Stop Android Apps from Using Mobile Data

We just can’t think of living without the internet, can we? And, for its consumption, we either use Wi-Fi or mobile data. While on a computer, most of us prefer using Wi-Fi, but when it comes to a smartphone, we often juggle between the two modes. Now, which one’s good for which condition, is something we have discussed here.

There are times, you may not have access to the Wi-Fi – It could be that you are traveling or are at a place that has a power cut. In such a scenario, you will have to count on your mobile data to access the internet. We also know that in most cases mobile data plans offer limited data usage.

In that case, to preserve data you may have to use the internet carefully. But, is it just the internet that eats your mobile data? No, even your phone’s resident apps consume mobile data. You may not be able to stop that completely, but, you can stop apps from using mobile data excessively and at times without your permission.

Why Do Android Apps Consume Mobile Data?

Once your smartphone strikes a connection with the internet, the apps that are permitted to use the internet will consume the internet in some or the other manner. For instance, apps execute background processing that includes fetching data from a database or web service.  Apps also send data from a user’s smartphone to the website as and when a user performs a function, updates status adds a photo or even performs a search. Apps also require mobile data to roll out regular updates as well.

Best Ways To Stop Apps From Using Mobile Data

1. Switch Off The App’s Background Data

Apps tend to run in the background. This is from where they consume a lot of mobile data. Every Android phone lets you switch off background data for all the apps that are there on your Android device.

1. Open Settings by tapping on the cog icon that you will mostly see on the top right corner of your screen when you swipe down the top of your phone
2. Tap on Connections and then tap on Data usage
   
   
3. Select App data usage or Mobile data usage. In this section, you’ll now be able to see how much data is consumed by each app
   
4. Now comes the main part, click on any of the data-hogging apps. For example, let’s tap on Chrome since it is visibly consuming a lot of mobile data
5. Toggle of the background data usage. For this toggle off the Allow background data usage switch or any equivalent option
   

2. Use A Third-Party App To Keep Tabs On App Data Usage

Sometimes, despite being very careful, despite limiting mobile data usage wherever possible, you still overrun your assigned data cap. You might know that there are some culprit apps but “which ones are they?” is something that bowls you over.  Enter an app like Check Data Usage. At the outset, this is one app that can help you track your data usage, set a data plan, and even view the speed of your internet connection.

To view which apps are consuming maximum mobile data –

1. Install Check Data Usage from Play Store
2. Provide permission by following on-screen instructions
3. Tap on Mobile from the top

You will now be able to see which apps are hogging your mobile data. You can either stop the app from consuming background data or put it in a sleeping app category, something that we’ll discuss in the next point.

3. Use The Sleeping Apps Functionality

You can always tap into your device’s special features to put unnecessary apps on snooze. For instance, most Samsung Android smartphones come with a Sleeping apps function where you can choose to Add redundant apps, that you haven’t used in a while, and that you have no qualms about putting to sleep. This means such apps won’t receive any updates or send notifications. To add apps –

1. In the search bar type Sleeping Apps
2. Choose the app that you wish to add by tapping on the radio button next to the app’s name
3. Tap on Add
   
   

4. Switch Off Mobile Data

This might not be the direct way to stop apps from using mobile data on Android and here’s why we are saying that. You might say that if I switch off my mobile data, how on Earth am I supposed to access the internet, let alone apps?

True that! But, in situations like the one where you are traveling, you can shut off the internet for a while and still be able to access app content. Yup, you heard us right. Almost all popular streaming platforms let your stream video content or let you listen to podcasts or stories further let you download content for offline use. Apps such as Amazon Prime, Netflix, HBO Max, Google Podcast, etc let you download content for offline use. You can always plan the content that you’d like to watch and download it offline.

Even if you have to use maps to navigate to an unknown location, you can always download a map on your Android device for later use.

Wrapping Up:

Apps can eat away your mobile data and may compel you to use way more data than your provider assigns you. And, as we can see in certain situations if you don’t keep track of mobile data used by apps what can happen. Do let us know if you second us and if you do, do let us know what is it that you do to keep tabs on apps eating away your precious mobile data.