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How much data does Pokemon Go really use?

Published Jul 21st, 2016 3:29PM EDT
Pokemon Go Data Usage
Image: Pokemon

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Pokemon Go is insanely addictive, and that’s why you should beware of two major side-effects that might hinder your overall gameplay experience: battery consumption and data overages. It’s easy to deal with battery life problems — just go buy an external battery pack or case, or preorder this Pokemon Go Plus accessory. Mobile data, on the other hand, is not so easy to fix, and it might be a real problem if you don’t have a generous monthly allowance.

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That’s not to say that Pokemon Go will eat a lot of data itself, but the game will need extra data on top of your monthly average usage – and yes, there is an app to monitor data usage and you can install it on your device right now for free.

But how much data does Pokemon Go actually consume? The more you use it, the more bytes it’ll swallow, but the numbers are far from alarming if you’re a casual player. At least that’s what a Business Insider post on the matter says. “In an eight-hour period, Pokémon Go had only consumed 25 megabytes, which is a little over 3 megabytes per hour,” the site said. That sounds quite reasonable if you don’t plan to waste your life on Pokemon Go.

“[If] you played “Pokémon GO” for eight hours a day for 31 days straight (a month), you’d consume just under 20 GB. That’s more than the average 2-4 GB data plan,” Business Insider added.

Obviously, your mileage may vary and you probably have better things to do than playing Pokemon Go all day long. But expect overages if you plan to play the game without stopping. Or just switch to T-Mobile.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.