Apps that Use the Most Mobile Data: A Detailed Guide

Does your mobile data expire early? There may be multiple reasons behind it. If you like watching videos or listening to music online, you might use up your mobile data fast. This includes using social media apps like TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube.

How can you check and balance your data to avoid extra usage? In this article, I will go through the details of what popular apps on your mobile devices use most of the data. Moreover, what tips can you follow to monitor and control your internet consumption?

What uses the most mobile data?

The app or the software you use throughout the day will use most data connection. Normally, the mediums that consume more internet connection include:

Online Video Streaming: Whether on Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, or YouTube, it consumes more data. If you are streaming HD resolution, it takes 2 to 3GB of data in an hour.
Music Streaming: Streaming music takes a data connection, but it varies from app to app. The apps used for music streaming include Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music. If you are streaming at a high quality, it will definitely consume a large amount of data. On average, Spotify at high quality uses 160MB per hour.
Social Media Apps: Social media apps, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and Twitter, are also highly data-consuming apps.
Online Gaming: Gaming uses data around 50 to 300 MB per hour. However, the data consumption depends on the game you are playing.
Sharing Heavy Files: If you are sharing or loading large video or music files, it may consume a large amount of data.

Our Data Consumption Analyses

We made analyses using the data manager app and analysed how much data our mobile apps use. We turned on the data, started the stopwatch, and used multiple apps for five minutes separately. After using each app for 5 minutes, we conclude the report.

YouTube is the most data-consuming app, taking 193 MB in 5 minutes.
Between social media apps, Snapchat consumed 101 MBs.
Travel apps like Mapp take 155 MBs for 5 minutes of use.

What apps are using the most data?

Here, I am listing the top data-hungry apps on your device that can cause your mobile data to run out early.

YouTube

YouTube is a high-ranking app that consumes more data connection. It uses 193 MB in five minutes, which is more than a Disney+ app with 150 MB. Video streaming on YouTube takes lots of data because it delivers sounds, video, metadata, and processing at a time.

This data consumption is related to the quality of streaming. Here is how YouTube takes the data.

Standard Definition (SD): Uses 360MB per hour.
High Definition (HD): Takes around 720MB per hour at 720p.
Full High Definition (FHD): Use 1.5GB per hour at 1080p.
Ultra High Definition (UHD): Takes up to 3GB per hour.

Disney+, Prime Video, Netflix, and Apple TV are streaming apps that use less data than YouTube.

Snapchat

The data consumption on social media apps depends on how long you use the app. For example, scrolling through Instagram videos takes more data than photos. During analyses, we found the surprising results. Snapchat significantly uses more data than other social media apps.

The app uses data to download the content in the background for quick access. Turn on the Snapchat data saver to reduce mobile data usage.

Uber and Google Maps

The apps that work for travelling use a large amount. The map apps, including Hotels.com, Uber, and AllTrails, use data between 100MB to 150 MB. Uber uses more data because of its live transport data network.

AllTrails is an app for measuring hiking routes. You can download maps to use as a GPS signal.

How to check the data usage on apps?

You can follow the given steps to check which app is using more data on your device.

Android Devices

Open your Android Settings.
Move to Network & Internet.
Scroll to the Mobile network and check the app data usage.

iOS Devices

Open your iPhone settings.
Search the Mobile Data.
Check the app that uses more data.

What apps occupy the most storage?

The apps that occupy most of your device’s internal storage include;

Video and Audio streaming apps, including Spotify, Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, and Apple Music.
Offline and online gaming apps that require high data for downloads.
Social media apps, including Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat.
Video and photo editing apps on devices like CapCut.

How to manage the data usage?

You need an internet connection when you travel abroad. It helps you find locations and the best tourist spots to visit. Here, you need more precautions to monitor your data before it runs out.

Are you looking for guidance to manage your data usage? The following tips will help you.

Avoid HD Streaming

Avoiding music or video streaming at high quality minimizes your data consumption. It eats up a lot of data with a little better resolution. You can enjoy your favorite music and shows with lower resolution without wasting much data connection.

Stop Automatic App Scanning

App scanning consumes data and battery to download the data from your account. It also contributes to strengthening the signals. You can switch it off on iOS and Android devices to avoid the extra use in the background.

Download Your Favourite Content

If you are traveling, it is best to download your favorite music and shows. This way, you can avoid using extra data for entertainment. You can use the public WiFi connections to do so.

Get Unlimited Yaalo eSIM Plan

The most reliable and hassle-free solution is to buy the eSIM for your international travel. No matter where you travel in the world, eSIM gives you a simple and flexible data connection.

It offers remote activation, with instant connectivity and zero roaming.

Visit Yaalo.com and buy your destination country eSIM. The plans offer unlimited data, calls, and texts. Stay connected around the world without interrupting your social life.

Conclusion

When users suddenly lose their data connection, they often ask: Do my apps use more data, and which ones? In this article, I will show you which apps on your device use the most data.

In the article, I have listed the easy steps to manage your data usage.

eSIM is one of the best solutions that offer seamless connectivity in just a few clicks.