If you are on a limited data plan, it can be very helpful to know ways to save mobile data, otherwise you may be faced with substantial phone bills. Here are a few tips to save mobile data on an Android device.

Use Chrome’s Data Saver option

If you are using Chrome to surf the web on your phone, this tip may help you save 30-35% on mobile data.  When you use the Data Saver option in Chrome, the browser compresses pages before loading them. Here are the steps you need to follow to enable Data Saver:

1. Open Chrome
2. Tap on the 3 vertical dots near the address bar
3. Go to Settings
4. Scroll down and Tap on Data Saver
5. Toggle the Data Saver switch to On position

Restrict background data

The best way to save mobile data is to restrict background data for apps.  Background data refers to all Internet traffic that happens when you are not using the app. Some of the internet traffic that is categorized under background data is updating feeds, syncing emails, updating the weather widget and similar automatic updates. To restrict background data follow the steps given below:

1. Go to Settings > Data usage > Restrict Background data
2. You now have to go to individual apps and switch the Restrict Background Data toggle switch to the On position

Disable auto-updating of Apps

If the Google Play store is set to update apps even on data connection, your mobile data usage will add up very quickly. Change the settings to ensure the auto updating of Apps happens only when you are connected to a WiFi network. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Open the Google Play Store
2. Tap on the three horizontal bar navigation icon
3. Scroll down and tap Settings
4. Tap on Auto-update apps
5. Select Auto-update apps over WiFi only

Identify and remove/limit high data consuming apps

You can limit the data usage of apps through app settings. Apps like Gmail use a significant amount of data as it downloads emails which may have images and other attachments.  You can limit the data consumption of the app by tweaking some settings. Here are steps to follow:

1. Go to Settings > Data usage
2. Tap on Gmail app
3. Tap on App settings
4. Check the box – Auto download attachments to recent messages via WiFi

Set mobile data limit

You can set the data mobile limit and data usage warning limit to ensure you do not cross the limits of free data allocation every month. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Go to Settings > Data usage
2. Switch on mobile data
3. To set a data usage warning – Simply drag the black line by its right side to the level where you want to receive warning (When your data usage reaches this level, you will receive a notification to cut down data usage)
4. To set a data usage limit – Simply drag the Red line by its right side to the level where you want to receive a notification (when the data usage reaches this level, you will receive a notification and the mobile data will be switched off )