Google’s new experiment lets you manage individual apps’ data consumption

Triangle shows you which apps are using the most data and even lets you block them. Unfortunately, the app is available only in the Philippines for now.

Google offers some data-related customization within Android already: you can set monthly warnings and limits, view how much data your apps have consumed, and you can even enable a data saver mode which restricts certain apps from running in the background. Well, it looks like the company has been testing a completely separate app which offers even more customization options.

The new data-management app from Google is called Triangle, and with it, the search giant is experimenting ways to allow users – especially those in emerging markets – the power to view and control each app and its data consumption. Unfortunately, the app is currently available only in the Philippines, and Google says that it has nothing to announce in terms of whether it’ll come to other markets in the future.

If you are in the Philippines, however, you can not only view your prepaid mobile data balance on carriers like Globe and Smart, but you also get an overview of which apps are using most of your data. If your monthly data allowance is limited, you can then simply click on those apps and decide to block them completely from using further data or allow them to run for either 10 minutes or 60 minutes. The good news is that various carriers are offering data rewards through Triangle. For instance, you’ll automatically get 100MB as a welcome gift after registering, but you can also download promoted apps without having it count against your data, and certain users will even receive extra data by using certain apps.

Although the US has recently seen a trend towards unlimited-everything, in emerging markets, data packets remain expensive and limited. Google’s new app offers even more control and ease-of-access than the default data usage page within Android and could be extremely useful for users in emerging markets as well as rural areas of countries like the US.

Are you currently in the Philippines? Have you used Triangle? Do you think other countries would benefit from an app like this? Let us know by leaving a comment below!