X (formerly Twitter) can be cut off from cellular data entirely on an iPhone: open Settings > Cellular and turn off the switch for the X app. If you’d rather keep scrolling on cellular and just spend less of your plan, X has a middle ground built in: Data saver and Video autoplay, found in the app’s own settings. This article covers both, plus what you give up with each and how to undo them on current versions of iOS.
Turn on Data saver in the X app
X’s own Data saver is the first thing to try. According to X’s help page for the iOS app, Data saver makes images load in lower quality and stops videos from autoplaying.
- Open X and tap your profile icon to open the menu.
- Tap Settings and privacy.
- Under Accessibility, display, and languages, tap Data usage.
- Turn on Data saver.
When a lower-quality picture isn’t sharp enough, you don’t have to turn the whole feature off. Long press the image, or tap the more icon, and select Load high quality. That spends data on the one picture you actually care about.
Choose when X videos play on their own
If photos don’t bother you but autoplaying clips do, change video autoplay instead of using Data saver. X’s help page on videos gives this path for iOS:
- Go to Settings and privacy.
- Under Accessibility, display, and languages, tap Data usage.
- Tap Video autoplay.
- Pick On cellular or Wi-Fi, Only on Wi-Fi or Never.
Only on Wi-Fi is a sensible pick for most people on a capped plan: videos still start by themselves at home, while on cellular they wait until you tap them. X’s menus change often, so if a label looks different in your version of the app, look for the same words under Data usage.
Cut X off from cellular entirely
Blocking is the stronger option. Apple’s iPhone guide to cellular data settings says that once an app’s switch is off, the iPhone uses only Wi-Fi for that app.
- Open Settings.
Older iOS version shown; current screens look different. - Tap Cellular (Mobile Data in some regions).
Older iOS version shown; current screens look different. - Scroll down to your list of apps. If X isn’t there, tap Show All.
- Find X in the list and turn off its switch. A switch that is off is gray rather than green.
Older iOS version shown, when the app was still called Twitter; current screens look different.
To bring it back, return to the same list and turn the switch on again. The same screen controls every other app, from the Mail app’s cellular data to Netflix’s cellular data, which has its own streaming and download settings to consider first.
What changes once X is blocked
| Situation | Data saver or autoplay change | Cellular switch off |
|---|---|---|
| Scrolling the timeline away from Wi-Fi | Works, with lighter images or no autoplay | New posts won’t load until you’re on Wi-Fi |
| Posting or replying away from Wi-Fi | Works | Won’t go through over cellular |
| Undoing it | Turn Data saver off or pick another autoplay option | Turn the switch back on in Settings > Cellular |
The middle column suits someone who checks X all day on the go. The right column suits a phone whose owner only reads X at home, or a child’s phone on a small plan.
Before deciding, see whether X is really the problem. In Settings > Cellular, tap Show All; Apple’s guide says the amount each app used appears under its name, counted since the statistics were last reset (see resetting cellular data statistics). Data used by the iPhone itself is listed separately; see how to see cellular data used by system services.
Keep a child’s setting in place
The old Restrictions menu (Settings > General > Restrictions, with a Cellular Data Use option) is gone from current iOS. Parental limits now sit in Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions, protected by a Screen Time passcode (see what a Restrictions passcode is). For a child in your Family Sharing group, Apple’s parental controls page starts from Settings > Family > your child’s name. That page doesn’t mention a cellular data lock, so check whether your child’s iPhone offers a cellular data option there before counting on it.
Other settings that trim X’s data
- Low Data Mode: Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Data Mode > Low Data Mode reduces background activity for all apps when you aren’t on Wi-Fi. If it later gets in the way, here is how to turn Low Data Mode off.
- Background App Refresh: stops X from refreshing while you aren’t using it; see how to turn off Background App Refresh.
X cellular data questions
Does blocking cellular data affect X in Safari?
The switch applies to the X app only. If you open x.com in a browser, that browser’s own switch in the same Cellular list decides whether it can use cellular data.
Does Data saver stop videos completely?
X describes Data saver as stopping videos from autoplaying, not as blocking video, so expect to tap a video when you want it to start.
Is this the same as deleting X?
No. The app, your account and its data stay put. If space rather than data is the issue, these ways to free up iPhone storage are a better fit.
Kermit Matthews runs Live2Tech from just outside Philadelphia. He is an IT specialist with over 20 years of experience, from a university help desk to small-business IT, IT management and his own consulting practice, and has written tech guides full time since 2020. Steps are checked against the current software on a real device or the maker’s official documentation. More about Kermit.