It's hard to keep a tab on our daily internet usage these days, and if you're not on an unlimited data pack, chances are you might end up consuming the data well before the validity expires.
That's where Google's new app Datally kicks in: It claims to help people save some data and thus, some money.
Google on November 30 launched a new app designed to help Android smartphone users understand, control and limit usage of the pricey data packages, especially in countries such as India.
Google's new Datally app allows users to track their data usage in real time and get personalised recommendations on how to save data. The app also notifies users whenever it detects free-to-use public WiFi hotspots nearby. The new app is available for download on the Google Play store for all phones running Android 5.0 Lollipop and higher.
Datally is an initiative of Google's Next Billion Users division, which aims to make Internet services more accessible in developing countries with limited technology infrastructure.
Do more with your data: introducing Datally, a new way to understand, control and save mobile data → https://t.co/njtvglcJBn pic.twitter.com/81e9mf62Nu
— Google (@Google) November 30, 2017
"Mobile data is expensive for many people around the world. And what's worse, it's hard to figure out where it all goes. That's why we built Datally, an app that helps you to control, save more and do more with your data," Caesar Sengupta, Vice-President of Next Billion Users at Google, said in a blog post.
Google also said it had been testing the app in the Philippines, where users said that they were saving up to 30 percent on their data.
How does the app work?
Datally lists data consumption by apps and enables users to shut off the data access to apps which consume more data or apps which are not of much use to the user. The app also allows users to see data usage on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly basis, and gives recommendations on how they can save more data.
It also helps users block background data usage by certain apps that consume data without their knowledge, and also track real-time data usage while using a particular app.
In Google's own words: "It's like a speedometer for your data."
And as we mentioned earlier, Datally also tells users if there are public Wi-Fi hubs nearby, so they can switch to Wi-Fi and save data.
Google had earlier announced a peer-to-peer payment app called Google Tez exclusively for Indian users and a low-bandwidth version of YouTube called YouTube Go. The latter is a reality now.
