So you are on the phone, and you are almost out of data, and there isn’t any place you could renew or update your data package. You have to make the best of what you have left on your data plan. These are the times when data compression applications help you make the most out of your remaining data. Especially on Android, many data compression applications claim to compress your data. Here we are going to talk about the three data compression app that I think are great for data compression. We are not going to include browsers that automatically compress data over the network like Google Chrome, Opera browser or Puffin Browser.
The first application is Opera Max. Opera Max is an application from the creators of the Opera browser which can compress data from the Android device to the network to every application that uses the HTTP network. Opera Max works on both Wi-Fi and data networks, so it helps save data when you are on a limited Wi-Fi bandwidth connection. The application compresses data transferred through the unsecured protocol. So if you use any site that uses secure encryption (HTTPS) to transfer data to your device, the application does not compress the data. Decompression mechanism also doesn’t work for downloads. One of the best features of Opera Max is that it can compress YouTube videos through its network so you can save more data while you watch the videos. As per my experience coma the application at saved around 50% of data with Youtube.
Opera max also has an application management system where you can block or allow an application to use data in the background or use the internet at all while Opera Max is on. It’ll even give you an alert on data usage by applications in the background so you can analyze and block this application if you do not think they are important.
Another applications Onavo Extend, similar to Opera Max this compresses data to and from your device and the network. However, Onavo only works on a data network like 3G or 4G. It does not operate on a Wi-Fi network like Opera Max does. Onavo will present you with the statistic on your app and their data uses which would allow you to prevent excessive data usage without your knowledge. You can then figure out these applications and block their background data uses to get more out of your data package.
The interface is clean, and the statistics it provides will help you understand where you are with your data packages. This prevents you from going overboard without knowing which application used up all your data.
The last application we are going to talk Neopard. This application can compress data from both HTTP and HTTPS protocol. This application will, however, need you to install a certificate on your device forward can compress data from the https protocol. In doing this, you will have to provide the application with administrative access to the device which can control your device’s lock screen and other features. With the ability to compress both HTTP and HTTPS protocol, this application will give you the most saving from your data package. However, you are installing a certificate from a third party application that may be able to access your private data. The application claims to improve your data usage by 10x by saving 90% of data by using its compression mechanism. The Neopard application also works on Wi-Fi network as well as the mobile data network.
The interface on this app it is however not fancy or clean as the other application we have mentioned, but it does compress more data compared to other applications.
All of these application work by tunneling the data through their network for compression. So you have to understand that a third-party server is handling your data. That said, it is up to you to prevent what goes on their network. However, these applications are very recommended if you only browse the internet, watch videos or images.
According to your internet usage, the data saving will work differently on different data compression app. If you use the internet on your mobile to access secure sites more often then Neopard will save you the most data. If your internet usage involves watching YouTube videos more then Opera Max will save you the most data. You have to test and choose between Opera Max or Onavo for other browsing habits.
Lastly, let us know what you think in the comments and if there are other better applications than the ones we have described here.
You can also have a look at http://pi-xel.io