The Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, Stephen Blewett, has revealed that TikTok is the biggest consumer of data bundles on the telecommunications company’s network.

According to him, TikTok consumes more mobile data than other popular social media platforms, including YouTube, which ranks second.

Blewett made the revelation during a press conference on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, while speaking about data consumption trends among MTN Ghana customers.

He explained that the way TikTok operates contributes significantly to its high data consumption.

“TikTok is the biggest consumer,” he said.

“A lot of people think it is YouTube, but it is not. It is TikTok.”

Blewett said YouTube is the second-biggest consumer of mobile data on the network.

He explained that TikTok begins loading the next video while a user is watching the current one.

“As you are watching one video, the next one is already loading, so whether you watch it or not, it is already loaded,” he explained.

According to him, the feature allows users to scroll continuously through videos without waiting for each new video to load.

He said this can result in significant data consumption, even though each video viewed on the platform may be short.

“You may end up watching an hour of data by looking at small, small things at a time,” he said.

The MTN Ghana CEO also explained that WhatsApp has the highest number of customers but does not consume as much data as TikTok.

“In terms of the number of customers, WhatsApp is the biggest, but you are not always opening videos and things. You do use it,” he noted.

Blewett noted that TikTok’s short-video format also encourages prolonged usage because users can easily move from one video to another.

He said users may find it difficult to watch a single long video but can spend a considerable amount of time scrolling through short clips on TikTok.

“If I see a video that is 23 minutes, it feels like a lifetime, but with TikTok, you are watching small things at a time,” he said.

He added that the continuous loading of videos is a key reason TikTok records the highest data consumption on the MTN Ghana network.

ANAS/MA

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