 

1. Compress Chrome pages

If you use Chrome for all your web traffic, this tip alone can save you 30-35 percent of your mobile browser data consumption. The Data Saver option compresses web pages before loading them in your browser.
Using Data Saver does slow things down a tiny bit, but you quickly get used to it and a moment's delay is worth it when your data lasts so much longer. Just launch Chrome, tap the three dots in the top right-hand corner, go down to Settings and then to Data Saver. Keep an eye on the graph to see your data savings grow.

Three taps to a third less data consumption in Chrome.

2. Use Opera's video compression

The Opera for Android browser now has a very useful video compression option, which can save you a load of data if you're frequently watching videos on the go. To use it, simply download the Opera browser, go to Settings > Data savings and tick the box that says Video compression.
This setting not only saves you data, but also means that videos are more likely to load faster.

Save data and buffering time with Opera's video compression tool.

3. Ditch the Facebook app

It's pretty well known among Android aficionados that the Facebook app is one of the biggest consumers of data, not to mention its high resource use and battery drain. So why not replace it with something less demanding?

Even Facebook Lite uses lots of mobile data. So why not try a web app or Chrome shortcut? 

There are lots of alternate Facebook apps but many of those are just as hungry as the official version. Even Facebook Lite, which claims to reduce data consumption by 50 percent, still chews through hundreds of MB in a month.
So why not try Tinfoil for Facebook, which is simply a web app that displays the Facebook website (you can still get push notifications by using IFTTT and Pushbullet). Or you could simply create a Chrome shortcut in your web browser. Just open Facebook in Chrome, open the overflow menu and select Add to Home Screen.

Using Tinfoil or a Chrome shortcut to Facebook will save heaps of data. 

4. Restrict background data

The easiest way to save data is to tell your apps (or the Android system itself) to restrict background data. Background data is all that internet traffic that goes on when you're not actually using an app: email syncing, feeds updating, weather widgets and so on.

Restricting background data and syncing of accounts wil help save data.

You can also tell the Android system to restrict background data in Settings > Data usage > Restrict Background Data or for individual apps in Settings > Apps (depending on which version of Android you have). You can also change your sync settings for Google services in Settings > Accounts > Google > select the account and then un-check the services you don't want to sync automatically.

5. Disable auto-updating apps

Another huge drain of your data allowance comes from the occasional bout of Google Play app updating. If you have the Play Store set to auto-update apps, even over data connection, this could be chewing its way through your allowance every month without you even knowing.

Don't let apps auto-update using your data connection. 

To check, go to the Play Store and swipe out the left-hand navigation drawer. Tap Settings and at the top you'll see Auto-Update Apps. Tap this and make sure you either have it set to 'Do not auto-update apps' or 'Auto-update apps over Wi-Fi only'. To manage individual apps, go to My Apps, select an app and then tap the overflow menu to check, or un-check Auto-Update.

6. Put some music on your phone

Streaming services like YouTube, Spotify, Vine and other video and music sites are huge data killers. If there's a tune or album you're constantly listening to at the gym or on the way to work, you'll use much less data by loading it onto your phone and listening to it offline, than endlessly streaming it from the web.

Even without a microSD card slot you can still use a microSD adapter.

If your phone doesn't have a microSD card or enough space in its internal memory for you to save music, you can use a microSD adapter. Alternatively, you can save music for offline listening. It won't require as much space on your phone and it's easy to get rid of or replace later. If you can curb your streaming cravings, even just a little, you'll see a huge reduction in data consumption.

7. Identify and limit/remove high consuming apps

In Settings > Data usage you can get a look at the apps which are consuming the most data both in the foreground and the background. This can be really useful for knowing which apps you should restrict.
Take Gmail, for example. On my phone it has downloaded 451 MB of emails in the background. If I felt I didn't use the app enough to justify that much data use, I could remove the app, limit how often it syncs or prevent it from downloading attachments, all of which would reduce data consumption.

Does the Gmail app warrant 451 MB of data consumption in a month? 

8. Navigate offline

Google maps can use up quite a bit of your mobile data if you're not careful, but thankfully it is possible to use Google Maps offline. Follow our guide and see how much data you could save. Furthermore, why not try one of our favorite offline Android games to use less data while you get your game on?
How do you manage your mobile data usage? Any other great tips to share?