Tech Tips for Non-Tech People!
Original Air Date: May 1, 2015
Free Apps Eat Your Data Plan
Free apps on our smartphones are great, especially when they become something you use every day.
Well, if you’re on a limited data plan or constantly running out of battery power, you may want to be careful using those free-ad driven apps all the time.
It turns out they can cost you by chewing up your battery and your data plan.
A recent report by researchers at USC and two other universities showed that the ads in many free apps can use up to 79% more of your network data than apps that aren’t ad driven.
It also showed that they drained 16% more energy and used 22% more memory in order to constantly deliver new ads .
If your phone seems sluggish and always running low on power, those free games could be why.
Free apps often require more permissions to run as well, so you can throw privacy concerns in for good measure.
To pay or not to pay...that is the question, the next time you’re choosing an app.
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