In Windows 10, everything tries to get into the Internet and update itself: system updates are automatically installed, Windows applications are automatically updated, applications from the store are also updated themselves, the Internet uses live tiles, etc.
In today’s article, we will look at what uses the most data, and how to reduce the gluttony of the system.
Data transfer check for each application
In Windows 10, the ability to view how much traffic is used by the application is implemented. Data can be obtained for the last 30 days, but this interval will be enough for you to understand which applications are more power hungry.
Go to the “Start” menu => Settings => Network and Internet => Data Usage => in this window you will see the summary data on traffic usage.
If you click on “Show Usage Information”, you will see how much data each of your applications uses, for example how much your browser has used in the last 30 days.
Disable automatic updates for Windows 10
Windows 10 usually downloads and installs updates by itself without your participation, but what if the Internet is limited? Or perhaps you want to choose what to bet and what not. Or maybe you want to turn off updates altogether?
You can tell Windows that the connection through which you connect to the Internet is a metered one, after which the system will show that there are new updates and offer to download them, but nothing will be downloaded and installed itself. You can also disable the update service, after which the system, when trying to search for updates, will write an error and nothing will be loaded. All methods are described in the instructions How to disable automatic updates in Windows 10.
Disable automatic refresh of Peer-to-Peer sharing
By default, Windows 10 automatically uses the Internet connection to distribute Windows and application updates to other Windows 10 PCs. This system is similar to BitTorrent for distributing Windows 10 updates to users. Unlike the BitTorrent client, Windows does this in the background without warning you. Windows 10 will not distribute updates if you set the connection as metered, but you can also disable this action directly.
To prevent automatic distribution of updates – go to “Start” => Settings => Update and Security => Windows Update => Advanced Settings => find and open “Choose how and when to receive updates” => disable the option or check the box “Computers on the local network”
Disable automatic updates for apps and live tiles
If you set your connection as metered, then Windows will not automatically update apps and live tiles. But if you have not done so, you can turn off automatic updating of applications from the store, and updating of live tile data.
To disable automatic updating of applications from the store in Windows 10 – open the store => click on your profile picture (top right) => select “Options” => in the “Update applications automatically” field, click disable.
Even if you have not yet installed apps from the store, this action will still be useful. Many applications already installed are automatically updated if you do not disable this option.
Live Tile also uses the internet. Disabling the live tile update will not save you a lot of data, but still, if you need to disable automatic loading and display of new data, right-click on the tile => select advanced => disable live tiles.
Data when browsing
Your browser can use a lot of data, but that depends on how much you use it. In some browsers, you can add extensions to save bandwidth. For example, in Opera, you can turn on the turbo mode, and in Chrome you can install the “Save Traffic” extension. This extension helps to save traffic received when loading pages.
After these steps, Windows 10 will not be so gluttonous and you will be able to save traffic. If you know other ways to save traffic – write comments! Good luck ?
