Estimate data used on video platforms.
Short-form vertical video is heavier per minute than ordinary long-form content, typically by around a third, because clips are aggressively prefetched, frequently replayed and encoded at higher bitrates relative to their length. Splitting watch time between the two formats and weighting the short-form portion gives a more accurate figure than applying a single average bitrate across everything.
Weighted long and short-form video
MB per minute = Mbps x 60 / 8; short-form rate = that x 1.35; daily MB = long minutes x rate + short minutes x short rate
Because the platform preloads the next several clips before you swipe, so you download video you never watch. Rewatches and loops add more, and the vertical full-screen format is usually encoded at a higher bitrate for its resolution.
Substantially. Manually setting 480p instead of automatic on a mobile connection typically cuts the figure by 60-70 percent, and on a phone screen the difference is much less visible than on a television.
It goes over your connection either way. Prefetched clips you swipe past have already been downloaded, which is why time spent scrolling a feed can use more data than the same time spent watching one video.