Glasswire - Data tracking app and more

[cow07]

Hi everyone

Stumbled across this app that can help track your mobile data usage as well as apps that creates network connection.

I find it useful to see which apps are making network connections for no reason (uninstall) but also a really nice and custom data counter!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.glasswire.android

[srlawren]

I do see your point @cow07 in that GlassWire could be helpful in identifying apps that are misbehaving.  If they are sending/receiving data when you don't expect it, it could potentially be indicators of it collecting and sending information you didn't intend, or download ads, etc.  I get the value, I just don't think it's going to interest many.  I think for most people, it's "how much data did I use and what do I have left until next tuesday when my plan renews?" and similar types of questions they are looking to answer.  But yes I do see that it could be a useful tool for some.  Cheers!

[will13am]

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@cow07 wrote:

@srlawren @will13am

There's an important difference between the built-in tracker and glasswire. The built-in tracker is great, but only monitors your usage (opened apps) and doesn't count the bits and bytes that an app sends and receives. 

Glasswire can give you a break down of your data usage.It's set to log every 5 minutes; even the slightest bits sent. Like I mentioned before, this is useful for seeing an app that seems to be running/connecting/sending data for no reason. Also, being able to log this information in a defined interval allows you to track down those apps that you (or the system) that use the most data at any moment of the day. I believe this resets every X amount of days (90 days, for all of our awesome plans!)

As for the custom monthly counter, yes it's possible to set 90 days or X amount of days, like I've mentioned earlier. 

I understand that this may be a niche app, especially since Data Witness is a low resource app that does one thing great. This app is probably geared towards those who are a bit more weary about their device and apps. Maybe those who don't have root and just want a peek of what's going on.

The built in data meter on android counts both background and foreground data.  Anyway, I could not care less about missing a few bytes of data here and there.  I am not trying to squeeze every byte out of my allotment anyway.  The combination of data witness and the android meter is more than enough. 

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[cow07]

@srlawren @will13am

There's an important difference between the built-in tracker and glasswire. The built-in tracker is great, but only monitors your usage (opened apps) and doesn't count the bits and bytes that an app sends and receives. 

Glasswire can give you a break down of your data usage.It's set to log every 5 minutes; even the slightest bits sent. Like I mentioned before, this is useful for seeing an app that seems to be running/connecting/sending data for no reason. Also, being able to log this information in a defined interval allows you to track down those apps that you (or the system) that use the most data at any moment of the day. I believe this resets every X amount of days (90 days, for all of our awesome plans!)

As for the custom monthly counter, yes it's possible to set 90 days or X amount of days, like I've mentioned earlier. 

I understand that this may be a niche app, especially since Data Witness is a low resource app that does one thing great. This app is probably geared towards those who are a bit more weary about their device and apps. Maybe those who don't have root and just want a peek of what's going on.

[srlawren]

The built-in Android data usage stats are also monthly, which is unfortunate, but you can still identify pretty quickly which apps are chewing up the most of your mobile and wi-fi data.  For example, here are my month-to-date biggest consumers for March so far:

[srlawren]

@cow07 thanks for letting us know about GlassWire, I wasn't previously aware of it.  Question: Is it able to handle custom plan durations like our 10/30/90 day plans?  From the screen shots on the Play Store it looks like it's geared for monthly amounts.  I think for pure tracking of how much data I've used, I'd still recommend Data Witness PM by @IWIK (see my posting here for more details), or My Data Manager, since they can take into account our plan lengths properly.  

For knowing what apps are using how much data, I just use the built-in Android functions for that.  They seem sufficient for my needs so far.

Thus, like @will13am, I will probably pass on this particular tool.  But I do appreciate you bringing it up as an option that some might be interested in!

[will13am]

Stock android tracks data usage at the app level already.  So, I would give this a pass as it would do nothing more than contribute to duplicate effort and needless power consumption.  For those who are somewhat geeky, the best protection against unwanted data usage is to root the phone, install a firewall app to selectively block internet access for apps.  My flashlight app does not have internet access and yet it still shines just as bright. 

[cow07]

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/netstat/id400071873?mt=8

Try that!

[CalvinW]

@cow07 That's definitely useful, I've always wanted to know whether apps are randomly using my data. Do you know any alternatives for iOS?

[cow07]

I'm more worried about apps that makes an Internet connection for no reason!

For those that are curious (rabbit hole) you can also search for spy monitor and be able to see the IP addresses the apps are connecting to.

But the data tracking seems to work great, especially since you can set a custom range. I know there's another one around here but I never managed to get it to work properly.

[imm1304]

Hi @cow07!

Thanks for the useful share.  Its a good habit to know how your data is being used.

I also find the app called Greenify very helpful in hibernating the apps that tend to run in the background unnecessarily and use data/location/battery.  Check it out!  

This way you don't have to uninstall the apps and use them when u like and they get hibernated when closed.