Facebook App's Data Use Could Be Costing You
DAYTON -- If you are on Facebook a lot, you may notice your cell phone data plan has nearly maxed out, or perhaps you have even gone over. "I use it for texting to my children and friends. I use it to check internet, I use it to Google, I use it to make phone calls. I use it to check the weather," said Marilyn Dickey who uses a lot of data on her cell, but she watches it. "My bill stays the same because I have a plan where they figured out I don't need all the extra things I was getting, and they lowered it. And I stay within it without any problem," Dickey said. Max Greschl, who managers the Cellular Connection in Kettering, says he's surprised more people don't check out their smart phone plans. "We've definitely had a lot of people coming in lately who've gone over on their data plans," said Greschl. The culprit: Facebook. "It auto-plays those videos now, people are just scrolling through their News feeds like normal and you know up pops a video and that uses quite a bit of data. Even just a few seconds, that's a few seconds of 30,40 pictures a second," Greschl explained. There is a quick fix. iPhone users have to shut it off through the settings tab. Click on Facebook under settings, and switch it to off or wife-only auto-play. For Android users, use the actual Facebook App itself. Marilyn Dickey is confident she won't be running into problems anytime soon after remarking, "I think people spend too much time on Facebook." Max says keep in mind that an App can change anytime on your phone, so be sure you know what is running. Most carriers have an App where you can keep track of your data. "There's ways that you can monitor it and there's ways that you can stop the overage." Your wallet will thank you.
DAYTON -- If you are on Facebook a lot, you may notice your cell phone data plan has nearly maxed out, or perhaps you have even gone over. "I use it for texting to my children and friends. I use it to check internet, I use it to Google, I use it to make phone calls. I use it to check the weather," said Marilyn Dickey who uses a lot of data on her cell, but she watches it. "My bill stays the same because I have a plan where they figured out I don't need all the extra things I was getting, and they lowered it. And I stay within it without any problem," Dickey said. Max Greschl, who managers the Cellular Connection in Kettering, says he's surprised more people don't check out their smart phone plans. "We've definitely had a lot of people coming in lately who've gone over on their data plans," said Greschl. The culprit: Facebook. "It auto-plays those videos now, people are just scrolling through their News feeds like normal and you know up pops a video and that uses quite a bit of data. Even just a few seconds, that's a few seconds of 30,40 pictures a second," Greschl explained. There is a quick fix. iPhone users have to shut it off through the settings tab. Click on Facebook under settings, and switch it to off or wife-only auto-play. For Android users, use the actual Facebook App itself. Marilyn Dickey is confident she won't be running into problems anytime soon after remarking, "I think people spend too much time on Facebook." Max says keep in mind that an App can change anytime on your phone, so be sure you know what is running. Most carriers have an App where you can keep track of your data. "There's ways that you can monitor it and there's ways that you can stop the overage." Your wallet will thank you.