How to Check Data Usage on iPhone and Android (2026): Current Period, Per App, Per SIM

Summary

iPhone: Settings › Cellular shows your total under Current Period and a per-app list below it. Android: Settings › Network & internet › SIMs, then App data usage. Samsung puts it under Settings › Connections › Data usage.

The catch on iPhone is that Current Period never resets itself. Tap Reset Statistics at the bottom of the screen the day you land and the counter measures the trip. For the data left on a travel eSIM, use the provider's order page: the phone counts what it sent, not what you bought.

How to check data usage on iPhone

Open Settings and tap Cellular (labelled Mobile Data in the UK, Ireland, Australia and some other regions).
Under Cellular Data, read Current Period and Current Period Roaming.
Scroll down to the app list. Tap Show All to see every app; the data each one has used is printed under its name. Switch an app's toggle off to stop it using cellular at all.
At the very bottom, tap Reset Statistics to start the count from zero. The date of the last reset is shown there.

iPhone

Settings › Cellular

Since the last reset

Current Period counts from the last Reset Statistics, which is at the bottom of this screen. Reset the day you land and this becomes your trip meter.

Apple's documented path: Settings › Cellular. The per-app list sits below the totals; tap Show All for every app.

Those are Apple's steps from its cellular data usage article, which adds a caveat worth taking literally: “To get the most accurate cellular data usage from a current period, contact your carrier.” The phone's counter and the network's meter are two different instruments, and the network's is the one you are billed on.

The dual-SIM catch on iPhone

iPhone keeps one Current Period figure, not one per SIM. Apple's wording is that with Dual SIM you “can see how much data you've used with your selected cellular data number,” meaning the total reflects whichever line is chosen under Settings › Cellular › Cellular Data. If you switch from your home SIM to a travel eSIM for data, the counter keeps running on top of the old total.

The fix is a habit: the moment you set the travel eSIM as the data line, scroll down and tap Reset Statistics. From then on, Current Period is the travel line's usage. Do it again when you switch back on the way home. Roaming is a separate line because it is a separate question; on a correctly set up travel eSIM it should read 0 bytes, which is the quickest confirmation that your roaming toggles are the right way round.

How to check data usage on Android (Pixel)

Open Settings, tap Network & internet, then SIMs.
Tap the SIM or eSIM you want to check. The total used this cycle is at the top.
Tap App data usage for the graph and the per-app list.
Tap Data warning & limit to set a warning amount, or a hard limit that switches mobile data off when reached.

Google Pixel

Settings › Network & internet › SIMs

Pick the SIM first

On a dual-SIM Pixel each SIM has its own screen and its own counter, so tap the travel eSIM, not the home line.

Google's documented path for Pixel. On other Android phones: Network & internet › Internet, then the gear next to the carrier.

Google's Pixel help page carries the same caveat as Apple's: “Your phone measures the data usage shown in your phone's Settings app. Some operators measure usage differently.” Unlike iPhone, Android counts each SIM separately and lets you set a billing-cycle start date, so a 30-day travel plan can be tracked against its own calendar.

How to check data usage on Samsung Galaxy

Open Settings, tap Connections, then Data usage.
Read the mobile and Wi-Fi totals, then tap Mobile data usage for the per-app list.
Tap Billing cycle and data warning to set the cycle date, a warning, or a limit.

Samsung's data usage page and its data limit page note that the warning and limit menu is only available with an active SIM or eSIM, so set it after the travel eSIM is installed and selected for mobile data.

iPhone vs Android: what each counter can do

Feature	iPhone	Android (Pixel)	Samsung Galaxy
Total used	Current Period, since last manual reset	Per SIM, per billing cycle	Per SIM, per billing cycle
Per-app list	Yes, with per-app cellular toggle	Yes, with background-data toggle per app	Yes
Separate count per SIM	No, one figure for the selected data line	Yes	Yes
Warning at a set amount	No	Yes, Data warning	Yes, Set data warning
Hard cut-off at a set amount	No	Yes, Data limit	Yes, Set data limit
Roaming shown separately	Yes, Current Period Roaming	Per-SIM roaming toggle; no separate total	Roaming toggle; no separate total
Automatic reset	Never	Each billing cycle	Each billing cycle
Reduce usage in one switch	Low Data Mode, per line	Data Saver	Data Saver

From Apple, Google and Samsung support pages, checked November 2026. Paths vary slightly by iOS and One UI version and by carrier build.

How to check the data left on a travel eSIM

The phone counts what it has sent. It does not know the plan is 10 GB, and it does not see what the network has metered, which can run a little higher because of retransmissions and signalling. The authoritative figure is the provider's. Every YonoSIM eSIM shows data used and remaining on your orders page, read from the network, along with the expiry date and a top-up button for the same eSIM. Check it on the evening of day two; if the pace is faster than you planned, the table in how much data do I need for travel shows which habit is responsible, and a top-up is cheaper than a second plan.

Three habits that make the counter useful

Reset on landing day. iPhone only. Without it the number is meaningless.
Set a warning at 80% of the plan. Android only. A 10 GB plan gets a warning at 8 GB, which leaves time to top up before it runs dry.
Look at the per-app list on day two, not day seven. One app at the top with a number that surprises you is almost always photo backup or a social feed on autoplay, and both have a cellular-off switch.

FAQ

QHow do I check data usage on iPhone?

AOpen Settings and tap Cellular (Mobile Data in the UK and some other regions). Under Cellular Data you will see Current Period and Current Period Roaming. Scroll down for the per-app list; tap Show All to see every app, with the data it has used printed under its name. The figures count from the last time you tapped Reset Statistics, which sits at the very bottom of the screen, not from your billing date.

QWhat does Current Period mean on iPhone?

AIt is the total cellular data used since the statistics were last reset. Apple's counter never resets itself, so on many phones Current Period has been running for years. Tap Reset Statistics at the bottom of Settings › Cellular and it starts from zero; the date of the last reset is shown next to it.

QHow do I check data usage on Android?

AOn a Pixel, open Settings, tap Network & internet, then SIMs, and the total used this cycle is at the top; tap App data usage for the per-app breakdown. On other Android phones the path is Network & internet › Internet, then the settings icon next to your carrier. Samsung Galaxy phones use Settings › Connections › Data usage, with Mobile data usage for the per-app list.

QCan I set a data limit on my phone?

AOn Android, yes: in the SIM screen tap Data warning & limit, turn on Set data warning for a notification at a chosen amount, or Set data limit to cut mobile data off automatically when it is reached. Samsung has the same under Billing cycle and data warning. iPhone has no hard limit; the closest controls are Low Data Mode and switching cellular data off per app.

QDoes the iPhone counter show each SIM separately?

ANot as separate histories. Apple says that with Dual SIM you see how much data you have used with your selected cellular data number, so the Current Period figure reflects whichever line is set as the data line under Settings › Cellular › Cellular Data. Reset Statistics the day you switch to the travel eSIM and the counter measures only that line from then on.

QHow do I check how much data is left on my travel eSIM?

AThe phone can only count what it has sent; it does not know your plan size. For the remaining balance, use the provider's order page. YonoSIM shows data used and remaining for each eSIM on your orders page, read from the network, and that figure is the one that decides when the plan runs out. Both Apple and Google note that the carrier's measurement can differ from the phone's own counter.

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Originally published on www.yonosim.com/en/blog/how-to-check-data-usage-iphone-android-2026 · YonoSIM — You Only Need One SIM