Three's Go Binge review:
how unlimited streaming data worked

Unlimited streaming and social media on selected apps

In a nutshell, Go Binge gave you unlimited data to use for particular activities on your mobile. On plans with a fixed data allowance, this meant you wouldn't eat into your data, so there was more left for everything else.

Three's page here lists all the apps you could use without using data if you had Go Binge. It covered apps for video streaming, music/audio streaming and some limited social media too (Snapchat only).

Being able to stream as much as you like on particular apps was where the real benefit of Go Binge lay. Streaming video is normally the quickest way most people will use up their data allowance.

In the rest of this guide, we look at more of the ins and outs of Go Binge, including any restrictions, what happened when you travelled abroad and the data savings you could expect with each app.

Useful link: Three's guide to Go Binge's benefits

You needed to join on the right Three plan to get Go Binge

You didn't get Go Binge with every plan on Three, so you needed to choose carefully if you wanted to get the benefit. You could only get it on their pay monthly plans with 12GB data or (you don't get it on pay as you go).

On SIM only, that meant the cheapest way to get Go Binge would have been with this deal:

Although, if you wanted more data, there was a full range of SIMs (they no longer include the benefit though).

If you wanted a phone contract, the rules were the same. Take any phone on a plan with 12GB data or more and Go Binge automatically came as a benefit. See Three's huge range of phones here for latest prices and models.

One really handy feature was that Go Binge also came on Three's mobile broadband products over 12GB (this included pay monthly data SIMs for tablets and mobile/home WiFi devices too).

Streaming is a lot more enjoyable on bigger screens like tablets, so it was excellent Three's mobile broadband products included Go Binge too.

Choose a product: SIM only deals | Phone contracts | Mobile broadband

Existing Three customers could get Go Binge by changing plan

If you’re already a Three customer, it's possible you already have Go Binge, so we'd recommend going into your account to check first under the "existing add-ons" section. Login here at Three.co.uk.

If you find you haven't got it, you used to be able to get Go Binge by switching to a new plan that came with it. You were only be able to do this if you're on 1-month contract or at the renewal period at the end of a longer deal.

You may also have had to sign a new contract or move to a more expensive plan to get it.

If you had a 12-month SIM only deal not up for renewal, you could ring 333 from your Three SIM and ask to change to a new qualifying SIM plan or phone contract (you may have needed to sign a new contract, which could cost more).

If you were on a phone contract and due for an upgrade, log in to your Three account, choose your new phone on a qualifying plan and you were done.

If you're mid-way through a phone contract, ring 333 from your Three SIM and ask to change plan (this may cost more than your current deal).

Useful link: Log in to your Three account to manage your plan.

Sky Mobile have a similar scheme for their TV apps

If you've got Sky TV at home, there is a similar alternative to Three's Go Binge, called Sky Mobile Watch. This lets you watch Sky's TV apps on your Sky Mobile phone or SIM without it using data.

That means unlimited streaming on the Sky Go app (live TV and On Demand), Sky Sports app, Sky Cinema and the 9 other Sky TV apps listed here in Sky's help section.

It has the advantage over Go Binge in that it comes on every single plan, including the very cheapest deals with barely any data. On Three, you only got Go Binge on pay monthly plans over 12GB.

Our pick of Sky Mobile's current SIM only deals

All of these deals include free streaming within Sky's TV apps:

Of course, if you don't have Sky TV, you won't have found Sky Mobile's streaming offer as appealing. Go Binge worked with more services, including music streaming and social media, which you don't get with Sky's scheme.

Useful link: Read our Sky Mobile Watch review

We'd say Go Binge qualified as truly unlimited in the UK

Whenever something is advertised as unlimited, people always tend to wonder what the catch is. Surely there's going to be some sneaky fair usage policy that they're going to get you with if you watch too much?

The Go Binge terms and conditions state that this definitely wasn't the case. You could watch and listen as much as you like, via the apps, without being hit by usage limits (you couldn't use it for commercial purposes).

The only real restriction when it came to usage in the UK is that you needed some of your regular data allowance for Go Binge to keep working. This was for net neutrality reasons around how data usage is charged.

It's also important to understand that in-app adverts would use your regular data allowance when they play. We'd say this was for technical reasons about how to measure that data, rather than a deliberate catch from Three.

Useful link: Read full Go Binge terms and conditions

It even worked abroad with Three's free worldwide roaming

All the plans that included Go Binge as a benefit also include Three's other big selling point: worldwide roaming in select countries at no extra cost. So was Go Binge still free and unlimited when you're roaming? Yes and no.

When you were roaming within the EU, the data used for streaming via Go Binge would not come out of your normal data allowance. But it did count towards your roaming fair usage limit of 19GB a month. Think of it this way:

If your plan gave you 30GB data, and you streamed 19GB while abroad, you'd still have had that 30GB to use when you came back. But you'd have used up all the 19GB you can use roaming in the EU without paying extra.

In Three's inclusive roaming destinations outside the EU, using Go Roam didn't eat into your normal data allowance or the 12GB fair usage limit there either. But if your regular data usage hit that 12GB, Go Binge streaming would no longer be free.

Overall, we'd say there seemed to be a lot to think about if you travel a lot. But these are large amounts of data to be used while abroad and they refresh every month. We'd expect most people won't even notice the limits.

Useful link: Full roaming costs on Three

Netflix was the most worthwhile app for many people

We'd say the most valuable app to be able to stream without using data on Go Binge was Netflix. There was no other network offering this for no extra cost (VOXI offer a paid monthly upgrade for unlimited Netflix streaming).

It's the best and most-widely known service in the former Go Binge lineup, with thousands of ad-free films, TV shows, documentaries and comedy. Have a look at Netflix's range of programming here on their website.

Go Binge didn’t include a free Netflix subscription. So if you’re not already a subscriber, you still needed to buy a subscription, which typically range between £5.99, £8.99 and £11.99 for non-HD, HD or Ultra HD quality.

An hour of streaming Netflix in HD on your mobile would normally use 3GB data. So it's easy to see how quickly the data savings could add up. An hour a day for a month would be 90GB.

Useful link: More about streaming Netflix on Go Binge

The TVPlayer app would normally get through a lot of data

The next most data-hungry app on the scheme was TVPlayer, which let you stream up to 80+ TV channels live on your mobile (depending on which package you choose).

The only two channels on TVPlayer which are included in Three's Go Binge scheme were Dave and History.

Being limited to these two channels made free streaming on this app unlikely to be a game changer for any customers, but again it was a nice perk for those that do watch them.

An important note with TVPlayer on Go Binge is that only streaming within that app was data-free. If the app directs you to other services like BBC iPlayer for on‑demand viewing, it came out of your data allowance.

Useful link: Full details on TVPlayer streaming with Go Binge

SoundCloud was the most popular audio streaming app on it

In terms of worldwide listener numbers, the most popular music and audio streaming service to be featured on Go Binge was SoundCloud. It's also free (but supported by ads that may have used your data allowance).

It's a bit different to the other music streaming apps on Go Binge, because a large proportion of the 200 million songs on there are from new, upcoming and undiscovered artists, who upload to the service.

In terms of data usage, their premium SoundCloud Go+ streams at 256 kbps quality, which would use 115MB data in an hour. Their standard free service is at a lower 64 kbps, which would only use 21MB data an hour.

So on its own, the data savings on SoundCloud with Go Binge probably weren't massive, unless you were listening multiple hours a day. But free is free. And combined with other apps on the scheme, it all added up.

Useful link: Three's guide to free Soundcloud streaming data

Apple Music was in Three's list of unlimited streaming apps

After Soundcloud, we predicted the next most-used music streaming service covered by Go Binge would be Apple Music. And we'd say the data savings could have been higher than Soundcloud's standard service.

Although Apple don't publish the streaming quality. We expect it to be between 128 kbps and 256 kbps, depending on the settings you chose. That equates to between 57.5MB to 115MB an hour.

If you listened to Apple Music for a couple of hours a day that could add up to over 6GB data, if it was coming from your regular allowance.

Take a look at Apple's page here about Apple Music. It features 100 million songs, playlists and suggests recommendations for you. It works on Android as well as iPhones. It's priced between £4.99 - £14.99 a month.

Three's rival EE also have a data-free service for streaming Apple Music, which only lasts for 6 months. But EE also includes the subscription during that time too.

Useful link: Free Apple Music streaming on Three

Deezer's lossless service could use up the most data

If you don’t know Deezer already, it’s essentially a music and audio streaming service that’s extremely similar to other well-known services such as Spotify or Apple Music.

It offers over 53 million music tracks, podcasts and audio books. And the app works on most devices and offers both a free and premium service (learn more about plans and costs here).

The free service lets you listen to unlimited music and audio on your mobile but essentially only in shuffle mode. That means you can’t choose particular songs. You’ll also be made to listen to adverts every now and then between songs, which may have used your regular data.

Their premium service removes the adverts, gives you better quality audio and lets you pick and choose precisely what you want to listen to without forcing you to shuffle between unchosen songs and costs £9.99 a month.

With Deezer's Lossless service, we estimate you'd normally get through 633MB of data an hour (38GB a month if you listened for 2 hours a day). On their standard service, the saving will be much less.

Useful link: Three's guide to Deezer

SnapChat was in the Go Binge scheme too

Since Three first launched Go Binge in 2017, some of their competitors have been launching unlimited social media data schemes (read our full guide here). Three responded:

If you took a plan with Go Binge included, or are already on one, you were able to use the Snapchat messaging / social media app, without it eating into your data either.

Social media apps use up less data than video streaming, so unlimited Snapchat wasn't as valuable as Netflix etc. But it's still a free bonus on top.

If you're not sure what Snapchat even is, take a look at Three's guide to messaging app here for more info.

Useful link: Get unlimited Snapchat on Three

We thought new apps might be added

In terms of popular streaming apps, there are some big names that don't feature on the list of data-free ones on Go Binge. If there had been a few more, we'd have been closer to giving the scheme five stars in this review!

Some noticeable absences from the music streaming world were Spotify, Amazon Prime Music, Tidal and YouTube Music - none of which were included. Radio services like BBC Sounds weren't on there either.

With video streaming, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, NowTV, BBC iPlayer, Sky Go and many more weren't included. Other than Snapchat, no social media apps were included either (see VOXI for Endless Social Data).

Three had left the door open for more services to be added to Go Binge (there was an invitation to providers on their page here).

Useful link: Our guide to all free streaming schemes