One of the most annoying things about smartphones other than their unquenchable thirst for more power/battery is their aggressive data consumption. This may not be much of a concern if you’re on a generous data plan or are on Wi-Fi often but it is a big deal if you are on limited data plans. In Kenya, one of the most dreaded notifications is when you are notified that you have run out of data bundles. How does one work around this? There are several applications across all mobile platforms that keep a keen eye on your data consumption alongside options from network operators allowing users to query the same using
In Kenya, one of the most dreaded notifications is when you are notified that you have run out of data bundles. How does one work around this? There are several applications across all mobile platforms that keep a keen eye on your data consumption alongside options from network operators allowing users to query the same using short codes.
What most of these apps and short codes don’t do is break down your data usage. Well, Android for instance, does a fine job of doing that directly from the settings app but it could do better.
Opera has updated its application that keeps watch over app’s data consumption habits to start notifying users when applications are consuming more data in the background than they should i.e. when the users are not using the said application. The feature, Smart Alerts, will notify users who have installed Opera’s Max app when any app consumes more than 10 megabytes of data in the background.
The most notorious apps when it comes to draining data in the background and in the process lowering the battery life of a mobile device as well, include the Facebook app and Google’s Gmail. According to Opera, the two apps were found to account for up to 73% of total data consumption in a survey it conducted. Other Facebook and Google apps, WhatsApp and Google Drive, were found to account for up to 50% of total background data consumed without users knowing.
The Smart Alerts feature is available in the updated Opera Max for Android application available on the Play Store.
