QUICK LOOK

• Monitor your data consumption
• Restrict data-hogging apps
• Available on iOS (iPhone, iPad) and Android

I have a love-hate relationship with my Android. I love it to pieces every day of the month until the 30^th, when my data bill from Vodacom arrives. Then I feel like locking it in a safe so that I can’t touch it and going back to my Nokia 3210.

It has gotten slightly better over time, as I’ve found new data packages that don’t hurt quite as much. But it’s still no fun knowing you’ve got a machine in your pocket that has more computing power than the Apollo 11 did (true story), but you’re too afraid to do anything with it in case you’re stuck with a bill that’s higher than your car repayments.

Onavo Lite is a free app that gives you detailed information about your data usage, so that you can slowly wrestle back control and start loving your smartphone again (even on the 30^th). It shows you exactly which apps are consuming data over your GPRS/3G connection and how much data each has used. Then, it gently weans you off using data on these apps. It’s a bit like a rehab plan for data junkies. And it works.

So, step 1 is admitting you have a problem. That becomes pretty apparent when you open up the home screen and see your total data use for the month to date against the total amount of data you have for the month, week or day (when you setup the app, you input information about your data plan).

When the screaming has subsided, you can break into more detail about specific apps – which ones are hogging the most data? When are you using those apps? How does your data consumption through an app compare to the average usage for that app? Once you’ve identified exactly where the problems lie, Onavo gives you a number of options to deal with them: uninstall the app (you can do this directly from Onavo), restrict it to using Wi-Fi only or set a notifications so you’re warned when that app is data munching. Easy.

Over the long term, the app can start giving you insights into how you are as a data user (I’m not sure I want the app to judge me like that). It can advise you whether you are on the right data plan: whether you are consistently under- (ha!) or over-using the amount of data you have.

There are a couple of annoyances: there’s an alert icon on the status bar that never goes away. That’s really annoying; it’s like the app wants you to feel guilty about using data or something. Also, you can’t change the currency off US$ when looking at your data plan, and that just irritates me on principle.

Overall, though, it’s a pretty good data consumption app that gives you meaningful information about what you’re using. Download it here

Turn ons

• The app controls (WiFi only/uninstall) are very quick and simple
• Lovely, info-rich homescreen
• Useful functionality

Turn offs

• The constant alert icon is almost a deal-breaker
• Would be nice if there was a widget to show just the summary bar on a home screen

Price: Free