Watch Netflix on the go? You now have more control over how much data it uses

By Kris Wouk May 5, 2016

Netflix — Image used with permission by copyright holder

In March, following T-Mobile CEO John Legere’s accusation that AT&T and Verizon were throttling Netflix streams, Netflix admitted that the carriers weren’t the ones at fault, and that it was in fact the one doing the throttling. The company said it had done this to prevent users from going over their data caps, and it planned to roll out controls to allow users to personally tailor their data usage settings in May.

Netflix has kept its promise, as the company announced in a blog post today that the new cellular data usage controls are rolling out as planned. If left untouched, the Netflix mobile app defaults to automatic, which Netflix says sets the video bitrate to around 600 Kilobits per second. Now there are also five new options ranging from completely off — only allowing for streaming on Wi-Fi — to unlimited, which will stream as fast as your connection allows.

Once the iOS or Android app has updated, users can access the new controls by choosing “App Settings” from the menu, then selecting “Cellular Data Usage.” Choosing the Low setting results in about four hours of video per GB of data used, while Medium offers two hours per GB and High offers one hour per GB. The Unlimited setting isn’t recommended unless you have an unlimited data plan, something not nearly as commonplace as it once was.

“As with all streaming, actual data usage can vary based on your device capabilities and network conditions,” Netflix director of product innovation Eddy Wu wrote in the blog post. “Your mobile carrier also may impact the actual data usage even if you elect a higher setting in the Netflix app.”

The new data usage settings are rolling out today, so if you don’t see them yet, they should be on the way soon. For more information on the new settings, see the related Netflix help article.

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Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…

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