How much data does Instagram use?
Instagram does not publish how much data it uses, and it varies with how much video you watch and post. What Instagram does explain is that it preloads videos by default so they start faster, and that you can turn this off on mobile data. Do that, keep big uploads for Wi-Fi and measure one ordinary day on your phone.
See the Europe packThe data you spend on videos you scroll past
Instagram's help page on using less data explains the main mechanism: by default the app preloads videos so they play straight away when they reach the screen. It is why the feed feels instant, and also why scrolling past a dozen Reels you never watch still costs data. The app is fetching what might come next.
The rest of the use follows what you do. Photos in the feed are lighter than video. Reels and Stories are video, and so is most of what Explore shows. Messages are small unless they carry videos or a video call. And everything you post goes the other way, uploaded from your phone, which on a trip is often the larger part: a few Stories from a beach day can outweigh an hour of reading captions.
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For one to two weeks of maps, messaging and the odd video.
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Will it work on my phone?
On iPhone: Settings → General → About, and scroll to EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Every iPhone from the XS (2018) onwards does.
On Android: Settings → About phone → Status, and look for EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Most Galaxy S20, Pixel 3 and later do.
It also has to be carrier-unlocked. If you bought it outright or your contract is over, it almost certainly is.
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Turn off preloading on mobile data
Instagram's switch for this is called Use less cellular data. It lives in the app's settings, in the data usage section; Instagram has moved its menus between versions, so open your profile, the menu at the top right, and look for data usage and media quality. With it on, Instagram stops preloading videos over a mobile connection.
The trade-off, in Instagram's words, is that videos may take longer to load on mobile data. On Wi-Fi nothing changes, so the hotel evenings stay as they were. For most people on a trip it is an easy swap: a second of waiting on a Reel you actually chose, instead of data spent on the ones you swiped away.
Posting is the other half of the bill
A video Story or a Reel is a file your phone sends in full, and recording in the camera's highest settings makes that file bigger before Instagram ever sees it. On a mobile plan, the practical habit is to film during the day and post the heavier things from Wi-Fi in the evening. Photos and short text posts are fine on the go.
Also check that your phone is not quietly uploading the same videos somewhere else. Photo backup services sending the whole camera roll over mobile data is a common reason a plan runs out early, and has nothing to do with Instagram. Both iCloud Photos and Google Photos can be told to wait for Wi-Fi, and it is worth doing before you leave.
Measure one ordinary day
Reset your phone's mobile data statistics in the morning: on iPhone in Settings, Cellular (or Mobile Data), at the bottom; on Android, the app data usage screen shows a period you can pick. Use Instagram as you would on holiday, on mobile data, and read the Instagram line that night. That single number, multiplied by the days of the trip, is a better estimate than any average.
To see what the setting is worth, do it twice: one day with Use less cellular data off and one with it on. If you mostly watch Reels, the difference will show; if you mostly post photos, it will be small, and uploads are where to look. This guide explains the counters in detail.
Phone settings that back the app up
On iPhone, Low Data Mode on the travel line stops apps using the network when you are not actively using them, and Apple says it reduces the quality of streaming content, adding that different apps reduce data in different ways. On Android, Data Saver gives background data only on Wi-Fi to most apps, while the app on screen keeps using mobile data. Both cover what Instagram does behind your back, not what it does while you scroll.
If you want Instagram only at the hotel, cut it off completely: switch it off in the app list under Settings, Cellular on iPhone, or set it to Wi-Fi only under Data usage on a Samsung. The iPhone and Android guides have the full paths.
Fitting Instagram into a trip plan
The data calculator on this site treats social media as part of everyday use: around 300 MB a day covers maps, messages and some social media, and around 700 MB a day is for social media all day with photo and Story uploads. Those are estimates for typical use, and your one-day test will tell you which side of them you are on.
If you are travelling around Europe and posting from several countries, a Europe plan covers 33 countries on one eSIM, so the same data follows you across borders. And if the Stories get out of hand, the plan can be topped up without reinstalling anything.
Does Instagram's data setting affect Wi-Fi?
No. Use less cellular data stops video preloading on mobile connections only; on Wi-Fi Instagram behaves as usual.
Why does Instagram use data when I am only scrolling?
Because by default it preloads videos so they start faster, including ones you scroll past. Turning on Use less cellular data stops that on mobile data.
How much data does Instagram use per hour?
Instagram does not publish a figure. Reset your phone's data counter, use the app normally for a day on mobile data and read the Instagram line.
Do Instagram video calls use my travel data?
Yes. Calls and messages go over whichever line carries mobile data, so with a travel eSIM they come out of that plan.
Get your eSIM before you fly: the QR arrives by email in minutes and the plan only starts when you connect at your destination.
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