How to Make Your Data Last the Whole Month

Step 1: Know your daily number

Your plan divided by 30 days:

• 3 GB: about 100 MB a day.
• 10 GB: about 330 MB a day.
• 25 GB: about 830 MB a day.

For scale: an hour of Netflix in SD can use about 1 GB, and an hour of Spotify on High about 70 MB. Video is where most plans go.

Step 2: Turn off the silent spenders

1. 1App updates. Android: Play Store, Settings > Network preferences > Auto-update apps > Over Wi-Fi only. iPhone: Settings > App Store, turn off automatic downloads on mobile data.
2. 2WhatsApp media. In WhatsApp, Settings > Storage and data > Media auto-download. On mobile data, pick photos only, or nothing. Videos from busy groups add up fast.
3. 3Data Saver or Low Data Mode. Android: Settings > Network & internet > Data Saver. iPhone: Settings > Mobile Data > Mobile Data Options > Low Data Mode.
4. 4Autoplay and video quality. Turn off autoplay in TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X, set Netflix to Save Data, and lower Spotify's mobile quality.
5. 5Downloads on Wi-Fi. Playlists, episodes and big game updates before you leave home or the office.

Step 3: Check on day 3, not day 30

The networks show you a balance, not where it went. Set a daily limit at your number from step 1 and a monthly limit at your plan size, so you get warned on day 3 if something is off, while there is still time to fix it. If you share a hotspot, check the other devices too: see The guide to finding which device is using your Wi-Fi data.