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Users of the Google News app have turned to online forums to complain about an excessive use of mobile data in the background, which cost hundreds of dollars in fees.
Problems have been reported in the Google News, Reddit, and on Twitter. The problem seems to have started as early as June and is ongoing, with reports of excessive data usage still flooding the Google forum today.
A Google forum user said Google News had managed to use "7.65 GB of overnight background data".
"I was connected to Wi-Fi but the signal was weak and so it was possible that it would connect / disconnect," said the user. "Even in this case, we have no idea how Google News would have the means to use it as much in such a short time, unless there is a problem."
Other users have responded to the forum post with similar issues. A community member said Google News had managed to accumulate 1.32% of mobile data in the background. while another reported the loss of 1.6 GB.
However, more extreme cases soon surfaced.
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Google Forum member Shaun Creighton, for example, shared a screenshot of the use of data on his mobile device between August and September.
"When I exploited the use of Google News data, he said that there had been 4.10 GB of data used in the background since August 27," he said. declared the internet user. "I've clicked on the previous three months and the highest usage of background data for Google News for the entire month was 46.07 MB, or about 90 times less than what I've used in recent days! "
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"I deleted the application as soon as I realized what was ruining my life," added another user. "The default settings (Samsung Galaxy Note 8) were the same as when updating to August 27. […] On September 15th, AT & T sent 33 text messages at 9 am, informing me that he was buying more data for me at $ 15 / GB. I reviewed the information from my computer. using the data from each individual application until the Google News application is the cause. "
Ross Wachendorf, another victim of the apparent problem, said the app had resulted in charges of $ 240.
It seems that the excessive use of background data has increased in the last week of September for many users. The Google News service has consumed up to 23 GB in the worst cases reported, which relate to the United States and the United Kingdom.
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User Sunny Stueve said that with its partner, the Google News app had absorbed 24GB of data on two mobile devices overnight.
"My husband's bill just arrived at $ 385 from Verizon," said the user. "How does Google compensate its users? After an hour with Google's technical support (which gave me the impression of being to blame), I removed the application from news that day and I'm now taking advantage of SmartNews. "Very bad management of this situation, Google"
This high level of use of the basic data is certainly not normal and caught the attention of Lisa Wang, a member of the Google News team, who said in September that "relevant teams are studying and seeking currently a solution. "
This, combined with the multitude of reports, suggests that there may be a programming problem or bug that causes high data usage, rather than a problem related to user settings.
However, there has been no update on the issue since 27 September.
To resolve this issue, turn off background data from the Google News app through Settings> Apps & Notifications> Working with Data> Allow use of background data in the Android application seems to work, but it can only act as a temporary fix.
Some users have simply deleted the application to avoid additional fees.
ZDNet has contacted Google and will update if we have new news.
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