When you first unbox your new phone and turn it on, it might
come as a surprise to see that there are already a number of apps preinstalled
on the device beyond what's part of Android. You might find the manufactuer's
own app store, utilities and even games or social media apps that you've no
intention of ever using.
We show you how to remove them to free up storage space or
disable them if they refuse to go.
What is bloatware and why
is it there?
The term bloatware has been around for a while and simply means
software that is preinstalled by manufacturers after the operating system is
installed. These apps can often be trials of paid versions or the
manufacturer's own version of an email or calendar app.
By taking up room on your device the apps bloat your system,
hence the name.
The principle of bloatware will be familiar to anyone who has
bought a PC over the past, well, ever. It’s nearly always been impossible to
power up a new laptop or desktop without being prompted to initialise your
antivirus software trial. Windows 10 itself even comes with Candy Crush which -
if you don't play it - is bloatware pure and simple.
The reason these annoyances are present is that companies pay
the manufacturers to include them, which in turn means the device can be
offered at a lower cost or at a higher profit.
Sadly, this behaviour has also made its way to phones, although
it should be said that most of the bloatware we see these days are the
duplications of standard app rather than additional ones to serve no purpose
other than to cause you headaches.
This is an attempt by different brand to get you hooked on their
own particular flavour of Android, in the hopes that you might sign up to their
services (such as cloud storage) or stick with their devices when it’s time to
upgrade.
Be sure to check out our own guide to the best cloud storage
services to make sure you know what's out there before you commit to one the
manufacturer recommends.
Can bloatware be deleted?
Not all of it, unfortunately. While it’s often possible to
remove the trial software, many of the manufacturer’s ones are resistant to
such efforts. It’s annoying to have valuable space taken up by these
freeloaders, but you can at least take steps to disable them so they don’t hog
other resources.
Deleting apps
To see if you can remove the app from your system, go to Settings > Apps
& notifications and select the
one in question. (Your phone's settings app might look different, but look for
an Apps menu.) If you see a button marked Uninstall then it means that the app can be deleted.
Be aware though, some other apps may use this particular one as
part of their normal functions, so deleting it could cause a few problems. For
email, calendars, and similar utility apps this usually isn’t an issue.
Tap Uninstall and the app should be removed from your device.
Disabling apps
To stop an app from running on your phone open Settings then choose Apps &
notifications and scroll until you
find the one you’re looking to disable. Tap on it and you’ll be presented with
a couple of options: Disable and Force Stop.
The latter will, as the name suggest, shut down an app
immediately. But, this won’t prevent it from launching again. The most common
use for Force Stop is when an app becomes unresponsive and you need to reboot
it to get things going again.
Tap Disable and
Android will prevent the app from running, plus it should also remove it from
your app drawer, making it appear as if it has been deleted.
Reinstalling or
Re-enabling apps
If you change your mind and want to put back or reinstate an
app, then open the Google Play Store app, tap the three lines menu option,
navigate to My Apps & games > Library, find the app, tap on it, and finally select
either Install or Enable.
Of course, if you want to avoid bloatware of any kind then you
can opt to buy a device that comes with a ‘pure’ version of Android, such as
the Google Pixel 3, Google Pixel 3XL or any phone which includes Android One in its description.
Tags:
Mobile