Data plans are limited, some plans are more extensive than others, but they generally have a limit. When we stream content and it's from YouTube and Spotify, the expense can be considerable. And speaking of this music app, you can also disable auto play on Spotify to save the data.
In the case of YouTube, it's not just audio, but video as well. The expense can be a lot. That's why we will see how to save mobile data while playing YouTube videos with this small and detailed guide.
Save mobile data when using YouTube
The first thing you should be aware of is that the higher the video quality, the more data is needed to play it back. Which means their consumption will be higher.
Fortunately, YouTube has an option to limit HD video playback only when connected to a Wi-Fi network. In this way we can save a large amount of data.
To configure this option, all we have to do is enter the YouTube configuration from the same application. We can see an option called "Limit mobile data" that we will have to activate.
In this way, YouTube restricts the playback of HD videos when we have mobile data. This does not mean that we will not be able to play certain videos. In fact, we can see all the videos we want only which will be of lower quality.
Another thing we can do is change the quality of the video from the player itself. This is a good idea when a video isn't uploading, not just for saving mobile data. Obviously if you want to play a video in 480p and it takes too long to load. By reducing the quality to 240p it can be played back smoothly as it requires less connection.
For this, all we have to do is go to the video we want to see. Then we go to the options of the same and click on » Quality »Here we can select the quality in which we want to see it.
If we choose 144p quality obviously the video will be played quite fast and it will consume very little mobile data. However, the small detail is that the quality will be very poor. The ideal is to have the quality set to 360p which in terms of quality / expense ratio is quite decent.
How to save mobile data when watching YouTube videos
The less quality a video has, the less data it requires to play, so we will spend less. However, the ideal is not to consume it directly streaming if our data plan is basic.
Remember that even if the video is of very poor quality, it still consumes a lot. If you have a plan that doesn't exceed 2G per month, you can get to consume them too quickly. Even if you decide to watch the videos in low quality.
This also happens with applications like Spotify. For this reason it is recommended that you download everything you want to view or listen to before losing it Wifi connection.
If you know you will be somewhere where you may want to listen to music or play a video to pass the time. It is best to download YouTube videos before leaving home.
This way you will be able to see them in the best possible quality and without spending mobile data from your device. It is the best option in this regard. Even if you decide to download music from Spotify to save mobile data.
