Culture

What typically uses the most data on a smartphone?

Engadget staff@engadget.com (Isaac Egbon)

22 Sept 2026 00:00 AEST 1 min read Rewritten in plain language

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Overview

You might be burning through data faster than you think.
Different people rack up that total in different ways: Some people spend all day doing battle on X, while some find themselves drawn into TikTok's unending videos, so there's no one thing that uses the most data.
For what it's worth, on most of these you can control how much data they consume through a quality setting or two.
On low resolution, YouTube consumes around 500MB per hour; on 720p, about 2GB per hour; on 1080p, it's 3GB per hour; and on 4K UHD, an hour on YouTube can consume over 15GB of data.
Good streams at 480p and uses around 0.72GB per hour; Better streams in HD and uses about 1.8GB of data per hour; and, Best streams at 4K and consumes nearly 6.8GB per hour.

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Summarized version

The platform uses 300MB per hour on Low quality settings, 700MB per hour on Standard definition, around 3GB per hour on HD and up to 7GB of data per hour on Ultra HD. On average, Instagram can use up to 1.5GB of data per hour.

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The article, shortened and in plain language

You might be burning through data faster than you think.

According to Ericsson's mobile traffic data report, the world now moves around 150-200 exabytes of mobile data monthly. The average smartphone alone now consumes more than 20GB a month, up from 4.9GB just a few years ago.

Different people rack up that total in different ways: Some people spend all day doing battle on X, while some find themselves drawn into TikTok's unending videos, so there's no one thing that uses the most data. Although there is no lone culprit, these usually do the most damage: video streaming, social media, video calls, software updates, cloud backups and music streaming. For what it's worth, on most of these you can control how much data they consume through a quality setting or two.

Let's start with the most popular video platform: YouTube. On low resolution, YouTube consumes around 500MB per hour; on 720p, about 2GB per hour; on 1080p, it's 3GB per hour; and on 4K UHD, an hour on YouTube can consume over 15GB of data.

Netflix is a bit more considerate with your data. Amazon Prime Video, on the other hand, offers three quality options: Good, Better and Best. Good streams at 480p and uses around 0.72GB per hour; Better streams in HD and uses about 1.8GB of data per hour; and, Best streams at 4K and consumes nearly 6.8GB per hour.

On average, Instagram can use up to 1.5GB of data per hour.

Across nearly every category covered, you can cut down data usage by downloading content over Wi-Fi for offline playback later on.

Shortened to 1 minute of reading, this version reads 15.7 on the Niral Score.

You are reading our version, not theirs. This is Engadget's report shortened to its most important sentences, in plainer words, with verdicts and loaded words taken out. Plain description stays, and so do adjectives that carry a fact, such as "former" or "federal". The reporting, the facts and the quotations are theirs — quotations are never edited — and the indicators beside it measure this version. Hover or tap Adjectives to see every one left in the text.

Indicators

Niral Score 17.5was 21.8 mundaneloaded

Highlighted in the text. Words that carry a fact and quoted words are not counted.

hour28data22video11uses9around8consume6consumes6quality6use6videos5calls4music4platform4streaming4streams4updates4you're4average3backups3depending3media3monthly3resolution3roughly3settings3single3social3add2audio2cloud2content2different2every2exabytes2exact2few2figures2group2highest2little2mobile2nearly2people2platforms2posts2smartphone2software2start2stream2text2total2usage2watching2

Sentiment -0.0was -0.1 hostilefavourable Political diction +0.1 left-codedright-coded Mood 48.7was 41.3 sorrowjoyful

5 read zero: generational, gender, jingoistic, religious, sourcing

Generational 0 harder on the oldharder on the young Gender 0 no gendered framingframing throughout Jingoistic 0 reports to a readerwrites from a camp Religious 0 not invokedovert Sourcing 0 unattributednamed sources

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Outlet	Niral Score	Adjectives	Political	Sentiment	Happiness
Engadgetas they published this story	21.8	24	0.1	-0.1	41.3
Mundane Readneutralized from Engadget	17.5	22	0.1	-0.0	48.7

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