Yes, Pokemon GO Uses a Lot of Data and Battery

Some fans are quickly discovering the dangerous downside to Pokemon GO: it eats up a lot of data. The augmented reality mobile app allows fans to catch Pokemon in the real world but requires GPS, a strong Internet connection and a phone camera to function. That means that it's very easy to whittle away both battery life and data, leaving many fans put out.

My child (and current) self, kind of (really) wants to download #PokemonGO but I'm already WAY over my data every month🤔😕

— Kristen Alderson (@krisalderson) July 7, 2016

I think it's called Pokemon GO because it's GOing to use all of my data

— Gradshley ⚡️ (@lunatunarox) July 7, 2016

one of y'all will straight walk off a cliff for pokemon GO and the app will drain your battery so you can't call for help

this how you die

— marvel comics' silk© (@traceyfanclub) July 7, 2016

An hour of #PokemonGO on an iPhone SE with Battery Save mode ON went from 80% to 45%. Fun! Bring your battery chargers!

— Seamus Byrne (@seamus) July 6, 2016

In our totally anecdotal experience, playing Pokemon GO for about an hour used up about 50,000 KBs of data, or about .05 GBs. That doesn't seem like much at first glance, but a few hours of gameplay could translate to a major data sink if you're not careful. The easiest solution is to search for Pokemon in areas that have public WiFi, like malls or downtown areas. Now might also be the time to try getting a discount on a bigger data plan, as most major providers usually have some discounted rates available for those who wait.

As for the battery issue, Pokemon GO does have a "battery saver" mode that somehow decreases the game's strain on your phone battery. You might also want to try turning on your phone's "Low Battery" mode to help cut down on unnecessary data use and background updates and turning the brightness of your phone's screen down to maximize your time playing Pokemon GO before your phone dies.