TikTok named the most data draining app

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New research shows that video-heavy platform TikTok used the most data compared to its social media rivals, draining a whopping 840MB per hour. 

According to data from Buymobiles, daily usage of the app per person (according to TikTok developers) is 53 minutes which means it drains 742MB from the average users’ monthly data allowance per day.

Instagram was the next highest per hour, using 720MB per hour, however, the average user spends 145 minutes per day on the app equating to a huge 1.74GB of data. 

Twitter and Facebook both have the same average daily usage figure of 145 minutes, but the latter drains much less data than its social media rival at a mere 100MB per hour compared to Twitter (360MB in the same time).

Snapchat was also surprisingly found to use much less data than Twitter, despite being predominantly a picture/ video platform, taking a relatively efficient 160MB per hour. 

Away from social media apps, YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Prime all drain a massive 3GB per hour when users watch HD videos. 

BBC iPlayer in comparison only uses 225MB in the same time frame, making it by far the least data draining video streaming app available. 

Spotify was also found to be an extremely efficient app when it comes to data use at just 40MB per hour.  

Amongst video conferencing apps, the research found that Zoom was the biggest drain on data using 810MB per hour while Skype (700MB) and Google Hangouts (600MB) were slightly better for preserving monthly allowances when you’re calling on the go. 

Jess Canning, mobile phone expert at Buymobiles commented on the research: “It’s been very interesting to see how the most popular apps match up against each other in terms of data usage.”

“These apps are a part of our everyday lives and in learning about how much data they use, we’re hoping our customers can choose a tariff plan that’s perfect for them.”

“Avid TikTok users will need a hefty amount of data to use the app at their leisure, likewise with the majority of video streaming platforms like YouTube.”