Traffic on the Internet – what is it and how to find out its volume. What is traffic, what is it for? Description, definition of concept

Mobile Internet is becoming more and more firmly integrated into our lives. All the leading three operators - Beeline, Megafon and MTS - have long had tariffs with included traffic volume mobile internet. However, as always, at the most inconvenient moment the mobile traffic volume ends, the speed drops and this causes us a lot of inconvenience. So how can you track mobile Internet traffic - how much does MTS, Megafon and Beeline eat, and also how to SAVE it without losing the functionality of the phone? Let's figure it out together...

How to find out mobile traffic of Beeline, Megafon, MTS on Android?

In order to find out the volume of mobile Internet already consumed for the current month, it is not necessary to know service commands or register with personal account operator, although this can also be very useful. Any Android or iOS phone has a mobile Internet traffic statistics section. For Android owners, it is located in the section “Settings > Data transfer > Your operator’s name”

We get to the detailed statistics section, which can be manually displayed for required period. By the way, here you can set a mobile traffic limit - this is convenient when you have a certain volume included, and everything above is paid separately, especially in roaming, where mobile Internet is very expensive.

You can also see in detail which application consumes how much over a selected period of time.

When you click on each of them, detailed settings for a specific program open. We need to "Limit background traffic", and if you wish, you can disable auto-update of data.

Mobile Internet traffic on iPhone

There is a similar section on the iPhone. It is located in “Settings” - “Cellular Data”. Unlike Android, iOS displays mobile traffic for the current month.

The system also collects in detail information about the Internet consumed by each of the installed applications. In the same section below there will be complete statistics for each application. And right there you can disable mobile Internet consumption for each of them separately.

How to save mobile internet on iPhone?

Let's move on to the tastiest part - how to save this traffic? As you noticed, some applications consume the Internet very actively, some less so. I'll tell you a secret that many programs do this in background, that is, you may not even know about it, but they are quietly downloading some updates for themselves. And this matter must be stopped and only those from whom you really need information up to date must be allowed to update. Let's start with the iPhone, since this is somewhat more difficult to do on it than on Android.

We have already seen above that with a light touch of your finger you can immediately block the mobile Internet for the most gluttonous or unused applications by moving the slider to the inactive position. I also recommend turning off Internet consumption through the operator by programs such as YouTube - you won’t be able to watch videos for a long time this way anyway. If you started watching an online video by accident, assuming that you had WiFi turned on, then a message about limiting your Internet connection may come as an unpleasant surprise for you. This can also be done in the “Settings > General > Content Update” section.

The difference in disabling cellular data in this section compared to the “Cellular Data” section, which was mentioned above, is that in the first case we could disable the use of mobile Internet by the application in principle, including when launched manually. And here we turn off only background data loading without your knowledge.

But that’s not all, since mobile traffic is automatically consumed not only by installed programs, but also system components.
For example, updating applications from the AppStore may be enabled. To disable this feature, go to Settings > iTunes Store. App Store" And turn off the “Cellular Data” slider.

We do the same with iCloud Drive - this service constantly synchronizes your data with the cloud in the background iCloud storage. You can either disable synchronization in general (iCloud Drive), or for individual applications, or via cellular communication - in the latter case, synchronization will only work over WiFi.

The next step is to disable regular mail checking. If you use the built-in Mail application, then by default it also queries the mail server for new messages at some intervals. We will make it so that the request will occur only when we access the program. Go to settings - “Mail, addresses, calendars> Data download”.

We disable active delivery of letters from the “Push” server and enable manual selection below for those programs that do not support Push notifications.

Mobile traffic on Android

Finally, let's see how to disable mobile data consumption on Android. Everything is simple here. In addition to disabling updates via cellular communications for each application individually, you can completely disable data loading for programs via the mobile Internet. To do this, go to “Settings > Automatic application updates”. And select either “Never” or “Only via Wi-Fi”.

Also manually disable the consumption of mobile traffic by all applications that require high flow rate Internet. For example YouTube:

Or Google Play Music

You can also optimize data loading for the browser. For example, in Opera this is done by activating the “Compression Mode” slider

And in Google Chrome in the "Settings > Data download > Traffic reduction" section

In your mobile phone settings you can find a section called “Data Transfer” or “Data Usage”. This section calculates the traffic that the user spends on his phone.

But many users do not know what traffic is and what to do with the traffic values ​​that are displayed in the mobile phone settings. If you also have not yet figured out this issue, then we suggest that you read our article.

Traffic is the amount of information that mobile phone sends and receives from the Internet. Traffic can be measured in packets, bits, or bytes. But in phones, bytes and their derivatives (kilobytes, megabytes and gigabytes) are usually used as a unit of measurement. Traffic counting is necessary so that the user can control his Internet expenses.

When traffic is counted, it is usually divided into several types. This can be incoming, outgoing, internal or external traffic. But the phone usually doesn’t have such detailed statistics about traffic usage. Instead, the phone simply shows the total amount of data that has been used over a period of time. In some cases, separate counts may be kept for mobile Internet (traffic transmitted via cellular communications) and Wi-Fi.

If necessary, traffic counting can be organized on any device that is connected to the network or the Internet. For example, if you need to count traffic on a computer running Windows system, then for this you can use such programs as TMeter, NetWorx, BWMeter or DU Meter.

How to view traffic on Android

In order to see traffic consumption on an Android mobile phone, you need to open the “ Settings" and find the section there " Data transfer" or " data usage" For example, on pure Android 8.0, to do this you first need to go to the “ Network and Internet", and then open the subsection " Data transfer».

Here you can see how much traffic was used for last month and take advantage of features that allow you to manage your mobile Internet costs. There is also information about the amount of information that was transferred via Wi-Fi.

If the information that Android provides is not enough for you, then you can install special applications for traffic counting. For example, you can use applications or.

How to view traffic on iPhone

There is a similar section with traffic information on the iPhone. If you have an Apple mobile phone, then you need to open the settings application, go to the " cellular " and scroll the screen to the item " Statistics».

Here you can see the total amount of data from the Internet, as well as data that was received while roaming. In addition, the iPhone gives the exact traffic value for each installed application. This allows you to quickly identify the applications that access the Internet most often and increase your mobile phone costs.

If the information provided by the iPhone is not enough for you, then you can install special applications for counting traffic. For example, you can use applications or.

How to save traffic on your phone

If your Mobile Internet expenses seem too high to you, then you can take a number of measures to reduce the amount of traffic consumed:

• Turn off mobile Internet when you don't need it. Simple but very effective advice. If you are severely limited in mobile traffic, then mobile Internet should be turned off at every opportunity.
  
• Explore your phone settings. Explore the settings available on your phone. You'll likely find many features and functionality that will help you reduce your data usage and control your mobile Internet costs.
• Use a browser with a saving feature. Many browsers have built-in bandwidth saving tools. For example, you can use the Opera browser. This browser passes all traffic through its own servers, where it is pre-compressed.
• Try to always connect to Wi-Fi. While you are connected to wireless Wi-Fi networks you transmit traffic through this network, while the mobile Internet is actually disabled.
• Explore application settings. In the settings of many applications there is an item “Only via Wi-Fi”; after enabling it, the application will only use the Wi-Fi network.

The Internet has become an integral part in our time, and many people cannot imagine their life without mobile Internet. But there are problems with the Internet.

Almost all users of Android devices (devices) are wondering why Internet traffic runs out so quickly? This is especially noticeable for those users who switched to Android from other operating systems.

Why does this happen to Internet traffic in Android? This system constantly works on the network, she is oriented and tuned to such work. Almost all applications are aimed specifically at using the Internet, and this is the Android mobile Internet. This focus is an obvious advantage of this system.

Although this plus works mainly where there is cheap or free and accessible mobile Internet, for example, where there are free Wi-Fi networks. In reality, everything is somewhat different; free Wi-Fi is not available everywhere, and mobile operators are in no hurry to reduce the price for Internet access. For this reason, there is a question of saving Android traffic.

Let's try to figure out what leads to a constant decrease in Internet traffic, and how to prevent it.

1 Applications in the background

In my opinion, main reason The fastest traffic loss in Android is internet applications running in the background. Many background programs do not require the Internet, but they constantly contain advertising that is loaded from the Internet. This leads to unplanned traffic consumption. How to prevent some applications from working with the Internet?

Let's look at this using Android version 4.4.4 as an example.

1.1 How to disable Android mobile Internet

Rice. 1 Android Settings

To disable mobile Internet in Android version 4.4.4:

• you need to go to “Settings” (1 in Fig. 1),

• in “Settings” select “Data Usage” (2 in Fig. 1),

• uncheck “Mobile data” (Fig. 2) (completely prohibit the use of Internet traffic mobile operator).

Rice. 2 Disable mobile Internet in Android 4.4.4

By disabling the mobile Internet, we completely disconnect Android from the mobile Internet. There will be no traffic consumption, but there will also be no opportunity to work with the Internet and Internet applications on Android in the absence of Wi-Fi networks.

These restrictions apply only to mobile Internet. Everything will work fine on free Wi-Fi networks once you connect to them.

1.2 Traffic limitation in Android

Instead of completely disabling the mobile Internet, sometimes it is better to simply limit it so as not to completely exclude the possibility of working with the mobile Internet in the absence of free Wi-Fi networks (see Fig. 3):

Rice. 3 Limit mobile traffic

In “Settings”, return the checkbox next to “Mobile data” (Fig. 3) to return the ability to work with the mobile Internet.

To set restrictions, do the following. On the graph (Fig. 3), we move the yellow bar for limiting the amount of data used, for example, to 2 GB, if, say, our tariff from a mobile operator provides a maximum volume of 3 GB per month, and check the “Mobile data limit” checkbox. Then we will receive a warning when the traffic reaches 2GB.

1.3 Restrictions for Internet applications

You can not check the “Mobile data limit” checkbox (Fig. 3), but you can manually set restrictions for each application. This will limit the Internet traffic of each individual Android application.

Rice. 4 Traffic for Internet applications

To do this, click on the application icon (for example, Google Drive) on the “Data Usage” page (Fig. 4). In the window that opens, check the “Limit background data” checkbox (Fig. 5).

Rice. 5 Limiting mobile Internet for applications

From now on, the Google Drive app will only access the Internet when Android is connected to Wi-Fi (assuming by default that Wi-Fi is free for the user).

Similarly, you should manually set restrictions for all applications that, in the opinion of the Android user, should not consume paid mobile Internet traffic.

This is not done quickly, but it gives a good effect. After this, only the remaining applications, for example, only Google Chrome, will be able to use mobile Internet traffic under the control of the Android user.

1.4 Disabling data while roaming

In order not to waste very expensive Internet traffic while roaming, you need to uncheck the “Data Usage” - ... - “Data in Roaming” box (Fig. 6).

Rice. 6 Disable data usage while roaming

In this case, for example, abroad, Android is guaranteed not to use the Internet traffic of an expensive foreign mobile operator, and not for any applications.

2 Widget updates

Another reason for the consumption of Internet traffic is updates to widgets that use the Internet for this. Of course, if your desktop is strewn with various widgets, such as weather, reminders, news, etc., then traffic leakage cannot be avoided.

These applications are automatically updated using the Internet, which leads to increased traffic. Therefore, it is simply recommended to remove all unnecessary things from the desktop, and this will already lead to savings.

You can also use the above recommendations for limiting traffic for each individual widget (Fig. 4) and (Fig. 5).

3 Android updates

The Android system itself is also updated automatically. Updates are important, so you don't need to disable them completely.

But you need to make sure that updates are installed only when working on a free Wi-Fi network.

Rice. 7 Looking for where Android Updates are located

To configure the use of Internet traffic for Adroid updates, go to “Settings” – “About device” (Fig. 7) – “Software update” (Fig. 8) – uncheck “Auto-update”, check “Wi-Fi only” ( Fig. 8).

Rice. 8 Update Android only when Wi-Fi is available

From now on, our Android will receive and install updates only when it is on a free Wi-Fi network. Mobile traffic will remain untouched; it will not be wasted on fairly frequent updates.

4 Android market

The Android market also consumes a lot of traffic, especially after the function recently appeared there automatic update. It can also be controlled by disabling the “update automatically” feature. However, it remains possible to make updates manually when you have access to a free Wi-Fi network.

To prevent unnecessary advertising from wasting your traffic, before installing any new applications, you should check for advertising in these applications. This often occurs in paid versions of applications. If possible, it is better to disable advertising.

Some people put an Internet shutdown widget on their desktop. To do this, download from the Android market, for example,

• APN Switch
• or APN OnOff,
• APNdroid.

With their help, it is easier to control Internet traffic without going to the Settings menu.
Sometimes, again instead of standard Android settings, they use an application

• 3G WatchDog.

It allows you to avoid unplanned waste of traffic by controlling it and setting a limit on Internet use. But I prefer Android's default Settings menu over similar apps.

5 Unlimited Internet

And of course, the simplest and reliable way- this is the purchase of unlimited Internet. For example, a mobile operator provides this opportunity. Also, many well-known operators offer tariffs for 150 rubles and more with fairly high traffic restrictions from 500 MB to 3-5 GB or more.

This helps you save a lot on mobile Internet, and, equally important, control your traffic costs. It is also important here that, as a rule, the proposed mobile operators The options also work in intranet roaming. This means that when moving from place to place (for example, from one region of the Russian Federation to another), you can continue to use the provided traffic without additional payment. This is very convenient for mobile users who go on business trips or vacations.

6 Useful habits

It is important to make it a rule to connect to the Internet only in free Wi-Fi zones, especially if you plan to download a large amount of information (downloading new applications, watching videos, etc.)

And further. When installing any new attractive application, you need to pay attention to how much Internet traffic this application will require to operate. All kinds of “useful” applications about weather forecasts, horoscopes, taxis, etc. require constant updating and pumping of new relevant data. And this will happen at the expense of the Android user’s traffic, at the expense of the money of the user who installed these applications on his smartphone (tablet).

By adhering to these rules, you can significantly reduce your Internet traffic consumption and save on the Internet.

In general, mobile Internet is far from the most expensive in Russia. Those who have had experience using mobile Internet abroad simply dream of such options as mobile Internet for a fixed fee, or generally unlimited mobile Internet traffic, for example from Yota. Analogues of such services are difficult to find anywhere else.

P.S. Perfect for this article:

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“Little traffic left”: what does it mean?

Unlimited broadband Internet has only relatively recently become commonplace in city apartments. And just a few years ago, any network user was forced to carefully monitor the amount of information received and sent.

This situation is familiar to mobile Internet users firsthand. Most operators in Russia offer their customers a certain limited traffic package intended for use within a month:

• Depending on the cost of the tariff, the package size can vary from 5 to 50 gigabytes;
• There are often hybrid offers: during the day the download volume is limited, but at night both speed and volume have no limits;
• Once the purchased package is exhausted, the Internet connection is not interrupted. However, the data transfer speed drops so much that even by email becomes impossible;
• Most operators warn in advance about the imminent end of using the service in the form of a special SMS message “ Little traffic left" As a rule, it comes when there are 50 megabytes or less left on the balance.

How to calculate the amount of data transferred?

In order not to get into an unpleasant situation with an exhausted limit, you need to constantly keep your finger on the pulse. This can be done using special programs for traffic accounting:

1. NetWorx- allows you to collect statistics on several at once network connections. There is a function for visually displaying the received data in the form of graphs, tables and diagrams. It is possible to program actions in case the limit is exhausted (for example, completely disconnecting from the network);
2. BitMeter is a powerful but free tool for analyzing web data. Along with the typical statistics collection capabilities, there is the functionality detailed study specific actions (file download time, etc.);
3. NetBalancer- has the capabilities inherent in antiviruses. Thus, you can set priority for network access to certain applications;
4. NetSpeedMonitor- one of the simplest and most minimalistic utilities. It does not take up much space in the computer's memory and performs only one task - monitoring connections.

These programs are designed to work on Windows OS, but similar applications are also available for portable devices(Traffic Counter and others).

What to do if you run out of traffic?

Today, the Internet cannot be imagined without the consumption of multimedia content: images, audio, video. Users mobile tariffs not an exception. However, these types of data weigh a lot: a movie takes up several gigabytes, while listening to music can take hundreds of megabytes.

In this mode, a package of 20-30 GB per month may not be enough. Operators mobile communications anticipate such developments and offer customers the opportunity to extend communication services for an additional fee:

• In the MTS company it is called “Turbo button”. You can buy from 100 MB to 50 GB. The cost ranges from 30 to 500 rubles respectively. There are significant regional differences in price;
• Beeline offers a similar service called “Extend Speed”. The pricing policy is similar to the competitor: for an additional few gigabytes you will have to pay from 100 to 300 rubles;
• At Megafon you can even buy microscopic traffic packages (70 MB for 19 rubles). You can also purchase 1 and 5 GB;
• “Tele2” makes it possible not only to “Add speed”, but also to “Add time”. The prices of this operator are more affordable: 500 MB are provided for 30 rubles.

Applicable to websites

A key indicator reflecting the popularity of an Internet resource is web traffic. This is a complex and voluminous concept that includes:

1. Number of unique visitors;
2. Average number of page views per visitor. High values This indicator indicates that the site’s “deep” materials are in demand by the audience;
3. Average visit duration. The more, the better for resource owners. This means that the content is interesting to users;
4. Duration of viewing a specific page;
5. Peak load times on the site. Allows you to allocate time for advertising campaigns and technical work;
6. The most popular pages;
7. Entry points are the pages from which visitors begin to get acquainted with the site materials;
8. Exit points are the most unpopular pages where users do not stay long. This information allows you to get rid of low-quality materials or identify broken links;
9. A typical path is a sequence of pages from an entry point to an exit point;
10. Sources - other sites where it comes from most of visitors to this resource.

Incentivized traffic: what is it?

One of the main tasks in website development is to attract web traffic, especially if we're talking about about the newly created site. Few people know about the project yet, and it is necessary to attract the first visitors, some of whom will form the core of the audience.

One of the ways to lure “clicks” is to motivate them to perform certain actions, for example:

• Navigation from search engine results pages;
• Visiting the resource within a specified period of time;
• Leaving paid comments and fake reviews about a service or product;
• Dissemination of information about the project through social media (“VKontakte”, “Odnoklassniki”, etc.);
• Clicking on advertising banners;
• Watching promotional videos.

For completing one of the above steps or an entire quest from their sequence, payment is required. As a rule, the earnings are very symbolic. So, for watching one video advertisement they give about 10 kopecks. Payment is received almost instantly in the form of virtual money (WebMoney, PayPal).

Among all the meanings of the word “traffic”, those that relate to high technology. This is what providers call the amount of data transferred. This indicator is very important for mobile Internet users who are limited in their ability to consume content. For webmasters, this term is a characteristic of site traffic.

Video about traffic arbitrage

In this video, Roman Putilin will tell you what traffic arbitrage is and how to do it correctly:

In light of the fact that mobile operators have stopped providing tariffs with unlimited internet traffic, it would be useful to know how to save mobile traffic in android smartphones and tablets. In this material, we will tell you how to significantly reduce traffic consumption and try not to go beyond the volume that is required by your tariff.

Identifying applications with high network activity

To determine mobile traffic consumers, the Android operating system has a built-in application, which, depending on versions operating system and proprietary user interface, may be called “ », « " or " data usage».

Here you can see which programs consume megabytes the most, and also set a traffic limit, upon reaching which work on the Internet using mobile network will be terminated. And if you look at the name of a specific application in the list of Internet data consumers, you can see more detailed information about the consumption of mobile traffic.

Having studied the list of applications, you can see that the main consumers of the Internet are not a large number of applications. Typically, these are those programs that provide viewing of pages on the Internet (browsers), viewing online video and audio, as well as navigation maps. Let's see what can be done to save mobile traffic in these applications.

To save mobile traffic when browsing the Internet, you should use browsers that support data compression and . In such browsers, the requested information is compressed on a special server and then transmitted to the user.

Along with blocking unsolicited advertising banners, which take up additional data against your will, with such browsers you can get quite good traffic savings on the mobile network. Applications such as Ghrome, Opera and UC Browser have proven themselves well.

Watching videos on the Internet using a mobile operator’s network is the most “traffic-consuming” activity. After watching just a couple of videos in good resolution, you can spend the entire monthly limit on your tariff. The vast majority of users watch videos on YouTube using the application of the same name. How can you save mobile traffic here?

Open the app settings and check the option " Traffic savings", thereby disabling viewing HD video on mobile Internet.

Listening to music and radio online also consumes a large amount of data over the mobile network. Although compared to watching video, traffic consumption here is an order of magnitude lower, it is still worth setting up an application for listening to streaming audio to save Internet data received. Almost all streaming audio download apps have an option to select the audio quality. The lower the quality, the lower the traffic consumption.

For example, in the Google Play Music program, you can select the sound quality over the mobile network " Low», « Average" And " High" You can completely turn off listening on the operator’s network and use only WI-FI.

Most users use maps from Google and Yandex search engines on their smartphones and tablets for navigation, which significantly consume mobile traffic when downloaded to the device. You can save money here by saving the desired section of the map in the memory of your smartphone or caching it in another way.

And if you are in roaming, then for navigation it is better to use special navigation applications that work without using the Internet, determining the location using GPS or Glonass satellites.