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Google pushed to take action against Android bloatware

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Re: Google pushed to take action against Android bloatware

#171

Post by petecox »

Waterluvian wrote: post #55
scarface74 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chrome is also the web engine for embedded web views. Even if you did uninstall Chrome, it wouldn’t do much good. The engine would still be there.

The non tech part of me just wants the option to uninstall Chrome in order to remove it from the huge list of apps, updates, etc. Without having to configure a custom launcher.

Understood but the point being made is that your OEM will build AOSP with some ancient, say 2017 or whenever your device was released, embedded version of chromium - susceptible to security flaws from that release date. Chrome overlays a replacement engine to ensure webapps don't get p@wned.

So yes, as a firefoxee, I never want to see the Chrome icon. However, purging Chrome is a security risk.

Re: Google pushed to take action against Android bloatware

#172

Post by throwaway41597 »

ShorsHammer wrote: post #169
goguy wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chinese spyware that doesn't even show as an "app"

You have any proof whatsoever for that or just a general uninformed guess? I have an A1 and have logged it's network requests all day for fun. There's absolutely nothing remotely resembling "spyware". Compared to prolific unremovable bloat than many premium phones have it's an excellent phone. Ended up buying another for safekeeping if something ever goes wrong with it. Android One, monthly security updates, official…

Not proof, but my Xiaomi A3 (Android One) European version has a couple of China Mobile packages and what I suspect is China Telecom.

It also has com.wapi.wapicertmanage, WAPI as in World Association of Professional Investigators! No idea what it does but from the name, it sounds it's security related.

Do these belong on an Android One phone? Do these fit with the impression that most people seem to have about Android One?

Re: Google pushed to take action against Android bloatware

#173

Post by Steko »

wpietri wrote: post #116

Does anybody understand the economic point of making apps nonremovable? From the point of view of a vendor paying for access, presumably their goal is to spark interest and shift default choices. So I get why LinkedIn would pay to be on the phone when it leaves the factory. But if somebody doesn't want it, what do they gain by preventing removal? To me it seems kinda like DRM: I'm sure some executives get woodies at…

User tries to delete app and launches it instead, #gotem.

Re: Google pushed to take action against Android bloatware

#174

Post by asveikau »

wpietri wrote: post #116

Does anybody understand the economic point of making apps nonremovable? From the point of view of a vendor paying for access, presumably their goal is to spark interest and shift default choices. So I get why LinkedIn would pay to be on the phone when it leaves the factory. But if somebody doesn't want it, what do they gain by preventing removal? To me it seems kinda like DRM: I'm sure some executives get woodies at…

There probably should be some apps marked non-removable, because they would break core functionality of the phone, and even if they are made re-installable via Play Store [many of them aren't], would generate tons of complaints and support calls from confused users who uninstalled by mistake.

I'm thinking of: dialer app, SMS app, contacts app, settings app.

The problem seems to be that OEMs mark apps as non-removable when they don't fit that category. And even google does this. [eg. Looking on my phone I was not able to remove Google News, only "disable" it.]

And also on Android, you can install multiple dialers, multiple SMS apps, etc., so maybe you should be able to get rid of the stock one if you have a replacement.

Re: Google pushed to take action against Android bloatware

#175

Post by blacksmith_tb »

throwaway41597 wrote: post #172
ShorsHammer wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have any proof whatsoever for that or just a general uninformed guess? I have an A1 and have logged it's network requests all day for fun. There's absolutely nothing remotely resembling "spyware". Compared to prolific unremovable bloat than many premium phones have it's an excellent phone. Ended up buying another for safekeeping if something ever goes wrong with it. Android One, monthly security updates, official…

Not proof, but my Xiaomi A3 (Android One) European version has a couple of China Mobile packages and what I suspect is China Telecom. It also has com.wapi.wapicertmanage, WAPI as in World Association of Professional Investigators! No idea what it does but from the name, it sounds it's security related. Do these belong on an Android One phone? Do these fit with the impression that most people seem to have about Androi…

Hmm, looks like whatever that WAPI package is, it's not just on Xiaomi devices, I see it mentioned as bloatware on a OnePlus 7 Pro[1]

1: https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-7-pro/how-to/debloa...

Re: Google pushed to take action against Android bloatware

#176

Post by thiagomgd »

EastSmith wrote: post #144
thiagomgd wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Samsung Internet is bloatware... And all samsung apps. I can't get rid of Bixby, internet, the calendar, etc...

Both of you make the point that we should be able to uninstall - not just disable - anything that is not OS. (for the record I've disabled a lot of stuff on my Galaxy)

YES. But with samsung is worse. I can't disable the calendar app, or not add my google accounts there. Your account is added, and the only thing you can do is de-select the calendar to not sync/display notifications...

Re: Google pushed to take action against Android bloatware

#177

Post by throwaway41597 »

blacksmith_tb wrote: post #175
throwaway41597 wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not proof, but my Xiaomi A3 (Android One) European version has a couple of China Mobile packages and what I suspect is China Telecom. It also has com.wapi.wapicertmanage, WAPI as in World Association of Professional Investigators! No idea what it does but from the name, it sounds it's security related. Do these belong on an Android One phone? Do these fit with the impression that most people seem to have about Androi…

Hmm, looks like whatever that WAPI package is, it's not just on Xiaomi devices, I see it mentioned as bloatware on a OnePlus 7 Pro[1] 1: https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-7-pro/how-to/debloa...

I don't know whether it's actually Chinese (OnePlus is by the way), not that it matters anyway. It has no business being on my phone and doesn't match with what most people seem to think Android One is.

Re: Google pushed to take action against Android bloatware

#178

Post by VistaBrokeMyPC »

nkurz wrote: post #94
robbya wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is Samsung Internet better than Chrome? I've always assumed it was bloatware since it's preinstalled and I haven't heard of people using it. I personally use the Firefox mobile browser, which I think works great.

I tested about a bunch of browsers on my Samsung phone (including Chrome, Firefox, Maxthon, Dolphin, Cheetah, Brave, Puffin, Opera, and Yandex), and eventually decided that the "Samsung Internet Browser Beta" was the best of them for me: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sec.androi... My main demands were a browser that had a reliable "reader mode", a black background "night mode", allowed reasonable…

Dolphin! Man, I haven't heard someone talk about that browser in YEARS.

I used that ten years ago back when the play store was called Android Market because it had addons and I thought it was the bee's knees. I still rotate through chrome, chrome canary, Firefox, Firefox focus, opera, and sometimes nightly builds of Firefox just to see what's getting tinkered with lately. Firefox still my daily driver though.

Re: Google pushed to take action against Android bloatware

#179

Post by lern_too_spel »

rhizome wrote: post #130
lern_too_spel wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? As far as the user is concerned, the end result is the same. The app doesn't appear in the app drawer, and none of its entry points are exposed to the OS. The user who just bought a phone gets a fully functional phone right out of the box instead of having to wait for downloads. A factory reset to get back to the initial state is as simple as wiping all writable partitions.

Presumably the person you're replying to is a user too, so apparently the end result isn't the same for all of the people you're thinking of.

The person I'm responding to hasn't given any reason why the end result is meaningfully different. As far as we can tell, they just don't like the word "disable." If Android replaced the word with "uninstall," they would presumably be happy, which sounds like a minor complaint.

Re: Google pushed to take action against Android bloatware

#180

Post by lern_too_spel »

MiracleUser wrote: post #132
lern_too_spel wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? As far as the user is concerned, the end result is the same. The app doesn't appear in the app drawer, and none of its entry points are exposed to the OS. The user who just bought a phone gets a fully functional phone right out of the box instead of having to wait for downloads. A factory reset to get back to the initial state is as simple as wiping all writable partitions.

the experience would be the same if all the apps were disabled by default - and ONLY when the user goes to install them they are able to just enable it instead

No, it wouldn't. The user expects a fully functional phone out of the box, complete with web browser and mail client.
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