How to Check What’s Using Data on My Mobile Phone
Under New Zealand privacy laws, Wireless Nation can see how much data you use, but we cannot see what you use it for.
Think of internet data like electricity: we can count how many units you use, but we don’t know whether they were used by your toaster, your fridge, or your washing machine.
To find out exactly which apps are using your data, you can check your phone’s built-in tracker using the simple steps below.
For Apple iPhone
- Open Settings and tap Mobile.
- Scroll down to the Mobile section.
- You will see a list of your apps with the exact amount of data each one has used.
💡 Important iPhone Tip: iPhones track data continuously until you manually clear it. To make this match your monthly Wireless Nation bill cycle, scroll to the very bottom of this menu and tap Reset Statistics on the first day of your billing month.
For Android (Samsung, Oppo, Google Pixel)
- Open Settings and tap Connections (or Network & Internet).
- Tap Data Usage, then select Mobile Data Usage.
- You will see a clear graph showing your data usage alongside a list of your top data-consuming apps.
Simple Ways to Save Data
- Streaming Uses the Most: Watching videos on apps like TikTok, YouTube, Netflix, or Disney+ can easily use 1GB to 3GB of data per hour. Whenever possible, download your shows at home while connected to your Wi-Fi before you head out.
- Turn off “Wi-Fi Assist” / “Network Switch”: This phone feature secretly switches you over to your mobile data plan if your home Wi-Fi signal gets slightly weak. Turn this off in your mobile network settings to save data.
- Update via Wi-Fi Only: Check your App Store or Google Play Store settings to ensure app updates and cloud photo backups are set to happen only when connected to Wi-Fi.
If you have received an 80% data usage warning text from us, we recommend keeping your mobile data turned completely off when you aren’t actively using your phone to prevent automatic top-ups.