Internet on the go: which online activities use most data?

Watching videos all day long on your smartphone is the best way to drain your mobile data plan. — MeskPhotography/Shutterstock/AFP

Scrolling through your email messages or watching a show on Netflix do not require the same amount of data being downloaded. While mobile phone plans usually cap the amount of data between 20GB and 100GB per month, beware of certain uses, such as video streaming, which can drain your mobile data in no time.

Unsurprisingly, video platforms are the biggest data consumers. While they are unlimited via a fixed connection, and thus perfect for binge-watching sessions on your TV, you need to be more careful when using your smartphone or tablet if you want to save your mobile data. Indeed, an hour spent on Netflix (or Amazon Prime Video, or Apple TV+) in low resolution (SD) will use roughly 1GB of data, but it can amount to 3GB in high definition (HD) or even 7GB in very high definition (4K). Hence watching Titanic in 4K on your smartphone could very well drain your entire data plan!