Data Usage: The 10 Sneaky Things that Drive it Up

Between working from home, homeschooling, and everyday life, data usage is at an all-time high! But, did you know that your internet plan likely has a limit on the data you can consume?

child driving up data usage of internet on an ipad

How to Reduce Your Home Data Usage

Today’s post is a bit of a departure from my norm, but I hope this will help out other moms! I recently became frustrated at how slow our internet was working. I called our internet provider who informed me that our plan had a limit on it.

Did you know many home internet service providers have a monthly limit just like your wireless data? I had no idea! Most will offer an unlimited plan, but they can be expensive. Here are some solutions to reducing your data use.

While our internet didn’t shut off after we hit that magic number, our speeds were throttled. We had internet, sure, but it was buffering constantly and driving our entire household crazy!

While I did end up upgrading our internet plan, it isn’t unlimited. So, I knew I had to do some research to figure out how to lower our data usage. What I found was very eye-opening, so I’m sharing it all!

10 Devices That are Sneakily Using Your Data

Let’s chat about the devices that are siphoning your internet data. Even being aware of just a few of these can go a long way towards your data cap!

1. Wireless Printers

Make sure to turn your wireless printers off when not in use. Although the data usage is not heavy when you’re not actively printing, there’s still low passive data usage that goes on during the day. Kind of like an annoying drip in a faucet.

There are days (or even weeks!) when we don’t use our printer, so switching it off was a simple solution. Yes, it’s a bit of a pain to go turn it on when I want to use it, but it’s also a good opportunity to stretch my legs. 😉

2. Gaming consoles

If you have gamers in your household, this one is very important! Games are downloadable and they are huge files. Even if the game isn’t being downloaded, most are connected to the internet for updates and upgrades.

They can drive your data usage up very quickly, especially when you have multiple consoles.

3. SmartTVs

SmartTVs are becoming more and more popular, but they are essentially an oversized cell phone now! These televisions are being used to download and stream shows, surf YouTube, and more!

Depending on how many of these TVs you are using in a household (and how often!), it can add up to a lot of data used.

4. Cable or Satellite

Today many cable services are serviced by the internet. You probably already know streaming shows take up a lot of data, but I recently discovered that recording shows does as well.

This doesn’t mean you need to skip your favorite shows, but if you’ve recorded a million episodes of House Hunters, maybe it’s time to cancel the recording. Just be mindful of how many movies and series you are choose to record.

5. Security Cameras and Video Monitors

Security cameras can be one of the biggest data drainers!

The easiest way to drop your data usage is to check your settings and ensure your cameras are not recording and storing 24/7. You can set most security cameras to only record and save when motion is detected. In fact, you can even specify if movement is human only. Unless you have a troublesome neighborhood pet, this is a good option!

6. Computers and Tablets

With so many people at home at one-time I’m sure you noticed the spike in your home data usage.

Completely shut down computers and tablets to ensure they are not passively updating.

7. Cell Phones

This is another obvious one, but most cell phones are set to switch over to wifi once you get home.

If you already have an unlimited plan through your cell phone carrier, consider switching over to data usage when you’re home data usage is getting too close to its limits.

Also, make sure that your phone is not set to wi-fi calling. The standard network will work fine for most people!

8. Smart Appliances

Some of these products can’t necessarily be turned off when not in use, but you can disable the wi-fi during those times.

9. Alexa, Echo, or Other Home Management Devices

Did you know that your Alexa device is always listening? Unless you specifically set it not to, its ears are perked and waiting for you to say “Alexa!” This is also true of systems like Echo Dot, Apple HomeKit devices, etc.

Systems like these are handy and fun, but they also turn your entire home into one big data sucker. Thermostats, light switches, sprinklers, and more turn into mini devices…not to mention the device itself!

10. Neighbors (Yes, Neighbors)

Hopefully this isn’t the case for you, but if you don’t have a secure wifi connection with a strong password, you may have some uninvited guests using your network!

Not only is this a cybersecurity no-no, but it also means someone else is using your precious data!

Make sure your wi-fi is secured with a password so that you don’t have any uninvited users.

As you can see, it just takes a few simple tweaks to save more of your data. Give these a try and let me know what works for you!