Smartphone users clueless about what's eating their data:Study

Smartphone users have seen a spike of up to 50 per cent in their mobile internet data bills but are clueless about what is draining their data, says a study.
"64 per cent of Indians have indicated an increase of more than 10 per cent in their data charges and 21 per cent noticed an unbelievable surge of more than 50 per cent in their data cost," the study by internet calling app Nanu said.
Among all participants from Bihar and Jharkhand, 34 per cent claimed they have noticed more than 50 per cent increase in their data cost-- one of most price sensitive market.

The study conducted between in June 3-6 across 23 states covering 14,154 respondents has attributed rise in data consumption to video advertisements on various websites.
It, however, claimed that majority of smartphone users it surveyed were not aware about source of data consumption.
"With mobile advertising growing exponentially, there is an increasing possibility of consumers facing hidden data charges without their knowledge," Nanu Founder and CEO Martin Nygate said.

It said 42 per cent of Indians are not aware of the fact that their data is extensively consumed by "video adverts even if they are not clicking on it".
Furthermore, 25 per cent of Indians are somewhat aware of the situation and upset by the brands consuming data through video adverts.

Interestingly, only 17 per cent of Indians are broadly aware of this, but never considered its impact on their mobile data expenses.
More than 45 per cent of Indians specifically from Gujarat, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala has indicated their ignorance on video adverts consuming data, as per the study.
"89 per cent of Indians have shown reluctance towards consistently clicking on mobile video adverts while 35 per cent prefer to stay away from clicking video adverts. 54 per cent prefer selective clicking on video adverts," the study added.
As per the study, 81 per cent of Indians spend below Rs 500 and 64 per cent of smartphone users in the country do not exceed Rs 300 as their monthly spend on mobile data.

Himachal Pradesh emerged as the top state spending on mobile data where 34 per cent smartphone users spend more than Rs 500 every month, it said.
Around 44 per cent of respondents in Chattisgarh showed immense annoyance with the unwanted data cost forced on them by marketers, the study said.
Of the total number of respondents, 83 per cent were male users from both metros and non-metros and 17 per cent were females, the study said.