INFOGRAPHIC: How 30% of mobile data is wasted

Web browser maker Opera has released a study that details how much of your mobile data could be eaten by the background activity of apps.

The study, which is based on data saving app Opera Max, identified that around 30% of all data is used by apps running in the background.

Among apps that drain data in the background are Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Gmail, according to the Opera study.

"Background data is any data being used by your app when you’re not actively using it or when the phone screen is off," says Opera.

"It includes things like your news app that’s constantly updating content and fetching ads, soaking up your data, even though you’ve not asked it to. This is especially risky when you’re on the move and using expensive mobile data," says the company.

Below is their infographic on how these apps sap data: