Your smartphone is quietly sharing your data overnight, NordVPN warns – here's how to limit it

Your smartphone may seem like it’s not doing anything while it sits on your bedside table overnight, but it’s never truly idling. Even when you’re not using it, your phone continues to exchange small bursts of data to stay updated and responsive.

Some of this activity is necessary: your operating system checks for updates, notifications stay on standby, and your messages quietly stay synced. However, not all of this background data exchange is essential, and a lot of it happens without you ever noticing.

According to NordVPN’s CTO Marijus Briedis, some of these data transmissions can involve tracking or advertising-related data signals that go beyond basic functionality.