What is Considered Data on a Cell Phone Plan? How to Save Data 101

Getting a cell phone should be a priority of yours because they are a great way of communicating with loved ones, your employer or employees, or even just getting a hold of your doctor, or customer service representatives. Cell phones are a convenient tool to use on a daily basis with many different functions, but one of the most important features that they have is data.

Every cell phone plan comes with a data plan of sorts, where you can choose a set allotment that you can freely use each month, or an unlimited one where you can use as much data no matter what it is for. It is important to get to know what data is used for only your cell phone plan and what classifies as using it or not.

Let’s get to know what uses data, and how you can also save on data as well!

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What is Data?

Knowing what exactly data is and how it works can help you get an idea of what may be using it!

Data on cell phone plans has been around for a few decades at this point and it has evolved to the fast, high-speed 5G data that many carriers offer on their networks now. It’s important to get an idea of what data is and how it can greatly impact your experience of having a cell phone plan.

The Textbook Definition of Data

Mobile data, or cellular data is connectivity much like the internet that we use at home, but it is completely wireless. Data is used whenever you’re not connected to an internet source (like wifi), and it  allows you to do things such as check your email, scroll through social media, stream videos on-the-go, and even play mobile games.

The main difference between Wi-Fi and data is that Wi-Fi connects to a router, but data doesn’t. Data connects to cell towers, which enables devices to connect through radio frequencies, allowing you to do the same things you do on Wi-Fi, but in a different way.

Do All Carriers Offer 5G Data?

The progression of fast data speeds has been astounding and something that many people have purposely gone out of their way to get just by upgrading to a cell phone that is eligible. Since 5G has seemed to sweep the nation with high-quality speeds that can be used anywhere and everywhere, you may be wondering if all carriers offer it.

The three major networks within the United States, Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile all offer 5G coverage on all of their cell phone plans. They are continuously working on making sure that it is faster, better, and offered all across the country, even in rural areas. As of now, T-Mobile and the mobile virtual network operators, or MVNOs that use their network as well, provide the best 5G coverage for its customers. 

How Much Data Can You Get on a Cell Phone Plan? 

The best part about choosing a cell phone plan is that you can decide just how much data that you will need in order to get through the month. There are a few options to choose from when selecting a cell phone plan and it’s mainly between set data allotment plans, or unlimited ones that allow you as much data as you need.

Set data allotment plans can be as low as 1GB to use per month, or even 50GB or more depending on how much data you need. If you are someone who uses the data on your cell phone frequently, you may instead want to choose an unlimited plan. Unlimited plans allow you to use as much data as you want without having to worry about paying overages for going over a set data allotment.

It is important to note that not all unlimited plans are truly unlimited. Sometimes there’s a fine line written that you don’t see when first signing up for any unlimited data plan-- giving you only a set amount of GBs that are high-speed 5G data. After that you will get slower 2G or 3G speeds instead. 

How to Know What Type of Data Plan is Right For You

There are many factors to consider when selecting the best data plan for either yourself or your family. You may be worried that you won’t have enough data to use every month with a set data allotment plan, but you also wonder if you are spending too much money with an unlimited plan too.

If you are looking to get a cell phone plan by yourself, getting an unlimited plan is a little too much. The average person uses around 6GB of data per month for normal use, so it’s best to aim for this amount for a set data allotment for yourself. For family plans, it’s normal to get unlimited data, so that everyone in your family is covered no matter how much data they use.

What Uses Data on Your Cell Phone?

Get to know what types of apps use cellular data so you  know when to conserve data!

There are a ton of apps that you can use on your cell phone, but sadly many of them use up a ton of data in the process.

We’ll take a closer look at what types of apps and other features use data on your phone

Checking Your Email

Something that everyone does on a daily basis is scroll through their emails. No matter if you’re scrolling through and deleting junk mail, or answering emails for work purposes, if you are doing this while you’re not connected to Wi-Fi, you are using data. Just simply checking your email can use around 10 to 30 MB, which is among the lowest that you can use compared to other apps.

Scrolling Through Social Media

One of the fastest ways to use your data without even realizing it is by using social media. There are a ton of social media apps out there that are popular to use, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Tik Tok, LinkedIn, Reddit, and more. Whenever you’re not connected to Wi-Fi and scrolling and posting on social media, you are using up to 2MB per minute.

Using Streaming Services

Streaming services have become extremely popular over the years where you can easily access movies and TV shows right from the comfort of your own home with a small fee every month. With everything from Netflix, Hulu, Paramount+, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Max, and a bunch of others, you can access movies and TV shows from anywhere and everywhere. 

Using a streaming service on your cell phone can use a ton of data--you can use 1GB of data per hour that you are on it, or up to 3GB of data per hour if you’re using HD streaming while on cellular data.

Listening to Music

If you are someone who uses and needs music to get through your day, then streaming music through different music services is another app that can potentially use a bunch of data in one sitting. Some of the most popular forms of music streaming services out there include Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Soundcloud, and others. 

Music streaming services are extremely popular, but they use data as well. Luckily, streaming music isn’t as hard on your set data allotment and you can use 500KB in one minute while listening to music. There are one million KB in 1GB, so if you do the math, you can listen to over 33 hours of music while only using 1GB of data.

It’s also important to know that a ton of music streaming services allow you to download playlists, albums, and specific songs that you are listening to repeatedly that won’t use data, but will instead take up storage space.

Playing Games

There are millions of games that you can play on gaming consoles, but have you ever thought about what is offered on your phone? Simulation games, action ones, puzzles, role-playing games, arcade games, classics, and a ton of other options are available at your convenience, but do you know just how much data that they use?

If you are someone who loves to play games on your phone that allow you to have hours upon hours of entertainment when you need to pass the time, it’s crucial to know how much data they use. Playing for up to an hour can use around 100MB of data, but it also depends on what type of games that you are playing.

The games where you play online with other people can use a ton of data, while single player games tend to not use as much because they do not need to connect to a server and find other people to play with. Depending on the type of gamer that you are will determine how much data you will use on your phone. 

Using Messaging Apps 

Another type of app that is known for using a ton of data on your phone are messaging apps. These types of apps are great for keeping in contact with loved ones inside or outside of your home country.

A conversation on Facebook Messenger or even Whatsapp can use around 0.75 of data per minute, which can amount to 45MB per hour, which is not even half of a GB used. 

It is also crucial to know that for iPhone users, sending iMessages can use data as well. iMessage sends information by using the internet if connected to Wi-Fi, or cellular data. This means that data can potentially be used just to send text messages on an Apple iPhone.

How to Save Data On Your Phone Plan

The tips and tricks to saving data can save you more money in the long run on your plan!

If you are looking for more ways to save money on your cell phone plan, check out some of the best ways to conserve data so you don’t have to worry about overages, or even running out of high-speed data.

Stay Connected to Wi-Fi as Much as Possible

One of the best ways to ensure that you are never using data and conserving it as much as possible is to stay connected to a Wi-Fi source no matter where you are. While it’s easy to stay connected while you are at home with your own Wi-Fi, being out in public can be more difficult.

Finding a reliable Wi-Fi to connect to when you’re at your local coffee shop, department store, or pretty much anywhere can help to make sure that you are conserving your data the best that you can, so you can have enough to help you get through the month. 

Close Out of Your Apps Immediately After Using Them

Another super easy way to do this is by closing out of your apps immediately after using them. Even leaving your apps running in the background whenever you’re out and about running errands, or even hanging out with friends can still use data.

Using background data is a thing that many people don’t realize, or think about Even when you’re not actively using an app, it runs in the background and uses your data, which can do things such as drain your battery more. 

Turn on Low Data Mode

One of the most beneficial things that you can do is put your phone in low data mode to ensure that you’re not using as much data that you normally do. Low data mode helps to reduce the amount of data that is used on any app while you’re on them and whenever you’re not on Wi-Fi. 

This is a beneficial feature that is included on almost every iPhone and even a ton of Samsung and Google phones to make sure that you can use less data each month and preserve your set data allotment.

It is important to know what uses data and what doesn’t on your cell phone. Many cell phones offer alternatives to help ensure that you’re not going over your data limit, but getting to know what uses data and what doesn’t can help you to make sure you stay under your set allotment each month.

Consider going over some of the apps that you use on a daily basis that use data and learn all of the tips and tricks for how to conserve it each month!