“OTHER” APPS Eat Zimbabwe’s Data: TikTok, Netflix And Instagram Drive 15.59% Surge

By Ross Moyo

If you thought WhatsApp was king of your data bundle, think again.

POTRAZ’s Q1 2026 report shows the category labeled “Other” — which includes TikTok, Instagram, Netflix, YouTube Shorts and general web browsing — consumed 113.9 billion MB, a 15.59% jump from last quarter.

That makes it by far the largest chunk of mobile data in Zimbabwe.
WhatsApp came second at 36.7B MB, up 10.8%. YouTube and Facebook barely moved. X/Twitter actually fell 7.64%.

The shift tells us a lot: Zimbabweans aren’t just chatting anymore. They’re streaming, scrolling, and binge-watching.
“High-definition video is the new normal,” POTRAZ noted. “This is why we’re seeing traffic grow even when voice and SMS fall.”

For MNOs, it’s a double-edged sword. More data usage, but at lower ARPU. That’s why Econet’s data traffic grew 20% while its revenue per user dropped 5.2%.