Background App Refresh lets apps quietly update themselves while your iPhone sits in your pocket.
It lets your email app check for new messages, social media apps reload your feed, news apps pull in fresh headlines, and weather apps follow your location to keep the most up-to-date forecast possible.
At home, it's a convenience that improves the experience of using your iPhone. Abroad, it's a slow drain on data you may be paying expensive roaming rates for.
Turning it off before your trip is one of the easiest travel settings you can adjust to stay in control of your iPhone's data usage while traveling internationally.
How Background App Refresh works
When Background App Refresh is on, your iPhone periodically lets apps check for new content without you opening them.
The idea is that by the time you tap an app to open it, it's already up to date. The work happened in the background while you weren't looking.
Common types of apps that use this process include:
- Email apps checking for new messages
- Social media apps reloading your feed
- News apps pulling in fresh headlines
- Weather apps tracking your location and updating forecasts
- Cloud storage apps syncing new data
It's a genuinely useful feature in everyday life. Your inbox feels current, and your favorite social media feeds are ready as soon as you open an app.
The problem is that those background updates require mobile data when not connected to Wi-Fi. And when your iPhone is connected to an international network, that data typically isn't free.
Why data usage matters more when you're abroad
At home, background refreshes blend into your normal data usage without much consequence. Unlimited domestic plans have more than enough data so that a few background updates barely register.
On the other hand, international data is typically much more limited.
Dedicated international phone plans often include a much smaller allotment of roaming data than domestic plans. Additionally, many users save money by purchasing limited travel data add-ons or small travel eSIMs when going abroad. For these kinds of plans, you don't want your precious limited international data allotments getting sucked up by background processes.
If Background App Refresh is enabled, your iPhone will keep checking in, refreshing, and syncing until you tell it not to.
Disable Background App Refresh to save data
The good news is that it only takes a few seconds to disable Background App Refresh. It's easy and quick enough that you can do it in line while waiting to board your plane.
You should note that disabling Background App Refresh will slightly change your iPhone experience. Apps won't be pre-loaded when you open them. Instead, they'll refresh on the spot, meaning you'll see a brief moment of loading time when you first launch an app.
For most people, that's an easy trade. A second or two of loading time beats multiple apps quietly burning through your roaming data all day.
How to turn Background App Refresh off on iPhone
Image: Max McCaskill
To turn off your iPhone's Background App Refresh:
- Open Settings
- Tap General
- Select Background App Refresh
- Toggle it off
Recap: Save your data and your wallet
Background App Refresh is a useful iPhone feature at home, but you should always turn it off when traveling abroad. Turning it off before you leave takes just a few seconds and keeps your limited allotment of international roaming data from being wasted.
Failing to do so can force you to purchase more data, which means less money to spend on your trip.
Max McCaskill
Sr. Staff Writer
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