Uber data

September 14, 2018 4:09 PM

Help me tech support my dad: last couple months he keeps running out of cellular data. I'm visiting and checked his iphone and it says the Uber app used 1.5 GB, and App store used 13.1 GB. Everything else is in the MB or KB range. I just turned off data use for the App store (so he can only use when in wifi) but he needs to have data access for Uber since he uses it out and about. Why would it suck up so much data? Lyft used much less this month.

I will tell him to use Lyft but he becomes easily confused so it would be safest if I didn't have to totally delete Uber off his phone and he still had that option.

posted by latkes to Computers & Internet (7 answers total)

Most likely problem for the Uber app is that it would be tracking his gps. Perhaps he keeps the app open all the time or it's still background tracking his gps?
posted by acidnova at 4:19 PM on September 14, 2018

GPS doesn't use data - it's an entirely separate network. That seems far higher than would be normal - try contacting Uber support?
posted by sagc at 4:22 PM on September 14, 2018 [2 favorites]

One thing about the data usage stats, they don't automatically reset, as far as I know. Is it possible you're looking at Uber 1.5 GB over the life of the phone, which is still pretty high?

I'm not sure why Uber particularly would be using this much data to begin with, but thought it was worth pointing out the possibility.
posted by Alensin at 4:48 PM on September 14, 2018 [1 favorite]

sagc, I believe acidnova was suggesting that the Uber app might be tracking OP's dad's phone using GPS, which would mean sending GPS coordinates back to Uber's servers via a data connection.
posted by teraflop at 6:41 PM on September 14, 2018 [2 favorites]

I am no expert at all in this, but we were going over our data limits every month until a couple of months ago when I turned off LTE (the 4th generation thing) on my phone and my 11-year-old's. Since then we've had no problem. Neither of us have noticed any difference in performance in being limited to 3G.
posted by Orlop at 9:41 PM on September 14, 2018

I've been using Datally (Android, not sure if iOS too?) that better allows you to set controls for which apps have access to data and/or setting a cap for how much data you want to use and/or while using an app that has access to data -- shows you exactly how much data is consumed. Should help in giving him more exposure as to where the data usage is coming from! This is super annoying.
posted by ellerhodes at 7:04 AM on September 15, 2018

iOS lets you control which apps have access to cellular data, but you can't give an app limited access. It is unlimited or no access at all.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 7:35 AM on September 17, 2018