Instagram is among the apps that the internet uses accuse of consuming excessive data bundles. Loading the images, the videos and the stories that are posted consistently consumes more data than you may think. ... Instagram videos preload enabling you to watch them in an instant, and consuming data in the process.

How do I stop Instagram from using so much data?

Instagram tries to keep ahead of your fast-fingered scrolling, so it aggressively preloads photos and videos. You can turn that off on cellular networks by tapping on the profile icon, then on the Options button in the upper right corner, scrolling down to Cellular Data Use, and selecting Use Less Data.

Does Instagram use up a lot of data?

When someone browses their Instagram feed for an hour on their smartphone, that social media time uses 100MB of data. Do this every day for a month and they will have used 3GB of their data. Compare that to streaming music, which only uses half that amount of data.