Please help me understand weird things in my usage history

Question

Sorry, everyone, this is going to be fairly long and a bit complicated but I think you need all of this to understand the context of my problem(s).

A few weeks ago, an app I had been using for months for work, Motive, suddenly failed to work properly. It said it was looking for my logs but just kept looking and not finding them and it can’t work properly without the logs, which are presumably in a database in the cloud. I wondered if I had exhausted my data booster, even though I hadn’t yet received the routine text that said I had used 90% of it. I checked and it turned out I had indeed used up the data booster. I also realized that I’d inadvertently set my phone to “do not disturb” a few days earlier. I’m guessing that’s why I didn’t get the text about the data being at 90% but it would be great if someone could confirm that.

Naturally, I turned off “do not disturb”, bought another data booster, and assumed I was good to go for a few more months. That’s NOT what happened though! Everything was fine for 3 days, then suddenly Motive couldn’t find the logs again and none of my other apps that needed data could get it either. I checked and was astonished to see that the entire 1 GB data booster was gone; when I clicked to see recent data usage, it showed that the entire 1 GB had been used up in just 3 days, when 1 GB usually lasts me several months!!

This was about two weeks ago and I’ve been very busy since then with other urgent issues but now I finally have time to look into this further. Here are my questions:

The data about the usage of the data booster has disappeared now. I’m guessing that Koodo only leaves it on the website for a few days. Is there any way to access it now? If so, how?
If I can get access to the usage history of the used data booster again, is there any way to determine which apps used up my data? As you can imagine, I do NOT want to spend $30 + tax for data every 3 days! I’m guessing I have an app/malware on my phone that is sucking up my data and I want to know which one it is so that I can remove it.
If there’s no way to get definitive proof of which app is guzzling my data, what app can I run on my phone to find any malware? It’s a Google Pixel 3 running Android 12.

There are a couple of other odd things in my usage history for my basic plan that are baffling me too and they may be related so I want to ask about them too. My basic plan is the (prepaid) $15/month one that offers free texting plus 100 minutes of phone calls but NO data. (That’s why I buy the data boosters.)

Why does my usage history for the basic plan show small uses of data every day for the last couple of weeks even though I haven’t had a data booster in about two weeks? For instance, it shows a chunk of data of 0.26 MB on April 19, 0.13 MB on April 18, and 0.55 MB on April 17.
Why am I seeing clusters of five SMS messages at 1 minute intervals every day at times when I know I’m not texting? For instance, my usage history for April 20 shows SMS messages sent at 1:32 AM, 1:33 AM, 1:34 AM, 1:35 AM, and 1:36 AM when I’m certain that I was asleep with the phone right beside me on my night table. These clusters of messages seem to happen every day but at different times; yesterday, they went out between 6:41 PM and 6:45 PM when I was awake but definitely not texting.

I’d really appreciate any insight you could give me into this issue (or issues).

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Best answer by Robert T 20 April 2023, 16:11

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Robert T · Accepted Answer

Based on the information you've provided, it appears that you are experiencing unusual data usage and SMS message sending on your phone, and you suspect that there may be an app or malware causing these issues. Here are some answers to your questions:

The usage history of your data booster may not be accessible after a few days, as it may be removed from the website. Somebody else can confirm?
To determine which apps are using your data, you can check the data usage settings on your phone. On an Android device, you can go to Settings > Network & internet > Data usage, and you should be able to see the data usage for each app. This can give you an idea of which apps are consuming the most data. Additionally, you can install a third-party app such as My Data Manager or Data Usage Monitor, which can provide more detailed information on app-specific data usage. Koodo doesn’t provide data usage by app on the website.
To check for malware on your phone, you can install a reputable antivirus app from the Google Play Store, such as Norton Mobile Security or Avast Mobile Security. These apps can scan your phone for malware and help you identify and remove any malicious software that may be causing unusual data usage. Aditionnally, you can reset data usage counter and monitor from there.
The small uses of data shown in your basic plan's usage history may be due to background data usage by apps or system processes that do not require explicit user interaction. You can review the data usage settings on your phone to disable background data for specific apps or restrict data usage for certain system processes to minimize such usage. They may be happening with or without a booster.
The clusters of SMS messages sent at 1-minute intervals or other times when you are not texting may indicate a potential issue with your phone's messaging settings or a messaging app. You can check your messaging settings and review the messaging apps installed on your phone to see if there are any unusual settings or apps that may be causing this behaviour. Is there messages really going out or not?

If you continue to experience issues with data usage or SMS sending, it may be helpful to contact Koodo, for further assistance. They may be able to provide additional insights or investigate any potential technical issues on their end.

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