Did you know that WhatsApp voice calls eat into your data allowance?
If you’re on a limited mobile data allowance, this can cost you a lot of money.
In this blog post, I’ll share six tips to help reduce the amount of data used during WhatsApp voice calls.
Switch to voice message:
To reduce data usage in WhatsApp calls, users can switch to voice messages.
WhatsApp provides a solution with voice messages that can be sent to any contact you have been in touch with via calling or video calling.
Use WhatsApp on your mobile phone instead of a tablet because screen size leads to more data consumption.
Use Wifi for VoIP calls to save mobile data:
When you make WhatsApp voice calls, your data can be reduced by about 50% if you use WiFi instead of mobile data.
Here are tips on doing this: Make sure your device is connected to the same router as the WhatsApp user you’re calling.
Manage auto-download of voice messages
WhatsApp will automatically download any media sent to you over a mobile data connection, but it’s easy to adjust the way it handles that automatic download feature
While using mobile, go to Settings> Data and Storage Usage and uncheck Automatically download media.
This will help reduce the amount of expensive data you use outside or while surfing the web and using apps.
But if you’re at home or using Wi-Fi, there’s no need to turn off this feature
WhatsApp also has a setting called Background Data that affects this feature. You can find it in Settings> Chat Settings> Media Auto-Download.
Turn off auto-playback of voice messages
Go to Settings> Data and Storage Usage> Media Auto-Download> uncheck Voice Messages.
The best way to prevent data usage is to turn off the auto-playback of voice messages in WhatsApp settings.
So, when someone sends you a message with a voice recording attached, your phone won’t automatically play it back for you (and thus download the accompanying file).
You’ll have to choose whether or not to play the message yourself, so the other person will at least know that you’ve listened to their message before replying.
This setting alone can eliminate up to 40% of data used during WhatsApp voice calls!
Clear internet browser’s cache and history
You can save a lot of data used during WhatsApp voice calls by clearing your internet browser’s cache and history.
Here’s how to do that in the most popular browsers:
- Firefox: Tools> Options> Privacy> History> Settings
- Google Chrome: Settings > Advanced Settings> Clear Browsing Data
- Internet Explorer: Tools> Internet Options> General Tab> Delete
- Safari: Preferences> Privacy> Clear History
Takeaway
These tips should help reduce the amount of data used during WhatsApp voice calls and hopefully save your money in the long term.
