The idea of bloatware refers to an amalgam of unnecessary applications pre-installed by the phone manufacturer or phone carrier. Fortunately, there are a few ways you can get rid of them.
Over the years, storage space has ceased to be such a burning issue for smartphone users. However, it is very frustrating to know that you constantly have on your phone or tablet screen an amalgam of programs that you have not used and probably will never use. Worse than that is the fact that the same unnecessary bloatware programs anchor in the operating system and, in addition to consuming space, influence the performance of the device, affecting, among other things, the autonomy. Fortunately, you can get rid of most of them, and if you can't delete them, you can at least disable them so they don't run in the background anymore. The secret is to make these informed decisions and not do more harm than good. Of course, removing apps from any Android device without knowing exactly what their purpose is could have serious unintended consequences. It's even possible that the device won't turn on at all, hence the need for this tutorial.
What we remove and disable from bloatware
As in any other circumstances when it comes to your terminal, there are many ways you can end up doing something, and this principle applies to removing of bloatware.
Uninstalling bloatware, although the simplest, should be handled with caution. First you need to be sure that you don't need them, because many of the programs that fall into this category are not present in Google Play. In some rare cases, those programs that you have free from the factory on your device, cost money in Google's virtual store. Also, there is a very real possibility that uninstalling those programs will affect the stability of the OS or prevent you from receiving further updates. As a result, the perfect and risk-free solution would be to disable those apps. Deactivation can also act as an intermediate step to permanent deletion. Disable those programs first, and after a week or two of no glitches, bugs, or stability issues, delete them if you really feel the need.
Disabling or freezing an app has a lot in common with deleting it. Basically, a frozen app will no longer appear in the app drawer, nor will it automatically launch with the operating system. Such a program cannot be started again later until you unfreeze it. The good part is that that process is happening in real time. Thus, it is very easy to go back on the decision, if you disabled a necessary program. Additionally, on most recent devices, you don't need root or any additional tools to run the process.
If you have an older phone or tablet and you come across a bloatware app that you can't get rid of, at worst you need root, at best you should use third-party apps in this purpose. By the way, if you want to be sure that you have completely removed an unnecessary program installed on your phone or tablet, you almost always need to root your Android.
How to disable bloatware apps
Especially if you have a phone or tablet from the last few years, the process of freezing a program is very easy. Open the Settings menu in the app drawer, go to Apps and, with a swipe, go to the ALL section to see all the ones you have installed. Select the program you want to get rid of. For this demonstration we will focus on the Motorola Spotlight Player. Tap its name, tap Force stop, and then tap Disable.
Before the actual process begins, it is very likely that you will encounter a notification informing you of possible problems that could be caused by your gesture. Confirm with Ok that you want to continue. If you encounter any problems, return to this window and reactivate the previously frozen program. A tap each on the Clear Data and Clear Cache buttons is also recommended if you will no longer be using the app.
How to disable or delete bloatware on a rooted terminal
Most apps you don't need should be listed in Settings and can be disabled. If this does not happen, the situation is a little more complicated. You must root your device compulsorily. He recently detailed the steps you need to follow for this here. It is also necessary to enable USB Debugging from Settings – Applications – Developer Options. If you still have root, also make a backup with nandroid or Titanium Backup, in case you break something, you can get your phone or tablet back to working order.
Once you've rooted your Android, the set of solutions you can call upon is pretty extensive. Among the recommended apps for this process, Titanium Backup is the best. In addition to a full backup of everything on your device, this program also includes the ability to freeze bloatware. Unfortunately, to gain access to these options you need the Pro version which costs $6. If that seems like too much, NoBloat and App Quarantine are free and there's a good chance they'll work just as well. The only problem is that the latter don't only have positive reviews on Google Play, so you might get mixed results depending on the exact phone or tablet model you own.
Returning to our main recommendation, first you need to install Titanium Backup – a free program, then install Pro Key from Google Play. At the first run you will be asked for Super User rights, grant them by tapping Grant. Go to the Backup/Restore section of the app and you'll see all the programs you have on your device, both installed by you and hidden (bloatware or system). With an increased level of caution, tap apps you don't need. A wrongly selected application can have dramatic consequences, and your smartphone may not turn on at all. In other words, you can, in theory, return to this list at any time for nothing, if the device is no longer functional. We look again for Motorola Spotlight Player as an example and tap it once. The window you will encounter will be very similar to the one below. As expected, more features are made available to you. Opt for Freeze, Uninstall is also an option but not recommended.
To get an app working again, start Titanium Backup again, go to the Backup/Restore section and search for the app you're interested in. This time, instead of the Freeze button, Defrost will appear. Tap on it.
Overall, the steps are not very complicated, and after completing them you should have a faster gadget in no time. Even though you won't gain much extra space, the number of icons displayed will decrease, as will the number of processes running in the background.