How To Set A Data Limit For Specific Apps On Your Android
An app can use up a lot of data, which can be a frightening notion for those with extra tight cellular data plans. This can get even worse if you add other data-hogging apps into the mix, such as social media, news, games, and video streaming apps, to name a few. Fortunately, Android comes with built-in features that can prevent apps from consuming too much data. Now, some might be asking themselves, why would that be necessary when I don’t even spend too much time on a single online app to begin with?
The thing is, you don’t have to be actively using an app for it to continuously siphon data from your allotted mobile internet plan, as some unused apps still do so even when they’re just sitting in the background (viaGoogle). Once your allotted mobile data has been fully depleted, your cellular internet will either slow down to a crawl, be cut off completely, or you’ll be charged extra on your next monthly billing cycle, depending on your carrier and chosen data plan.
How to set data limits for apps on Android
The process of setting app data limits requires multiple steps, but it shouldn’t be too difficult after following the right sequence. It’s worth noting that some settings options might be missing or appear differently if your smartphone isn’t on Android 8.0 or later (viaGoogle).
You can also prevent mobile data consumption entirely after hitting a specified amount. To do so, just repeat the same steps above starting from step 3.
What is Android’s Data Saver mode and why use it?
Data Saver is a nifty Android feature that helps reduce mobile data consumption by limiting background apps to only connect to the internet through WiFi. In this mode, mobile data will only be used by the app you’re actively using, but you can allow certain apps to be an exception to this (viaGoogle). Now, the steps in enabling Data Saver mode are similar to the steps in limiting data usage and are just as straightforward.
If done properly, only the app you’re currently using and the ones you’ve allowed as exceptions will be capable of touching your mobile data, preventing any unnecessary data-leeching in the process. As always, make sure you’ve updated your Android operating system to the latest version your smartphone supports, as some steps might be different on devices still using Android 7 or older.
