As more and more aspects of our lives go online, the average user’s data consumption continues to rise. Smartphones with big, beautiful screens and a sea of endless apps mean we’re using up data to watch the news, plan vacations, catch mystical monsters, find our way around town, and do about a billion other things. Years ago, a 5GB monthly limit make have seemed like an untouchable ceiling. Today, you can crash through it in a couple days by streaming a few hours of high-definition movies on the train ride to work. And it’s only going to get worse. A recent report by Swedish telecom company Ericsson predicts that the average North American smartphone user will consume 22GB a month by 2021—about 6x the 2015 average of 3.7GB a month. And while we’re not there yet, it’s never a bad idea to find ways to use less data.
We stopped by the WGN Studios this morning to discuss a few simple tips that could help you limit the amount of mobile data you use, and avoid potentially nasty overage charges.
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