Google wants to help users monitor their data usage. Incredibly, there's really no polished way to do so right now on Android.
Sure, there are data usage apps on the Play Store and based on the manufacturer, Android does show just how much data a user has consumed so far.
But wouldn't it be great if there was an app specifically streamlined for data usage monitoring and control? Well, Google thinks so. It's releasing an app called Datally, a portmanteau of "data" and "tally," which pretty much explains what it's all about.
Google Introduces Data-Saving App
Datally helps users understand where their data goes and promptly goes about cutting them. Naturally, it shows apps that consume most of their data, then it recommends users where it needs to slow down a little. It even finds nearby Wi-Fi networks to connect to. Basically, Datally wants users to use up the least mobile data as possible.
Datally features a button at the top that enables users to stop all background data usage, meaning, only the app being displayed can use mobile data. It also gives fine-grained controls for each app, so, users can block data usage on an app-by-app basis.
What's Datally For?
As mentioned earlier, Android already has some of those features built in. Unlike Datally, they're often hidden, finicky, and not clearly laid out. What Datally does is it bundles all those and dresses them up neatly in a straightforward way, simplifying the process significantly.
Datally is part of Google's Next Billion Users initiative, an effort to make Google's products and services more approachable and accessible to countries that don't have high-speed internet connections, and where phones remain largely basic and not as sophisticated as premium flagships. Thus, it's only fitting that Datally takes just a measly 6 MB of space.
New Google App Available Now
Google has been testing the data-saving app in the Philippines since summer. Over 500,000 Android users have been taking advantage of the app and able to save 30 percent of their mobile data on average. Datally is now released worldwide and works on any smartphone running Android 5.0 and above.
Product manager Josh Woodward says the inspiration behind Datally came after seeing what people go through just to save every bit of mobile data they can, especially in places where they're expensive like Buenos Aires. Sometimes, people would even toggle Airplane mode on just to prevent unexpected data charges.
Datally is now available from the Google Play Store.
