Earlier this week Microsoft confirmed that a backend change created by Twitter Is causing Windows Phone devices to use excessive amounts of data downloading profile images for Twitter contacts frequently.
Twitter is transitioning its profile pictures from one server to another and some change they made during this process is causing serious data issues for Windows Phone users who use the built-in Twitter feature.
The Verge discovered the problem about a week ago and reported it directly to Microsoft.
"On one of our own Windows Phone devices we found that the People hub, the section that hosts the built-in Twitter client, had used over 300MB of mobile data and over 3GB of Wi-Fi data in just under a week," the Verge reported. "The data drain occurs even if you don't use the People hub. It's not clear exactly when the issue started, but the level of data use will depend on how many Twitter contacts Windows Phone users have listed in the People hub."
Microsoft has temporarily fixed the problem by making changes to only sync Twitter accounts once a day. Microsoft states that its options are limited until Twitter resolves its problem. For those concerned about the issue removing the Twitter account from your Windows Phone will completely stop the drain.
In tests done to see how much data is being consumed, it was discovered that it was possible for users to hit up to 3GB of data in a week. Some users have reported 530MB of data use in 30 days on the hub. The data drain is happening even when users are not actively using the hub. The amount of data use depends on how many Twitter contacts a Windows Phone user has listed on the People hub.
Users concerned about excessive data should check with their mobile operator to make sure they have not all ready surpassed their monthly data limit.
Edited by
Stefania Viscusi 
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