How to remove bloatware from your Android device

There are several reasons why people prefer Nexus devices and stock Android, one of which is that they don’t contain unnecessary bloatware. Unlike stock Android, skins from manufacturers like TouchWiz, Sense, and others come with a ton of preloaded apps that can’t be uninstalled. Carriers also install their own apps on the devices they sell. These apps not only slow down your Android device, but also take up unnecessary storage space and clutter your user experience. So, if you are wondering whether you can remove these bloatware apps, the answer is yes, you can.

We have compiled a list of ways to remove bloatware from both rooted and non-rooted smartphones, but before you start, make sure you understand which apps you need to remove or disable. must be kept.

Which apps to remove or not to remove?

Pre-installed apps and bloatware are of little use, but you should be careful in choosing which apps to remove and which to keep. Removing core system apps can cause serious performance issues on your device , so always make sure the apps you remove are just manufacturer or carrier bloatware and not core system services. Also, some manufacturers or carriers’ apps may not be available on the Play Store and you might not be able to find them if you delete them, so consider that before deleting an app.

That being said, you should remove pre-installed apps that you don’t think you’ll ever use or that aren’t part of the core Android experience. Now that you have solved it, you can do it in the following way.

For non-rooted devices:

Unfortunately, for non-rooted devices, there is no concrete way to remove bloatware. XDA has some tools that supposedly can remove bloatware and system apps, but I tested them on a variety of devices and they didn’t work. As a matter of fact, you cannot completely remove bloatware on non-rooted Android devices, but you can disable/hide it. Android allows apps to be disabled natively. Here’s how:

1. Go to Settings -> Apps on your Android device. Select the apps you want to disable.

2. Tap Disable within the app information page and a message will appear stating that disabling the app may prevent some other apps from functioning properly. Select ” Disable app “. A message will appear asking if you want to replace this app with the factory version.

3. On Android 6.0 Marshmallow, pressing the disable button will also delete the app’s data. Therefore, if you are using an older version of Android, you will have to manually clear the app’s data by going to App Info -> Storage -> Clear Data . We also recommend performing a “Force Stop”, “Clear Cache” and “Uninstall Updates” to free up as much memory as possible.

4. Once you disable an app, it will no longer appear in the Android app drawer or other locations , and the disabled app will only use minimal memory.

5. To check out or enable disabled apps, go to Settings -> Apps . Then click on the drop-down menu “All apps” and select ” Disabled “. Once you’re in a disabled app, press the three-dot button and tap “Show System” to show system apps. Then select the disabled app and select “Enable” on the app information page.

The option to disable it only exists in newer versions of Android, so if you’re using an older version of Android that doesn’t have this option, or if you want to free up more storage, you’ll need to root your device. Rooting has its own advantages and disadvantages, so check that first.

For rooted devices:

Rooting your device allows you to remove preinstalled and system apps, and there are a ton of apps that can do that. One of the simpler ones is NoBloat . Not only can you delete system apps, but you can also create backups of those apps.

To remove the app, open the NoBloat app and go to ” System Apps .” Just tap on the app you want to remove and you’ll see options to Disable , Backup , Backup and Delete , and Delete without Backup . Please note that an SD card is required to create app backups.

If you don’t like NoBloat for some reason, you can also try other bloatware removal apps like 3C Toolbox , System App Remover .

See also: How to change Android boot animation (Rooted devices)

Ready to clean up your Android device?

We agree that disabling apps on non-rooted devices isn’t the perfect solution for people, but unfortunately, it’s the only way at the moment. The good thing is that this method frees up some storage and also removes it from the UI. There’s no doubt that removing bloatware on a rooted Android device is much easier, but rooting comes with its own set of considerations. In summary, these are the best ways to remove bloatware on your Android device. If there are any methods we may have missed, please let us know in the comments section below.