Default
Door staff@engadget.com (Ben Stegner) - 10 Oct 2026
The easiest place to start is with a single toggle that lowers data consumption across everything your iPhone does. To access it, open Settings, then tap Cellular. If you have multiple SIMs, select the one you want to adjust. Then in the settings for it, hit Data Mode.
This will probably be set to Standard, which is good in most cases. Choose Low Data Mode instead, and your iPhone takes various actions to reduce data usage. These include streaming media (and video calls) in lower quality, turning off automatic updates and backups, and limiting how often feeds refresh. Try this when using a secondary eSIM in another country or anytime you need to preserve your data allotment for what you're actively doing.
For a less drastic approach, turn off Background App Refresh for apps that don't need to fetch new information while inactive. Visit Settings > General > Background App Refresh, where you can change the master option to Wi-Fi to avoid background refresh entirely on cellular data. Otherwise, leave it on for Wi-Fi and Cellular Data and disable the slider for any apps that don't need this feature. Note that Low Data Mode disables Background App Refresh.
You also have the option to cut off certain apps from using mobile data entirely. Go back to Settings > Cellular, and under the Cellular Data section, tap Show All to see a list of data amounts used by apps in the Current Period (which only resets when you do so manually). Disable the slider for any app, and it will never use mobile data in the background or foreground.
This will probably be set to Standard, which is good in most cases. Choose Low Data Mode instead, and your iPhone takes various actions to reduce data usage. These include streaming media (and video calls) in lower quality, turning off automatic updates and backups, and limiting how often feeds refresh. Try this when using a secondary eSIM in another country or anytime you need to preserve your data allotment for what you're actively doing.
For a less drastic approach, turn off Background App Refresh for apps that don't need to fetch new information while inactive. Visit Settings > General > Background App Refresh, where you can change the master option to Wi-Fi to avoid background refresh entirely on cellular data. Otherwise, leave it on for Wi-Fi and Cellular Data and disable the slider for any apps that don't need this feature. Note that Low Data Mode disables Background App Refresh.
You also have the option to cut off certain apps from using mobile data entirely. Go back to Settings > Cellular, and under the Cellular Data section, tap Show All to see a list of data amounts used by apps in the Current Period (which only resets when you do so manually). Disable the slider for any app, and it will never use mobile data in the background or foreground.