Latest news with #GeorgiaBrivida
The Irish Sun
17-07-2025
- The Irish Sun
Warning to Brit tourists over ‘hidden' charge that could cost you £300 before even stepping out of airport
BRITISH holidaymakers are being warned of a 'hidden' roaming charge that could leave you up to £300 out of pocket. Corfu, in the northwestern corner of Greece, lies just 48km from the Albanian coast. Advertisement 3 Corfu sits close to the Albanian coast – strong signals from across the border can reach parts of the island, especially on the eastern side Credit: Alamy 3 This can cause some phones to automatically connect to Albanian networks—even though tourists haven't left Greece Credit: Alamy Because of this, strong mobile signals from across the border can reach parts of the island, especially on the eastern side. This can cause some phones to automatically connect to Albanian networks—even though tourists haven't left Greece. As a result, many holidaymakers have reported receiving a confusing 'Welcome to Albania' text shortly after landing at Corfu Airport, which in some cases has led to unexpected roaming charges and hefty phone bills. One traveller shared a message received from a service called Rate Advice, which read: 'Welcome to Albania! Calls, texts and data in Albania are chargeable and do not come out of your standard allowances or UK data add-ons.' Advertisement Read more on Travel Charges can be as high as £1.50 per MB of data, with a roaming cap of £45 – but many users report blowing past that limit if not careful reports MailOnline. Several tourists have taken to social media to warn others. Steve Moore, from Chesterfield, wrote on Facebook: 'I arrived Sunday, usual welcome text to Corfu charges just the same as UK – 2 days later message 'Welcome to Albania' this is your charges. "Wow what a rip off… was told the network must have changed to a different mast.' Advertisement Most read in News Travel Another Facebook user added: 'Only if you go to the east of the island. I did that mistake while on a quad. "Using Google Maps. £128 to drive up road lol.' A third warned: 'We got caught out – £298 bill when we got home.' To avoid these charges, Brits are being urged to manually select a Greek mobile network upon arrival. Advertisement Turn this off now One traveller advised: 'All you do is let your phone set its paired Greek network automatically when you arrive on the island at the airport. "Once it's selected the correct Greek network, go into your settings and turn OFF 'automatically select network'. "This means your phone will not hunt for or connect to anything else other than your correct Greek network.' Others recommend turning off roaming completely and relying on Wi-Fi in hotels, bars, and restaurants. Advertisement 'We keep our roaming off at all times and just Some have even reported successfully challenging the charges with their network provider afterwards, though this is not guaranteed. The warning comes as travel experts highlight other mobile settings that could leave travellers out of pocket. Georgia Brivida, from international SIM provider Sim Local, says one commonly overlooked feature is autoplay – which automatically plays videos on apps like TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. Advertisement She warns this can quietly use large amounts of data, especially when abroad. 'Autoplay is a feature that automatically plays videos as you scroll through apps like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube, often without you even tapping play,' she said. To avoid any nasty surprises, travellers are being urged to check their mobile settings before flying – and stay alert to unexpected network switches, especially when close to international borders. 3 Some have even reported successfully challenging the charges with their network provider afterwards, though this is not guaranteed Credit: Alamy Advertisement
Daily Mirror
01-07-2025
- Daily Mirror
Brits urged to switch off one mobile phone setting on holiday - it's not roaming
Before you settle in for a comfortable long-haul flight, there's one thing you need to do for added peace of mind. According to one travel expert, incorporating this extra step into your pre-flight routine can save you from an unexpected charge when you return home. Georgia Brivida, of international SIM provider Sim Local, is advising British holidaymakers to switch off the autoplay feature on their phones before boarding their flight. She says neglecting to disable this setting could lead to a hefty charge. According to Brivida, this unassuming setting can drain data and rack up your phone bill - often without you even realising it. 'Autoplay is a feature that automatically plays videos as you scroll through apps like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube, often without you even tapping play. It's fine when you're connected to Wi-Fi at home but when you're abroad and paying per megabyte, it can quietly burn through your data in no time just from using your phone like you normally would,' says Brivida. If you fail to disable the setting you're likely to scroll quickly through your socials as you normally would - even streaming a short video to kill idle travel time - draining your data all the while. Streaming a video on platforms like YouTube or Netflix for just 10 minutes can use up to 100MB of data, according to Sim Local. As well, scrolling through TikTok or Instagram uses around 20MB and listening to music or podcasts on Spotify may use around 15MB. Web browsing uses slightly less at around 10MB in just 10 minutes. But if you spend 30 minutes scrolling through TikTok while waiting for your taxi when you land, that's roughly 60MB of data gone and watching just a few YouTube videos en route to your hotel will burn through another 200MB. Over several days of your holiday it is all too easy to rack up several gigabytes of data and if without the right roaming plan, you could be looking at a phone bill in the triple digits. Thankfully, turning off autoplay is very simple and it's worth doing to save yourself an expensive bill, plus it'll give you more control over when your data is used. How to switch it off To switch it off on iOS (iPhone), simply go to Settings, then Accessibility and tap on 'Motion'. Find the toggle switch for Auto-Play Video Previews and turn it off On Android phones, go to Settings then scroll down and select Google, select All Services, then tap 'Search, Assistant & Voice' and select 'Other Settings'. From here click on Autoplay video previews and select 'never'.
Daily Mail
26-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Travel expert urges holidaymakers to change this phone setting before boarding a plane - and it could save you hundreds
As the holiday season ramps up, many travellers will be ticking off their pre-flight checklists: passports, chargers, and even a few downloaded playlists or movies. But, according to a travel expert, one overlooked phone setting could end up costing holidaymakers hundreds in unexpected roaming charges. Georgia Brivida, of international SIM provider Sim Local, is urging Brits to switch off the 'autoplay' feature on their phones before boarding their next flight. The setting, she says, could quietly drain data and rack up a significant phone bill - often without users even realising it. She explained: 'Autoplay is a feature that automatically plays videos as you scroll through apps like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube, often without you even tapping play. 'It's fine when you're connected to Wi-Fi at home but when you're abroad and paying per megabyte, it can quietly burn through your data in no time just from using your phone like you normally would.' While it might seem harmless to scroll through social media or stream a short video to kill time at the airport, the data usage can add up rapidly. Streaming a video on platforms like YouTube or Netflix for just 10 minutes can use up to 100MB of data. In addition, scrolling through TikTok or Instagram uses around 20MB, while general web browsing can consume about 10MB. Listening to music or podcasts on Spotify may use around 15MB. That means spending just 30 minutes on TikTok while waiting at the gate could use roughly 60MB. Meanwhile, watching a few videos while sipping coffee at the airport could quickly burn through another 200MB. Add in a couple of Google searches, a quick map check, and a short WhatsApp call, and you could easily use over 300MB in a single day - and that's only day one of your trip. Without a suitable international data plan, multiple days of this kind of usage could push your phone bill into the hundreds. Fortunately, the fix is simple and takes only a few seconds. For iPhone users (iOS): Open the Settings app. Tap on Accessibility. Select Motion. Toggle off 'Auto-Play Video Previews.' For Android users: Open the Settings app. Scroll down and select Google. Tap on All Services. Choose Search, Assistant & Voice. Select Other Settings. Tap on "Autoplay video previews" and select 'Never.'
