Get Guardian on GoogleAs complaints over rapid depletion of mobile data subscriptions persist among smartphone users, background applications, automatic updates, and unnoticed downloads are coming under scrutiny as possible contributors to data consumption.
Many subscribers who complain that their data disappears before the expiration of their subscriptions often attribute the experience to telecommunications operators, with some accusing service providers of deliberately exhausting their data.
However, a customer education campaign in Port Harcourt is drawing attention to activities taking place behind the screens of smartphones, which users may overlook while browsing, streaming videos or engaging on social media.
The campaign, organised by MTN Nigeria, seeks to educate subscribers on how applications running in the background, automatic software updates and other phone activities consume internet data, even when users are not actively accessing them.
Speaking during the sensitisation exercise in popular waterlines park, Senior Lead, Sales and Trade Development, Rivers State, Sales and Distribution Division, MTN, Victor Olarewaju, said the initiative was designed to address misconceptions surrounding data pricing and the perception that subscriptions expire before their actual validity periods.
Olarewaju said many smartphone users were unaware that several applications installed on their devices could continue consuming data without their direct involvement.
He explained that while subscribers generally associate data consumption with familiar platforms such as WhatsApp and YouTube, other applications also operate in the background, receiving notifications, downloading content and installing updates.
“Some downloads happen automatically on your device and exhaust your data. They are in the background, so you are not using them frequently. You receive notifications, and some smartphones automatically receive updates.
“Some of these updates are quite large in terms of data consumption. But most people are used to WhatsApp and YouTube, and they believe that is where their data usage ends. There is not enough sensitisation about the data consequences of background applications,” he said.
He noted that the situation could leave subscribers confused about how their data subscriptions were being consumed, particularly when they were not consciously browsing or streaming.
Olarewaju said the campaign was therefore designed to provide practical assistance by helping customers examine their smartphones, identify applications consuming data in the background and understand how to manage them.
According to him, MTN representatives would, with customers’ permission, assess their devices and guide them on managing applications to ensure more efficient use of their data subscriptions.
“We are coming to give people exposure and also attend to them. If they allow us, we can assess their phones to check those applications they are not using but which consume their data in the background.
“We then help them manage those applications so that their data subscriptions can last throughout the month. The essence is to correct the narrative and help people get more value from their data purchases,” he stated.
He described the exercise as part of a continuous market education programme aimed at reaching subscribers directly, particularly traders, commuters and other members of the public who may not regularly access information through conventional media channels.
Olarewaju added that the campaign also had specialised engagement programmes for corporate organisations and high-value customers, stressing that the objective was to ensure that people across different social and economic backgrounds understood how to manage their internet usage.
Also speaking, media personality and campaign facilitator, Kelvin Aswata, popularly known as Cool DJ Kanyo, said the exercise was necessary because many subscribers had developed the impression that telecommunications operators deliberately consumed their data.
He observed that direct engagement with market traders and other members of the public was important because many relied more on information received through face-to-face interactions than conventional media platforms.
“We hear people say MTN is eating their data or that MTN is stealing their data, but that is not really what is happening. Most people do not understand where their data is going, and that is why we are out here to educate them,” he said.
Aswata explained that activities such as watching videos on Facebook, streaming online content and browsing social media platforms contributed to data consumption, even when subscribers did not download the content to their devices.
He advised users to be more conscious of their internet activities, noting that streaming videos repeatedly could consume more data than downloading content once for subsequent offline viewing.
He also urged smartphone users to pay attention to applications that remain active after use, explaining that some applications could continue consuming data through background activities.
“Anytime you open Facebook or any other application on your phone, when you finish using it, close it completely. Do not just leave it running in the background.
“Some applications continue to operate even when you think you have finished using them. They can continue consuming your data without you knowing,” he said.
The sensitisation exercise, which targets people moving through markets and other public spaces, is expected to improve subscribers’ understanding of mobile data consumption and encourage more responsible smartphone usage.
Beyond explaining why data subscriptions may run out faster than expected, the campaign is also drawing attention to the need for smartphone users to regularly check their data usage settings, identify applications consuming the most data and restrict unnecessary background activity.
For subscribers who have repeatedly complained about vanishing data, understanding what happens behind the screen may be an important step towards taking greater control of their internet consumption.
