You can install whatever you want on the phone before you sell it to me as long as you let me delete it. A few exceptions could be made for the home screen, Google Play Services, and Google Play Store just because many users would have a hard time reinstalling them.
Google pushed to take action against Android bloatware
181–190 of 242 posts
Re: Google pushed to take action against Android bloatware
#182Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can disable them, which is the same thing as far as the user is concerned. Uninstalling from a read-only partition doesn't make sense.
Does that mean these apps can't be updated? Or are only updated when the OEM updates android? That's a crazy design deciscion, especially for Chrome!
They update but the original copy on the system partition hangs around. The only way to clean them out is with a rooted phone.
Re: Google pushed to take action against Android bloatware
#183Earlier quoted context omitted.
Oh wow. My Moto phones never had anything like that. Moto G3, G5, and One Vision. Bought in Germany without contract. Edit: I don't see Google apps as an (additional) problem. Google already controls the phone and its apps don't waste CPU time or memory while not active.
International unlocked moto G6. I was wrong about Facebook. It's LinkedIn that cannot be uninstalled. I just checked now.
Install a firewall and see if the LI app is phoning home when idle. That is the only way to fully cut off network access without going to LineageOS.
Re: Google pushed to take action against Android bloatware
#184Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think calling Chrome bloatware is a bit much. Is Safari bloateare on an iPhone? Is the Play store bloatware? How would you even get anything on your phone the first time without the Play store or Chrome being installed?
Chrome is bloatware when Samsung Internet is a much better browser included with my phone. The Play Store is not bloatware. The Play _stores_ are bloatware (books, games, movies, etc.)
Other apps use the chrome webview, which is why it can't be uninstalled.
Re: Google pushed to take action against Android bloatware
#185Earlier quoted context omitted.
My Android One phone has xiaomi apps installed on the system partition. IIRC, the google play edition phones did not have any third-party apps.
My Nokia Android One had only a support app (visibly) installed. It was still slow and updates took longer than I wanted to arrive. I bought the cheapest new iPhone I could get last black Friday (around $600) and for the first time since my Galaxy SII in 2011 I got a phone that I have actually enjoyed. FTR, phones I have not enjoyed: - Samsung SIII (two, one was terrible, probably a defect part, luckily it bricked it…
The Nokia 6.1 camera app phones back to Facebook on every startup even if you don't have any account with them. Other than not being rootable, it's a reasonable device.
Re: Google pushed to take action against Android bloatware
#186Earlier 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…
The WAPI you're looking for is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WLAN_Authentication_and_Privac.... Which, AFAICT, would allow the phone to connect to some Chinese wi-fi APs that were manufactured+configured to use the WAPI encryption standards.
You know how sometimes, cell ISPs ban certain baseband firmwares from connecting to their network, such that you have to upgrade your phone's firmware before it can connect? Now what happens if you live in some college dorm that has only WAPI-configured wi-fi APs? Guess your phone's a brick until you can find wi-fi somewhere else!
In other words, this is kind of a crucial package for a phone you're going to be using in China.
(But also, it's government-mandated that phones released in China have WAPI support.)
Re: Google pushed to take action against Android bloatware
#187Earlier quoted context omitted.
All applications should be removable and all notifications should be disableable. Even Windows 10, which comes with all sorts of useless irritants, lets you do this.
Imagine how many people would accidentally uninstall the play store. Also, as near as I can tell, there is no actual legitimate "Phone" app available there.
They could have a functionality like the 5 tap thing to enable developer mode. The lack of an official Phone app is irrelevant since you could just download another one, assuming you want to be reachable via phonecall.
Re: Google pushed to take action against Android bloatware
#188Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's still a problem with Android. If you buy a Dell laptop running Windows, it will come with a bunch of useless bloatware. But you can just uninstall it. On Linux, obviously you can uninstall whatever you want. On Android, you cannot, unless you happen to find the right incantations at the right time for your device before an update stops them.
Windows is proprietary though. If Google starts dictating too much of what you can and cannot install on Android then they'll get dinged with another anti-trust suit.
They don't have to dictate it any more than Microsoft does (since they allow PC manufacturers to install all sorts of horrific nonsense). They just have to make the OS such that you can uninstall any application. If this is impossible to do with non-proprietary software, then that's a point for proprietary software.
Re: Google pushed to take action against Android bloatware
#189Earlier 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…
The WAPI you're looking for is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WLAN_Authentication_and_Privac... . Which, AFAICT, would allow the phone to connect to some Chinese wi-fi APs that were manufactured+configured to use the WAPI encryption standards. You know how sometimes, cell ISPs ban certain baseband firmwares from connecting to their network, such that you have to upgrade your phone's firmware before it can connect? Now…
Thanks, that makes much more sense. I only looked at the domain name matching the package name. I'd still like to remove it but it feels much less worrying.
Re: Google pushed to take action against Android bloatware
#190Earlier quoted context omitted.
Chrome is bloatware when Samsung Internet is a much better browser included with my phone. The Play Store is not bloatware. The Play _stores_ are bloatware (books, games, movies, etc.)
Other apps use the chrome webview, which is why it can't be uninstalled.
A/K/A Chrome is (illegally) tied to system functionality.
Microsoft was sued for antitrust violations for much the same thing:
https://www.justice.gov/atr/chapter-5-antitrust-issues-tying...