# Digital Carbon Footprint

A digital carbon footprint is the emissions impact created by the devices, networks, and data centers behind your online activity. Use this guide to connect that broad idea to everyday browsing, work, and social habits.

## The cloud is physical infrastructure

Every search, feed refresh, file sync, and meeting still depends on servers, networking equipment, and electricity somewhere in the background.

## Habits matter more than isolated clicks

A single digital action is often tiny, but repeated patterns such as long meetings, autoplay feeds, and browser-heavy workdays add up over time.

## What you'll find in this hub

### Start with the activities you repeat most

Use this page as a simple overview, then jump into the calculator that best matches your browsing, meeting, or social habit.

### Translate abstract infrastructure into habits

People want to know how meetings, tabs, feeds, and media habits turn into emissions. This page should make that link explicit.

### Follow the biggest next steps

The most useful next pages are usually browsers, meetings, and the social or video habits that take the most time.

## Highest estimated emitters

### Good pages to start with

1. [**TikTok**](/content/carbon-footprint/tiktok/index.html) — 160g CO2 / hour
2. [**Instagram**](/content/carbon-footprint/instagram/index.html) — 90g CO2 / hour
3. [**Snapchat**](/content/carbon-footprint/snapchat/index.html) — 50g CO2 / hour

## Explore related calculators and guides

### Work

**Google Meet**\
Google Meet video calls rely on efficient Google infrastructure, but the combined energy use of meetings still adds up quickly. If you're comparing Google Meet with Zoom or estimating video meeting CO2, the biggest factors are call length, participant count, cameras on, and device choice.  
45g CO2 / hour  
[Open](/content/carbon-footprint/google-meet/index.html)

### Social

**Snapchat**\
The constant transfer of image and video messages on Snapchat requires rapid server processing and mobile data usage.  
50g CO2 / hour  
[Open](/content/carbon-footprint/snapchat/index.html)

**TikTok**\
TikTok's footprint comes from video delivery, device energy use, and the time people spend scrolling through high-definition short-form video.  
160g CO2 / hour  
[Open](/content/carbon-footprint/tiktok/index.html)

**Instagram**\
Every photo, Reel, and Story on Instagram requires server storage and global network transmission, contributing to your personal digital footprint.  
90g CO2 / hour  
[Open](/content/carbon-footprint/instagram/index.html)

**Twitter / X**\
Refreshing your feed on X (formerly Twitter) triggers cloud databases and content delivery networks to serve media-heavy timelines instantly.  
36g CO2 / hour  
[Open](/content/carbon-footprint/twitter/index.html)

### Work

**Microsoft Teams**\
Collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams require video processing, cloud storage for files, and network bandwidth for real-time communication.  
50g CO2 / hour  
[Open](/content/carbon-footprint/microsoft-teams/index.html)

**Zoom**\
A Zoom call can avoid travel emissions, but it still has a carbon footprint of its own. If you're estimating Zoom call emissions, the main factors are meeting length, participant count, camera use, and the device each person joins from.  
50g CO2 / hour  
[Open](/content/carbon-footprint/zoom/index.html)

**Google Chrome**\
Browser tabs and active background processes in Chrome consume CPU and RAM, translating to small but consistent energy usage throughout the day.  
25g CO2 / hour  
[Open](/content/carbon-footprint/google-chrome/index.html)

**Reddit**\
Reddit timelines are relatively lean, but the hosting of millions of communities and media-heavy posts contributes to digital emissions.  
25g CO2 / hour  
[Open](/content/carbon-footprint/reddit/index.html)

## Compare related apps and habits

1. [**Zoom vs Google Meet**](/content/carbon-footprint/compare/google-meet-vs-zoom/index.html) — 50g CO2 / hour vs 45g CO2 / hour
2. [**Instagram vs TikTok**](/content/carbon-footprint/compare/instagram-vs-tiktok/index.html) — 90g CO2 / hour vs 160g CO2 / hour

## Common questions

### What is a digital carbon footprint in plain language?

It is the emissions impact created by the devices, networks, and data centers that support your digital activity.

### Which digital habits usually matter first?

Video, device choice, time-on-platform, and meeting behavior usually move the number more than isolated lightweight actions.