You likely have noticed a good number of apps on your Android phone that you never use but can’t seem to get go of. While your phone needs a few system projects to work properly, there are a tonne of other apps that are just useless and take up storage space on your device.
Thankfully, there are a few methods available to you for removing or at least for turning off these invasive system apps on your Android smartphone. We’ll go over the many methods in the following section for removing system apps from your Android device so you can free up some important storage space.
What are System Apps?
The software applications that come preinstalled on your Android phone right out of the box are called system apps, or bloatware. Google, the manufacturer of your phone, or your carrier may have placed these there. Many of these are redundant or needless, while some, like the Settings app, are necessary.
Bloatware often comes in the form of pre-installed carrier apps for services like voicemail or account management, or manufacturer apps like Samsung’s Bixby. You may not use the a number Google projects that are included, such as YouTube, Google Drive, and Google Play Music.
The issue is that most system programmes cannot be deleted using the standard Play Store method, in contrast to apps you download yourself. The goal of carriers and manufacturers is to keep them on your smartphone. There are still a few methods you may use to get rid of them, though.
How to Uninstall System Apps on Android
Method 1: Disable the App
Stopping a system app is the fastest way to get rid of it. An app is going to stop to operate in the background and become hidden from your app drawer when you disable it. It’s not completely gone from your device, though. If you believe you might want to re-enable the app in the future, this is a great option.
- Click to Settings.
- Press the Apps icon.
- Select App Management by tapping.
- Select and press the app that you wish to disable from the list.
- Select Disable.
Until you make the choice to activate it again from this same menu, the app will now be disabled. Note that removing some important system apps, like Settings, is not supported.
Method 2: Uninstall Updates for the App
It’s possible that some system apps—particularly Google apps—have received updates since you originally received your phone. While these apps cannot be completely removed, you can delete the updates and return the app to its factory state. If a recent update is giving you problems or consuming up too much space, this can be helpful.
- Click to Settings.
- Press the Apps icon.
- Select App Management by tapping.
- Choose the app that you want to change.
- Click the menu icon with three dots.
- Click on Uninstall updates.
By doing this, the app’s original version will be reset and all updates will be deleted. If you also wish to remove it from your list of apps, you can still disable it using the previous mentioned method.
Method 3: Using a Debloater Tool
More expert Android users can simply delete system apps in volume with third-party debloater tools. The Universal Android Debloater tool is one popular option.
The Debloater tools’ use:
- Start up the Debloater app.
- Click to Settings.
- After swiping down, select “About Device.”
- Regularly clicking the Build Number will show Developer Options.
- Note: The build number could show as the version number on some devices.
- After attaching the USB to your phone, connect it to a computer.
- After scanning your phone, the debloater use displays a list of system projects that are likely safe to remove. The ones you wish to delete are yours to choose.
This destroys projects far better than just turning them off, but there is an increased likelihood of error if you accidentally erase something important. Be sure that you carefully review the functions of every system application before removing them. It’s important to back up your entire phone before using this technique.
Method 4: Rooting Your Phone (Not Recommended)
Rooting your Android device is the most severe, but also the most complete, way to get away of system applications. By gaining admin-level access to the operating system through rooting, you can completely delete any software.
According to the phone model and Android version, the rooting process is different. Usually, flashing a custom recovery and unlocking the bootloader are required. Rooting your phone might be a technical process and will lose its warranty. Bricking your smartphone is another possibility if the rooting process fails.
If you decide to go deeper, you can mount your phone’s system partition and remove the APK installation files for any system programmes you don’t want by using file explorer tools that support root access. As if they were never installed at all, this fully removes them. Take great care to uninstall apps that you are positive are not needed.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is it safe to uninstall system apps?
Depending on the use. Removing some system apps can cause problems because they are important to the function of your phone. On the other hand, if you don’t use the functions of multiple bloatware apps from carriers and manufacturers, you can safely delete them. When in doubt, learn about the functions of the programme before removing it. It’s always better just by turning off an application before removing it completely.
Will uninstalling system apps free up storage space?
In fact, deleting a system programme will allow you to have more storage on your device. But since some system apps aren’t that big, you might not notice much of a difference. An application’s original install will remain on your system partition even after you disable it, as it will no longer use extra room for app data.
Can I uninstall system apps without rooting?
You can easily re-enable an app from the Settings app list if you uninstalled it. The original version of an app will remain available even if updates were uninstalled, but you will need to upgrade it from the Play Store once more.
The only ways to restore a system app that you completely deleted with root access are factory resets and reflashes with the original factory firmware. Before you remove any system applications, make sure you have a complete backup.
