Stay within your monthly data allowance using our essential tips

Your iPhone is a pocket powerhouse that can be used for tapping into the internet on the move, checking for important emails when you are away from the office and even streaming movies when you’re in the middle of nowhere - but it all comes at a price. Anything that you do on your iPhone will often require an internet connection, and when you aren’t connected to a Wi-Fi network your phone will tap into your mobile data, which is handled by your phone provider.

Depending on the type of contract that you have with your provider, you will be allocated a certain amount of mobile data per month. Unless you are careful, you will find you can eat through your allowance in no time, forcing you to either go without mobile data for the remainder of the month, purchase a temporary increase or upgrade your contract altogether.

But do you really need as much mobile data as you are using? We suspect not, and to prove it we have delved into the iPhone’s settings to come up with 21 ways for you to save data, and we’ll explain everything you need to know in order to scrutinise your monthly data consumption. Included in our top tips are quick and easy actions you can take to reduce the amount of data your iPhone uses on a daily basis, ways to enjoy your favourite apps using reduced data consumption, and even alternative apps that specialise in data saving. We guarantee that we’ll be able to help you reduce your data usage considerably.

Low Data Mode

If you are getting noticeably low on mobile data then the first thing you should do is to go to Settings>Mobile Data>Mobile Data Options. Here you will see the ‘Low Data Mode’ option - turn it on to instantly reduce your iPhone’s mobile data consumption across the board. Now read on to get even nerdier with our data-saving tips!

Your Mobile Data Settings

In order to start saving mobile data you will first need to know your way around your iPhone’s Mobile Data settings. To do this, start off by going to Settings>Mobile Data…

How to monitor your mobile data

You can go to your Mobile Data settings to monitor exactly how much mobile data you use every month. But this information isn’t served up on a plate for you - you have to do the legwork yourself. Here’s how…

Go to data settings

Go to Settings>Mobile Data. The stat called ‘Current Period’ is the one you need to keep an eye on - but it will keep rising if you don’t reset it. Select one and then click on ‘Delete all Files’ to remove all documents and data.

Reset your stats

At the start of the month when the mobile data on your current contract is refreshed, go to Settings>Mobile Data and then scroll down to the bottom of the page. Here you will see the ‘Reset Statistics’ option; tap it.