How to check your data use on your Android phone or tablet

You might run out of data sooner than you think

Some carriers are more generous with data than others. Whether you are a prepaid user or a post-paid one, you'll find that most unlimited plans have usage thresholds. If you are not careful, you could see your service throttled toward the end of the month, or even get a hefty bill of you're still on a plan with a hard data cap. Android data monitoring function can help you avoid slow speeds and large bills. With Android's data modes, you set a data limit for your monthly cycle and enable data saver mode to apply reduce background use. Here's everything you need to know about data usage and data saver modes on Android.

Check data usage on most Android devices

If you are using a Pixel phone or a stock Android device (Nokia, Motorola, etc.), follow the steps below and check data usage.

1. Swipe up from the home screen and open the app drawer menu. Find and open the Settings app (the one with a gear icon).
2. Go to Network & internet menu.
3. Select SIMs.
4. Tap on App data usage from the following menu.
5. You can check the set cycle, total data consumption in that period, and data usage by installed apps.
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Check data usage on Samsung phones and tablets

As expected, the steps to check data usage differ on all Galaxy phones as Samsung uses a completely different Android skin (One UI).

1. Swipe up from the home screen and open the app drawer. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap on Connections.
3. Select Data usage.
4. Tap on Mobile data usage.
5. You will see a familiar data usage graph with all the relevant details such as billing cycle, data usage limit, data usage warning limit, and consumption by installed apps on phone.
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You can check Wi-Fi data usage from the same Data usage menu.

How to use Data Saver mode on most Android phones

If you are running out of mobile data, you can enable data saver mode and cut down data usage by preventing apps from using data in the background.

1. Open Network & internet menu on your Android phone (refer to the steps above).
2. Tap on Data Saver.
3. Enable Use Data Saver toggle.
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You can enable Data Saver mode from the quick toggles menu as well. Swipe down from the top and open the notification center. Swipe down again and open the quick toggles menu. Swipe left to check more options and tap on Data Saver.

While the data saver mode is useful for reducing cellular usage, you shouldn’t keep it enabled for essential apps like WhatsApp and Gmail.

1. Tap on Unrestricted data from the Data Saver menu.
2. Enable toggle for relevant apps from the following menu.
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These apps will continue to consume data in the background and function normally.

How to use Data Saver on Samsung phones and tablets

Samsung not only offers data saver mode but also packs an ultra data saver function to trim the data usage.

1. Open Settings and go to the Connections menu (check the steps above).
2. Select Data usage.
3. Tap on Data saver.
4. Enable data saver toggle and add exceptions to allow apps to use data while data saver is on.
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5. Go back to the Data usage menu and scroll down to Ultra data saving mode.
6. Enable Ultra data saving mode and the system will start compressing images, videos, and received data.
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The function will completely block background data for all apps and compress data using the Samsung Max service. You can customize ultra data saving mode from the data compression menu and add up to six apps that can use mobile data while running in the background.

How to check your data usage from the Android home screen

Google and Samsung do not offer any way to check data usage on the home screen. Thanks to a third-party app called My Data Manager, you can place a data usage widget on the home screen and keep an eye on your use without navigating to the Settings menu.

Download the My Data Manager app on your phone using the link below, and open the app to set data limits for cellular data and Wi-Fi. Place the app widget on the home screen, and you are good to go.

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Keep a close eye on data usage

With millions of apps and games from the Google Play Store and dozens of streaming services at our fingertips, it’s quite easy to run out of cellular data on our phones. Using the steps above, you can keep data usage in check and prevent apps from consuming data in the background.