How much phone data do you really need?

If you’re someone who regularly moves away from a reliable Wi-Fi source and uses one of the many popular smartphone apps that eat up data, you’ll probably need a larger plan. Homebodies who stay connected to Wi-Fi 24/7 may only need a handful of GB in extreme cases. Since the amount of data that’s right for you depends on your individual needs, you should check your phone’s data usage and set restrictions or a cap if necessary. This planning can avoid unexpected overruns.

Although they are often similar, the steps to check your monthly data usage vary by brand and operating system, primarily Android and iOS. On iPhone, go to Settings > Cellular. Under Cellular Data, you’ll see it broken down into current period and current period roaming (data used on other networks). If you want to see it broken down by app, scroll down.

On Android, the specific UI will depend heavily on the model and brand, as some manufacturers install custom skins that differ significantly from stock, such as One UI versus Pixel UI. But for a near-stock Android OS example, Pixel devices can find this data in Settings > Network & Internet > SIM cards > App data usage. From this menu, you can also select the date range to display the desired monthly billing cycle.

If you’re worried about going over your data cap, you can always select a limit to help you control your usage. On an iPhone, you can’t do this directly. However, you can restrict app data usage by going to Settings > Cellular Data and turning off Cellular Data. You can also reduce your app’s background data usage by going to Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options, selecting Data Mode, and choosing Low Data Mode.

Some versions allow you to go directly to Low Data mode after selecting the cellular data options. On Android, it’s simpler: on a Pixel, go to Settings > Network & Internet > SIM, then choose Warning & data limit > Data limit, then select Set data limit to specify a value and choose Set to confirm.