Safari Networking has eaten up 1.6GB in 1 hour — no tabs open except fast.com after a speed test

Question

Safari Networking has eaten up 1.6GB in 1 hour — no tabs open except fast.com after a speed test

Activity Monitor shows Safari Networking (not Safari itself) having eaten up 1.6GB in the last hour.

Safari was launched an hour ago to perform a speed test at Fast.com. We performed 4 speed tests over 5 minutes, and that's literally the only thing we did, so Safari has been sitting there for 55 minutes with one tab open showing the results of the last test.

I'm at a total loss to explain this, and looking for suggestions.

Thanks!

(PS: the person I'm helping with this quit Safari, so we can't take a sample, unfortunately.)

Posted on Aug 22, 2021 5:05 PM

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Answer 1

Sheree_P

Community Specialist

Aug 24, 2021 6:02 AM in response to 100 Watt Walrus

Hi 100 Watt Walrus ,

We understand your concern. It is not likely you'll be able to retroactively determine what caused the previous data usage.

Some potential causes would be Safari extensions or other apps updating their status or displayed information that requires an internet connection.

You can check your installed extensions by following these steps:

"Choose Safari > Preferences, then click Extensions.

To turn off an extension, deselect its checkbox.
To uninstall an extension, select the extension and click the Uninstall button. If you can't determine what an extension does, or you don't expect to use it again, you should uninstall it."

As discussed here: How to install Safari extensions on your Mac

You may also want to power off your Mac while you are away, or it is not in use. This would help ensure data is not being used unexpectedly.

Another option would be to utilize Screen Time to track and limit usage.

Use Screen Time on your Mac

We also suggest keeping macOS up-to-date. This will help ensure Safari is also up-to-date and functioning correctly.

Update macOS on Mac

Cheers!

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Answer 2

Aug 23, 2021 11:30 AM in response to 100 Watt Walrus

Hi 100 Watt Walrus,

We see you're experiencing an issue with Safari Networking using a lot of bandwidth according to Activity Monitor. Since safe mode helps determine if issue is related to software that loads when the computer loads, we ask that you test there: Start up your Mac in safe mode

If it doesn't happen in safe mode, restart the device back into safe mode to see if the issue resolved.

Take care.

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Answer 3

Sheree_P

Community Specialist

Aug 28, 2021 8:31 AM in response to 100 Watt Walrus

Hey 100 Watt Walrus,

For additional assistance with your question, we recommend contact Apple Support here: Get Support

Best wishes.

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Answer 4

Aug 23, 2021 3:00 PM in response to MichelleT18

It didn't happen the very next time we launched Safari. I'm more concerned about what might have caused it, so we can prevent it from happening again. The computer on which this occurred lives on a remote ranch, where the only internet is a satellite connection limited to 10GB/mo. Safari Networking used up 16% of the entire month's bandwidth in under an hour.

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Answer 5

Aug 24, 2021 3:40 PM in response to Sheree_P

None of these suggestions apply to this situation: The only extension is password manager; the 1.6GB was SENT via Safari Networking while computer was in use, but Safari was idle, with only one tab open (a completed Fast.com speed test); Screen Time won't tell us what a background process is doing; the OS is current.

What I'm trying to learn is this:

What does Safari Networking do by itself? How can Safari Networking alone use up 1.6GB when Safari.app is idle?

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Answer 6

SnickZ.

Community Specialist

Aug 27, 2021 1:25 PM in response to 100 Watt Walrus

Hi 100 Watt Walrus,

We understand Safari wasn't being used at the time, however it was open with a website correct? Is this the first time you've accessed that particular website? Does the website intermittently check your internet speed? Has it happened with any other websites? Does the speed test show the distance in which it is testing from? This information may help you determine why 1.6GB was was used.

Take care.

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Answer 7

Aug 27, 2021 3:18 PM in response to SnickZ.

Yes, a web page was open — and idle. A speed test had been performed. It downloaded 23MB and uploaded 6.8MB. The distance was within the USA. It's not the first time we'd accessed that site. The site does not automatically re-test the speed (did the same thing on another computer, there was no phantom bandwidth usage). It hasn't happened anywhere else.

Again though, the question I'm asking now is this:

What does Safari Networking do by itself? How can Safari Networking alone use up 1.6GB when Safari.app is idle?

I would expect to see activity in Safari.app when data is being sent and received, but Safari.app is using very little bandwidth. Is Safari Networking a behind-the-scenes process that actually does all the work?

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Safari Networking has eaten up 1.6GB in 1 hour — no tabs open except fast.com after a speed test

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