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How much data do I need
Being online uses data in the same way that a car uses petrol.
Doing different things online uses different amounts of data.
For example 1GB of data can cover up to:
- 44 hours of web browsing
- 51 hours of Facebook
- 4 hours of YouTube videos
- 4 hours of video chat
- Over 30,000 messages on WhatsApp
If you exceed your data allowance, charges can be expensive, so an unlimited data package is best but will be more expensive. You do not need to worry about how much data you use if you are on an ‘unlimited’ subscription.
Sometimes you will buy a data package of a certain size. For example, 20GB of data can cover up to:
- 800 hours of web browsing
- 1000 hours of Facebook
- 75 hours of YouTube videos (standard definition),
- 23 hours of YouTube videos (high definition)
- 80 hours of video chat
- Over 600,000 messages on WhatsApp (with no attachments/pictures)
The confused.com website has a data usage calculator which shows you what, and how much, you can do with your specific data allowance.