The Android operating system and the apps made for it are highly dependent on internet data and this can be easily proven by the amount of data consumed by your phone in its day to day usage.
Its alright for the Android OS or an app to use data when you are using it, but when it happens in the background, it’s generally wastage of data. If your phone is connected to an WiFi connection, then background data usage wont be a problem. However if the same happens when your phone is connected to an cellular data connection such as 2G or 3G network, then its going to hurt your wallet.
Most android apps installed on your phone require access to data even if they are not being used. However these apps do provide you with an option to limit the frequency at which they consume data. For example, the Gmail app on your phone can be configure to update your email at regular intervals. However there are other apps like Facebook, that don’t provide an option to limit their background data usage and ultimately they end up eating away a huge chunk of your cellular data monthly bandwidth limit. At the same time background data usage also leads to a huge waste of battery power.
So it becomes very important that you stop these apps from wasting data unnecessarily and by doing so will also increase the battery life of your phone.
Fortunately, starting with Android 4.0 JellyBean, Google has provided an option to restrict background data usage by apps. Here’s how you can restrict background data usage on your android device running android 4.0 jellybean and above.
How to Restrict Background Data on Android
- Step 1: Go to your Android Phone’s Settings.
- Step 2: Select Data Usage.
- Step 3: Tap on the three vertical dots to the top right and select Restrict Background Data. ( On some devices, the Restrict background data may not be placed in the same location )
That’s It, the android apps installed on your phone won’t consume data when not in use.
