Tips to limit your data consumption while travelling
Turn on data roaming
It’s important to switch on Data roaming on your mobile plan if you want to use data when roaming (assuming your plan covers you in that destination). You can also turn data roaming off for your primary SIM to avoid paying roaming fees. If you have 'Data Switching' turned on while roaming, you could be using data from either your eSIM plan or from your physical SIM plan, which could incur roaming charges.
You can switch your 'Data Mode' from 'Standard' to 'Low Data Mode' for each of your mobile plans in the 'Settings' → Mobile / Cellular.
Low Data Mode helps reduce mobile data usage by pausing automatic updates, photo syncing, and background tasks like tracking.
Turn on Low Power Mode
Low Power Mode temporarily reduces background activity like downloads and mail fetch. It also stops live location tracking on apps like 'Maps' when you’re not using them (although location still works when you have the app open).
This can help reduce your battery consumption (making your phone last longer) but also limit data usage for functions not needed while abroad.
You can access 'Low Battery Mode' from 'Settings' → 'Battery', or from your 'Control Centre'.
Download offline locations in Maps
Maps.me and Google Maps allow you to download certain locations to your device to work offline or without using data. This is particularly useful for saving on your data usage, and can also be helpful in locations with poor network coverage. Unfortunately, Apple Maps does not yet support this feature.
Download Podcasts, music, and videos
Streaming Podcasts, music, and videos while travelling can use a substantial amount of mobile data. We recommend downloading your favourite media with your Wi-Fi before travelling to help reduce your data usage. It’s also helpful when you’re in places with poor or no coverage, like during flights or at sea.
Local languages in Google Translate
If you’re a bold traveller going to a country that doesn’t speak your language, you may need Google Translate. Did you know you can also download this language file to work offline? Just like maps, you can download the local language file to your device with Wi-Fi, and it'll work even when you’re not connected to the internet. That could come in handy if you get lost!
Location in photo app
The Photos app can tag each photo you take with a location. This is great for remembering where each photo was taken and creating albums when you’re back, but again it uses a lot of data. We recommend keeping your phone in 'Low Power Mode', or switching to 'While Using the App' in 'Settings' → Photos.