In an attempt to help smartphone users reduce data consumption, Google introduced the Data Saver feature into its Chrome browser for Android and iOS in January 2014. In March this year, the company extended the data saving feature to its laptop and desktop browsers. The Data Saver feature allowed users to reduce their data consumption by up to 50 percent.

With the latest update to Data Saver, announced on Monday, Chrome on Android now lets users save up to 70 percent on data usage.

Chrome for Android Data Saver: How it works

Android Chrome Data Saver in action, via Google

Smartphones are becoming more prevalent as the go-to device when we want to search the Internet, but with that comes high data usage and ever-increasing costs. The latest update to the Android Chrome Data Saver can assist by removing most of the images on a web page when it detects that you have a slow connection. This will allow for faster load times and savings in data usage.

You can then opt to either load all the images on the web page or choose to load individual images. You are now more in control of what items are going to be eating up your data.

How to turn on Data Saver on your Android device

• Tap on Settings under the Chrome menu
• Under Advanced tap on Data Saver
• You can then slide the switch to ON. You are able to turn the feature off at any stage.

The updated Data Saver feature will be rolling out to Indonesia and India first, where telecommunications are more dated and parts of both countries still rely on slower 2G networks.

Reducing data consumption in India and parts of Asia has become increasingly popular over the last few months. Last month, Opera Software announced that it had struck a deal to have the company’s Opera Max data saving app pre-installed on various smartphone brands, including devices from Samsung, Xiaomi, Acer, Hisense and more. By 2017, the Norwegian company expects that over 100 million handsets will ship with data-compression technology installed.

Other countries can expect to receive the updated version of Android Chrome Data Saver in the coming months. There has been no announcement yet whether the Chrome iOS app will receive the updated features, but it is likely to follow soon.

Main image created with Microsoft Office Clip Art