How Much Data Do You Need? A Guide To Data Usage Per App

Let’s break it down

Running out of mobile data while surfing the net or uploading a photo on Instagram isn’t exactly the kind of situation you want to get caught in. It can be frustrating when you exceed your data cap on your prepaid account, putting your online life on a temporary pause. Unless you pay extra for some additional data, you stand to lose access to YouTube videos, social media, streaming services, games or apps—and you don’t really want that. 

Now, for you to keep your always-on status, you have to be aware of your average data usage first. Knowing how much data you’re consuming can help you adequately budget how much to load or pick what surfing promos to subscribe to. However, what determines the amount of data an average person consumes will depend on the apps he or she often uses. 

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So, how much data do you really need? Take a look at this breakdown to get an idea of how many megabytes or gigabytes of data you need to continue enjoying online activity on some of your favorite apps.

Streaming Apps

Streaming video, music or podcasts can use up a considerable amount of data. This is because you need a lot of data to connect to a provider and access its large media files to be played over the internet without having to save it on your device. 

Netflix. Netflix is quite upfront in saying that you’re consuming more or less the same amount of data, whether you’re downloading or streaming a video from its library. Just like with any other media-on-demand channel, Netflix charges you for data based on the length of time you spend watching, as well as the quality of video that you choose:

• 1-hour Standard Definition of content consumes 1 GB 

• 1-hour High Definition content consumes 3 GB

YouTube. Compared with Netflix, YouTube lets you watch more video content while using less of your mobile data. What’s even better is that YouTube applies the reduced data usage settings across low-, medium- and high-quality video. 

• 1-hour Low Quality (480p) video consumes 264 MB

• 1-hour Medium Quality (720p) video consumes 870 MB

• 1-hour High Quality (1080p) video consumes 1.65 GB

Spotify. Spotify has an extensive repertoire of songs and podcasts, allowing you to listen to as much audio content as you want. Of course, this means giving up some of your data, regardless if you’re on a free or paid subscription. 

• 3-minute song (Normal audio setting of approximately 96 kbps) consumes 2 MB

• 3-minute song (High audio setting of approximately 160 kbps) consumes 3.5 MB

• 3-minute song (Extreme audio setting of approximately 302 kbps) consumes 7.5 MB

The best surfing promos for surfing. Globe’s GoSURF promo comes with GoWATCH, which gives you additional free data for streaming on Netflix, YouTube, Hooq, NBA, Viu, iFlix and HBO GO. You will also have GoLISTEN for streaming on Spotify.

These top GoSURF promos make you eligible to use the GoWATCH and GoLISTEN inclusions: 

All GoSAKTO promos also come with GoWATCH.

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Social Media Apps

There is no doubt that social media apps are one of today’s most-used technology. As you browse through your feed, be mindful of how much it can cut back on your data though. 

Instagram. Aside from photos and videos, you can also browse Stories on Instagram—all of which add to your data consumption. 

• 30-minute browsing consumes 300 MB to 450 MB

• One IG photo or video consumes 0.5 MB

• One IG Story consumes 0.4 MB

Facebook. As Facebook continues to introduce more features and capabilities into the platform, you’ll need to be more careful how these additions will affect your data usage allowance. 

• 30-minute browsing consumes 55 MB

• 8-hour browsing with video content viewing consumes 1 GB

Twitter. Keeping yourself up-to-date on the latest trends, news and events via Twitter entails several minutes of conscious scrolling, whether images, text or videos—all of which can bring up your data usage. 

• 5-minute browsing consumes 30 MB

• 30-minute browsing consumes 180 MB

• 60-minute browsing consumes 360 MB

• 90-minute browsing consumes 540 MB

  
  

Best Surfing Promos for Social Media. GoSurf and GoSAKTO promos let you enjoy social media apps with an adequate data allowance for an entire week or month.

These GoSurf and GoSAKTO promos include GoSHARE, which gives you free access to social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

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Gaming Apps

Playing online games involves using your data (unless you’re connected to WiFi). Check from the list below how much (or little) data some of your favorite titles consumes whenever you battle it out online. 

Mobile Legends. Mobile Legends will have you going into battle mode both on the classic and speed versions of the game. Despite the elaborate gameplay, it doesn’t actually consume as much data as you’d think.

• Average data usage falls anywhere from 250 MB to 1 GB of data per month

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. In PUBG, you’ll be battling for survival on an island against 99 players, so one round can last for 30 to 35 minutes.

• An entire gameplay can consume about 15 MB of data

Call of Duty. COD remains one of the most played mobile games, where you go into warfare along with a team and you all battle it out in action-packed modes. COD has several titles and came modes, but data consumption is within the same ballpark. 

• 1-hour of gameplay consumes about 35 MB

Best Surfing Promos for Gaming. With GoSAKTO promos from Globe, you can have up to 4GB data. So enjoy your favorite mobile games until you complete your missions. On top of that, GoSAKTO comes with GoWATCH&PLAY, which gives you more data access to mobile games like ML, PUBG, COD, Clash of Clans, etc.

These top GoSAKTO promos have GoWATCH&PLAY inclusions: 

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Use Your Data Wisely

Managing your data usage so that you don’t exceed your limit will depend on which app you’re on. Some consume more data than others, so you really need to be mindful and control your data consumption to continue using your favorite apps. Check out Globe’s surfing promos and you’ll surely find one that suits your online needs!