Readers like you keep news free for everyone.
More than 5,000 readers have already pitched in to keep free access to The Journal.
For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can help keep paywalls away.
Shutterstock/LDprod
TechGuide
This is how you keep your data usage under control
Especially if you have a limited plan and don’t want to pay extra.
NOBODY EVER WANTS to go over their data limit.
With some data plans being rather small and others pushing the unlimited angle when they’re really not, it’s good to keep tabs on how much data you use per month and whether the plan you have suits your needs.
How easy it is to keep tabs depends on the device you have. Android and Windows Phone users already have a data usage tracker built in – Data Usage or Data Sense depending on which OS you’re using – allowing you to set limits and warns you when you’re approaching it.
What limit you place and when the warning happens is up to you, but it’s a handy method if you’re regularly going over your data cap and need a way of curbing it.
If you’re an iPhone user, you can only check how much data you’re used over a given period. This is more a rough estimate than anything else and you would have to reset the stats every month if you want accurate results.
If you want something similar to Data Usage or Data Sense, you could use an app like My Data Manager to keep tabs on your usage and ensure you don’t go over your allowance.
There is one advantage to iPhone and that’s how easy it is to limit which apps have access to mobile data. This is particularly useful when you’re close to reaching your limit and you want to prioritise the important apps instead of ones that may look for updates like the App Store.
Read: So you know you can make calls through WhatsApp now, right? >
Read: Microsoft’s latest laptop hybrid is smaller, lighter and cheaper >
