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TechKnowHow

This is how you make sure your apps only update over WiFi

Usually, your apps update automatically, but it’s good to check.

FOR THE MOST part, updating apps and your phone is important. Not only will you get improvements to your apps and bug fixes, but it can also mean security updates too.

It’s recommended that you update your apps as soon as they arrive, but you only want to do that when you’re connected to WiFi. Some apps, especially games, are large and updates for them can really eat into your data usage.

In certain cases, your phone is automatically set to update apps but if you want to check and make sure mobile data isn’t being used, you can.

On iOS, go into Settings and scroll down to iTunes & App Store. Here you will see some options. The first is automatic downloads which include Music, Apps, Books & Audiobooks and Updates.

Underneath it is the option to use mobile data and if you turn it off, the above will only update on WiFi. If you keep it on, downloads are limited to a file size of 100MB or lower but that can still eat into your data allowance.

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On Android, you need to go into Google Play itself. Swipe out the left-hand menu and go into settings. Here you will see Auto-update apps at the top of the screen. Tapping on it will give you the option to update via WiFi only or do it at any time.

Scrolling further down will show you other options like adding new apps to the home screen automatically or notifications for when updates are available. You can turn these off if you wish to keep your home screen and notifications uncluttered.

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