Summer vacation is here and they have also been issued important reminders as the British are preparing to fly to their far-flung destinations. According to Georgia Brivida of Sim Local, there is one overlooked phone setup that could completely ruin your holiday budget.
Many travelers remember activating flight modes or disabling mobile data, but what is usually unchecked is the background settings. Autoplay is one of the biggest reasons behind unexpected data drainage and can lead to huge bills. In some cases, phone users are not aware that this setting is turned on.
“Autoplay is a feature that automatically plays videos when scrolling through apps such as Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook, YouTube and more.
“It's fine if you're connected to Wi-Fi at home, but when you're abroad and pay per megabyte, you can quickly burn data quietly just by using your phone as usual.”
Using the phone for a few minutes may not seem like much damage, but the reality is very different.
Use up to 100MB for just 10 minutes of video streaming. Social media apps like Tiktok and Instagram can chew around 20MB at the same time without seeing the full clip.
Then you can quickly get into the airport scrolling while waiting in a map check, WhatsApp call, or queue, and burn out over 300MB before leaving the terminal.
“The small changes before takeoff can save a big headache later,” Georgia emphasized. “This is a simple fix that makes all the difference when you land.”
To disable Autoplay on your iPhone, go to the Settings app, tap Accessibility, then move, then turn off Autoplay video preview.
For Android users, go to Settings, select Google, then select All Services, then Search, Assistant and Audio, then turn off Autoplay video preview under other settings.
This quick adjustment gives you control over your data usage from the start. It also helps to avoid unnecessary roaming costs that could otherwise blow away the escape.
