Virgin dumping data-free Facebook, YouTube browsing

Virgin Mobile is today notifying some customers that social media browsing and YouTube will soon count towards data limits.

The changes will take place on May 1, and Virgin has told WhistleOut that it is reaching out to customers that it believes will be affected most.

“For those customers who… have been identified as being likely to go over their inclusions based on the historical information we have, we’ve already contacted them to optimise their plan,” said a Virgin spokesperson.

Unmetered social media browsing isn't a feature Virgin Mobile had offered in the past, but was included in older plans because of limitations in the Virgin Mobile billing system. These limitations have since been overcome.

The change comes days after Virgin announced it was dramatically lowering the rate it charges for excess data use: from 20.5c per MB to 5.2c.

Customers who only use Facebook and Twitter are unlikely to see much of a shift in their bill, according to our Mobile Internet Usage guide, with Facebook clocking in at around 1MB per minute of use.

YouTube use will take a far bigger chunk out of your data allowance, with our estimates marking video streaming at about 5MB per minute, depending of quality.

Joseph Hanlon

Editorial Director | X | LinkedIn

Joe Hanlon has been immersed in mobile phones, plans and the internet for over a decade, having written for publications like CNET, Techradar, Gizmodo and Lifehacker. He steers the editorial ship and makes sure that we are always serving up the most useful guides and recommendations. If you ever bump into Joe on the street, don't be afraid to ask for a phone recommendation. It's embarrassing how much he enjoys talking about this stuff. He also loves listening to podcasts, so feel free to email Joe with recommendations.

Read full bio