HOW TO UNINSTALL PREINSTALLED ANDROID APPS

Not all preinstalled apps on your smartphone will be of use to you. By removing apps you don't want or need, you'll be able to improve your phone's performance and free up storage space. Apps you cannot uninstall are called bloatware. With our tips, you can delete, remove, disable, or at least hide your preinstalled apps and bloatware.

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Jump to the section:

• Disabling bloatware: general guidance
• How to delete or deactivate Samsung's preloaded apps
• How to delete preinstalled apps
• Uninstall and disable standard Google apps
• What happens if I disable Android apps?
• Uninstall tons of apps

• Disabling bloatware: general guidance

  Many apps continue to consume resources while they’re not in active use. They also take up space in the app drawer. Since Android 4.0, however, there has been the option to disable apps.

  

  The Settings menu on the left, and the app listings on the right. / © AndroidPIT

  Head to Settings > Apps/Applications. Here, on most phones, you will find three tabs: Downloaded, Running and All. By tapping on this or that app, you will notice that some apps can be uninstalled (in the left screenshot below: Camera FV-5 Lite). These are the ones you will have downloaded yourself. Others you will not be able to uninstall or disable (the Settings app, for example). These applications are essential for Android to run properly. Anything that does not fall into one of these two categories can usually be disabled, unless it is on a protected system partition (some manufacturers deliberately do this with their apps).

  

  
  

  Some apps, as with TalkBack in these screenshots, you can disable, but there is also the option to Uninstall updates, which will reset the app to its factory state.

  

  The option to uninstall updates, taking the app back to its factory state. / © AndroidPIT

  Or, if you use a third-party app for emails, you can make the default email app on Android disappear. When disabling an app, the system warns you that some programs might not work properly afterwards. This refers to applications that rely on the app in question to function normally.
  Should you change your mind, you can return to the app list and reverse the process. Every application will continue to be listed there, even if it is invisible in the app drawer. Although the examples we’re providing come from a OnePlus X, the process is very similar on other smartphones. Below you can learn how easy it is to uninstall Samsung apps.