New Website Shows How Much Data Your App Will Use

Nearly all of the websites that you can download an app from will show you a number telling you how many times that particular app was downloaded. The assumption here is that an app that was downloaded 1,000 times must be better than an app that was only downloaded say 15 times.

The problem with this set of numbers is that it doesn’t really mention if the app was used, or deleted immediately after it was downloaded, or more importantly, how this app affects your data usage. You may download a very popular app only to find that in a few days you are over your data plan’s limit.

CTIA may just have a solution for you. CTIA, or the Wireless Association, is a not-for-profit industry trade group that represents the international wireless telecommunications industry. Its members include cellular, personal communication services and enhanced specialized mobile radio providers and suppliers.

On Dec. 26, CTIA unveiled a new website that is designed to show smartphone and tablet users how much data is being used by popular apps. The name of the website is KnowMyApp.org. This website does more than just let you know how much data an app uses.

You can select which operating system you want to check out. Your choices are Android, iOS or both. Once you select an app, it shows the monthly average megabyte usage, and it also shows you how it impacts usage on various data plans and what you can expect from each.

In addition to giving you information about a particular app, it also gives you advice on how to conserve data. The website also has a section for developers, and this is designed to help developers figure out more efficient ways to structure their apps in order to save wireless data resources.

A section labeled “Browse the Ratings” gives you a breakdown of featured, top paid, top free and top rated apps. There are currently test results for the top 50 paid and free apps from the Apple and Google stores listed.

If you click on a particular app, it will explain how it was used during the test. I clicked on an app called Fantastical 2 running on iOS and saw the following information;

Tested Use: One day usage = 3 sessions of the following scenario: View Tips and Tricks page, modify 3 UI settings, add 2 new events, complete a reminder, add 3 new reminders, view a birthday, delete an event, snooze an alert notification.

You can see from this that CTIA took its time to run multiple tests and include items that would impact data usage. You will see information on how much data is used when an app is downloaded, at initialization, during active run time and during background time.

The tool was developed through the CTIA’s Application Data Usage Working Group. The members of this group include Apple, AT&T, Ericsson, HTC America, Microsoft, Sprint and Verizon Wireless.

Intertek, a multinational inspection, product testing and certification company headquartered in London, U.K., developed the mobile app data usage benchmark testing. This was done using the AT&T Application Resource Optimizer, which is an open-source diagnostic tool that captures, analyzes and reports network app data usage to help developers create more efficient apps.