MTN Nigeria has attributed the rapid depletion of subscribers’ data bundles to high-resolution video streaming, automatic downloads, background applications, cloud backups and higher overall internet use.
The company has rejected claims that telecommunications operators deliberately deduct customers’ data.
MTN Nigeria’s General Manager of Network Performance, Mike Ndukwe, made the clarification on Monday, 26 October 2026, at a forum tagged “Data on Trial” in Abuja.
The event took place on the sidelines of the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit.
Ndukwe stated: “We’re not stealing your data. However, we completely understand how it feels, especially right now, where every amount counts. But the honest answer is that data is not taken without an action, either your action or your phone.”
He explained that data consumption is largely determined by user activity and device configurations.
Factors Driving Consumption
Applications such as TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and WhatsApp consume varying amounts of data depending on video resolution and auto-play settings.
A 15-second TikTok video can use between two and 20 megabytes depending on quality, while high-definition streaming requires substantially more data than standard-definition viewing.
WhatsApp text messages generally use minimal data, but status updates, videos, group messages and automatic media downloads can exhaust subscriptions faster than users expect.
Ndukwe noted: “If your WhatsApp is set on auto-download, straight away it hits your data bundle. And that is where you can optimise some of your settings.”
He disclosed that overall data consumption has increased by approximately 43 per cent year-on-year.
WhatsApp has about 45 million users in Nigeria and ranks among the platforms generating substantial traffic.
Background applications, automatic software updates and cloud backups continue to run even when subscribers are not actively using their phones.
These processes can consume data without users opening the applications directly.
Ndukwe advised subscribers to disable automatic downloads, reduce streaming resolution, activate data-saving features and monitor consumption through the MyMTN application.
The clarification comes amid persistent complaints from Nigerian consumers about data bundles finishing faster than expected.
Do users of other networks have similar complaints? Otherwise MTN expects its users to just hope and trust that no extraneous improper deductions are going on their data balances. What about unlimited data plans for daily, weekly or monthly offered on different speed plans. That could help resolve the distrust of users with the provider.