Have you ever watched TikTok or Instagram while waiting at the airport? Later, you might have gotten a mobile phone bill that knocked you out of your chair, right? Well, let me tell you you’re not alone. International roaming remains one of the most costly mistakes travelers make, especially when we use our phones “as usual” without thinking about the data we are spending.
Georgia Brivida, Sim Local’s mobile communications expert, warns about a detail that many overlook before boarding the plane: the automatic playback of videos on apps like Instagram, TikTok (the trendiest app right now), Facebook, YouTube and even music platforms like Spotify. All of these apps, on both iPhone (from Apple) and Android devices (from Google), are set by default to play content without you asking for it… and that can empty your pocketbook in minutes if you’re outside the United States.
The good news is that there’s a trick to avoid unexpected charges and enjoy your trip without fear of the next bill. So, let’s get started!
What you should do before leaving the U.S
Georgia Brivida, a specialist at Sim Local, explains that before boarding an international flight it is crucial to check the autoplay function of many applications. The aim of this feature is to make your experience, when using apps like TikTok, more fluid by playing videos automatically while navigating in the app. However, this is not that perfect if you go abroad, since it will make you spend a lot of data if you don’t have a proper data plan or you are not connected to Wi-Fi.
Many travellers don’t know about this, and they start using apps such as Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, among others, right after they land at the airport. These apps start playing visual content immediately, which can have an expensive cost in some countries.
How much data are you spending?
Autoplaying videos consume a large amount of mobile data in a very short time without us even noticing it. To make you more aware of how much you are spending, here are some specific examples:
- Watching 10 minutes of content on YouTube or Netflix can consume up to 100 MB.
- Spending just a few minutes on TikTok or Instagram can take about 20 MB.
- Listening to music on Spotify also adds up to data, averaging 15 MB in a short time.
This level of consumption, if you don’t have an international data plan, can result in roaming bills of hundreds of dollars as many carriers charge for every megabyte used when you’re out of the country.
Watching TikTok without worrying about the bill
Everybody likes saving money, right? So, the good news is that you can avoid this problem with a very simple solution. According to the expert, all you have to do is deactivate the autoplay before boarding the plane. Now, let’s explain how you can do this process depending on the type of cell phone you have:
- On iPhone (iOS): 1. Go to ”Settings”. 2. Go to ”Accessibility”. 3. Then go to ”Motion”. 4. Turn off the option called “Automatic video previews”.
- On Android: 1. Go to Settings. 2. Go to ”Google”. 3. Tap on ‘’All services’’. 4. Select ‘’Search, Assistant and Voice’’. 5. Then go to ”Other settings”. 6. Look for the “Autoplay video previews” option and select “Never.”
It is true that autoplay makes it easier to access content, but when you’re abroad every second of video counts, literally, on your bill. So, now you have the perfect and easy solution to enjoy your TikTok videos when you are planning to go abroad!