Where Does Your Data Really Go?

Our smart-phones come pre-loaded with plenty of apps – one’s that inevitably chew up our data plans; where does all that data go?

How often do you use your phone and other devices? The numbers differ for everyone, but consider a few things before attempting an answer. Not only do you have to think about phone usage, but the recent increase in ultra book and tablet sales will skew your data.

Also consider how often you forget to bring your phone with you? How often do you forget to charge it? And how often do you see the people around you using their phones to text, call, play games, listen to music, or watch movies?

Studies suggest that 79 percent of users between the ages of 18 and 44 keep their phones with them at least 22 hours per day. What are they doing with their phones during that time? What do you do with your phone? While time spent doing certain things will vary among individuals, everyone’s doing the same sorts of things.

They’re listening to their playlists on Spotify, sending Instagram photos, messing around on Facebook, and using GPS. If the lines are long or the class is boring, they’re also playing games, sending texts, and watching movies. Basically, they’re using tons of data.

Smart-phones come pre-loaded with plenty of apps and users will download many more, some of which do the same thing—and they all eat up bandwidth. You can keep from doing that by using Wi-Fi when possible, or waiting to update until you’re home. You can cut down to one music app and try not to watch movies on your phone. Update one social network, don’t update all of them with the same information.

In spite of the fact that people keep their phones with them nearly all day, further studies show that people use their phones for less than an hour. That doesn’t quite add up, but supposing that the average is true, how much data do you use in that one hour? If you’re on a limited data plan and use all the most popular apps, your phone bill next month might hold a nasty surprise.