The decrease in mobile data package prices has led to more and more people replacing WiFi with mobile data.

Apps are consuming more data than ever. Video streaming and social media apps, in particular, are data-hungry. There’s a bigger need for Android users to limit data usage, to ensure that they don’t use up their data package before the renewal date.

Here are 5 ways how you can effectively reduce data usage on your Android smartphone.

1. Set a limit to your monthly data usage

Limiting your monthly data usage ensures that you avoid using more data than you initially accounted for. You can easily do this by heading over to your Settings, tapping on Data Usage,  selecting Billing cycle, then Data limit and billing cycle. Through the Data limit and billing cycle functionyou can set the maximum amount of data your phone uses every month. Your phone can also automatically disconnect from your mobile data once this limit is reached.

2. Auto-update apps over Wi-Fi only

Instead of allowing automatic updates over mobile data, you can reduce mobile data consumption by limiting app updates to when you’re connected to your WiFi. You can disable automatic app updates by selecting Auto-update apps over Wi-Fi only or Do not auto-update apps via the app settings.

3. Restrict background data

Background data allows you to multitask and toggle between apps. You can restrict background data by heading over to your Settings and tapping on Data Usage. This function gives you a rundown of how much data each app is using.

If you think that the background data for a particular app is too high, you can limit background data by selecting Restrict app background data. This setting ensures that your app uses fewer data.

4. Cache apps for offline use

Traditionally data-hungry apps have been updated to partially work offline. If you use DSPs such as Spotify, you can download music over WiFi, so that you can listen to your favourite tunes while you’re out and about without using your mobile data.

Furthermore, if you’re a Google Maps user, you can cache Google maps for offline use. Open the Google Maps app, tap on Offline Maps and select the area that you want to save by tapping on Select your own map. This function enables you to access important maps without having to use your mobile data every time you need to refer to a map.

5. Use data compression in Chrome

The Google Chrome app on Android has an inbuilt feature that reduces data consumption. This function’s referred to as data compression.

To use data compression, open the Chrome app, tap on Settings and select Data Saver. Turning on Data Saver automatically turns on Chrome’s Safe Browsing System, which detects and blocks potential malicious attacks, cookies and content, in turn, saving loads of precious data.