How To Reduce Data Usage When Browsing Web On Smartphone

How To Reduce Data Usage When Browsing Web On Smartphone

If you've limited data subscription on your Android / iPhone, then every megabyte will be counted and billed. Some browsers, such as Chrome and Opera, supporting data compression features, which allowing to browse less data on your phones. 

When loading a web page on your smartphone, the browser will directly connecting the website's web server then the server sends the web page. Your cellular provider just sits in the middle and passing the traffic forth and back then charging for it.

If you wish to get some advantage then enable data compression feature on your phone, which allows to browse all the websites with some noticeable differences, and you may feel, too. When you load a web page, the browser of your phone will, usually, send a request to it's server then the server accept the request to download the web page, which you wanted to view, with images and other assets as well. 

After enabling data compression feature, on your phone, the server compresses the web page, i.e., making less space, then send it to your phone with transcoded images as they're smaller without high resolutions and this function will also be good to reduce your phone's data usage, as well.

To enable data compression feature on Chrome, just tap Chrome App from Android, iPhone or iPad and select Settings. Scroll to Advanced then tap Bandwidth management. Tap Reduce data usage then set the slider from OFF to ON.

After enabling the feature to on, then browse for a while and head to the same Reduce data usage page, to view how much of data has been saved. Through this you may get the worth of the feature.   

To enable Opera's data compression mode on Android / iOS, tap Opera menu button then set Off Road mode's (previously called as Turbo) slider to On. This mode can be easily disabled and enabled as your choice of using Wi-Fi, and mobile data. Through Opera's Settings page, you may also adjust to lower the image quality, which allows to save bandwidth for images.   

After enabling the mode, you can view how much of data has been saved. Through this you may get the worth of this mode, like Chrome.

The performances for a faster data connection may take little bit longer to load web pages; because, the connection is not direct and looks for proxy. And for a slower data connection the web page may download even faster, if the phone has less data to download. 

Further, you've to know some privacy concerns of Google and Opera. Both able to watch your activities such as the web pages you're accessing. Your Cellular Carrier, Internet Service Provider (ISP) and various security agencies around the world would also able to watch what web pages you're visiting. 

When using Chrome or Opera, the history will also be synchronized on their servers and if accessing secured websites, such as of banks with encrypted HTTPS, wouldn't allow to get benefits for less data usage, because your sensitive data is not routed via proxy but you've stayed on secured connection.