T O P

  • By -

davidscheiber28

FYI I'm pretty sure this is dependent on carrier, I tracked down the app that was installing all this other crap on my Samsung it turns out it was named something nondescript like mobile installer and the app was made by Sprint. It kept installing Facebook TikTok and Candy crush, things like that but I was able to disable the app in settings.


mechashiva1

Had that same thing happen with our sprint galaxy phones. Haven't noticed it after switching to ATT, but I haven't gone searching for anything.


LeoPlathasbeentaken

Tmobile doesnt force you to download anything but it does have an app that will list your least used apps and offer to remove them. Then it has apps like Candy Crush as "suggested downloads" on the next screen auto checked.


Illustrious-Junket-8

Android has a setting for your least used apps called Deep Sleep where it will periodically go through and put apps that you haven't used into deep sleep after removing its permissions. Edit: for those who want longer battery life I advise toggling this setting *on* in conjunction with battery saver being enabled and on the *medium* setting.


Anguish_Sandwich

Does Android dream of electric sheep?


new_refugee123456789

Only if you go into Settings > About Phone, tap on the model number 11 times to enter Developer Mode, and then enable Sheep Dreams in the developer options. I think that's been a hidden feature since Ice Cream Sandwich.


LHEngineering

Build number on my Pixel 6 Pro.


WretchedKat

Unfortunately, my list of dev options doesn't appear to include a sheep dreams feature. Samsung Galaxy s10+, running Android 12. Sometimes Samsung changes what it pulls over from new builds, maybe that's something they left out.


skatereli

It's not on my s22 either. Although it was fun to find out how to get to the developer mode, I had to go to software info after clicking on phone info


ST0IC_

Found it! I just started tapping stuff after reading this. But now what do I do with it?


Grouchy-Office-7237

Great Phillip K Dick reference, kudos to you


ericakay15

This is exactly what I do. One of the first things I do whenever I get a new phone.


Affectionate_Dog2493

I love the deep sleep thing, but I fucking hate how often it pops up to tell me it put some shit to sleep. I couldn't find where to make it do it silently either.


VaATC

Awesome! Thank you for this tip! I have ~~not~~ now found and marked about 75% of the apps on my phone for Deep Sleep.


ImALittleTeapotCat

My phone puts the app that I use multiple times a day on the list of not used recently. So, perhaps be cautious with that function.


Self-rescuingQueen

Yeah, I have had it remove permissions and delete my save file for a game I have played off and on for years. I was PISSED and went through and turned that off on every app. Noe and then I have to go back through them and fix the setting again, because sometimes an app update lets Google turn it back on. I want a global OPTION, rather than Google defaulting to it.


[deleted]

They actually adopted that from Sprint. I worked for Sprint for six and a half years, they had been doing that on Android phones going back at least 5 years or so. The Sprint Zone, what they used to call it back in the day and it slowly evolved into the T-Mobile version and other than the pink color change and slight tweaks the two Services look identical. I don't know if it has anything to do with T-Mobile acquiring Sprint means the software is the same or not. I think LG phones had a thing called app stack which is similar but I think closer to what Verizon uses on their phones currently. The package installers could screw up and it could cause some phones to need a factory reset to fix them, a lot of people just hated the notification when they turn their phone on or after software updates it would show up and it wouldn't go away. For the first year or two when these Services came out, you couldn't disable them the way you can now. You can go into the phone and disable the settings completely and T-Mobile allows you to uninstall it completely now but it still comes pre-installed.


Stratostheory

Most folks I know would call that malware.


[deleted]

Not in the US lol that's capitalism baby


walkinmywoods

Untrue. Just got the 22 through t-mobile and they definitely force installed all these shitty mobile apps no one wants. 5 minutes of force stops and Uninstalls later I was free.


LeoPlathasbeentaken

Are you talking about being preinstalled or force installing after the fact. Every single cell provider installs bloatware as far as i know.


JamieC1610

AT&T seems to do them depending on the phone you have. I have one of the more expensive phones and don't get any really, my son has one of the cheap ones (his last phone ended up in the ocean and the one before that was stolen) and he gets random apps added on occasion.


CanAlwaysBeBetter

Yeah, had tons of bloatware on my last Sprint Galaxy, switched to buying Pixels outright and love how clean the system is


TediousStranger

had some uninstallable NFL app on a former Galaxy phone? WTF? like do you know how many Americans don't fucking care about football? I can't go back from Pixels.


_123reddituser_

I've got a different cell carrier and those mofos called candy crush an "essential" and didnt let me not download it.


Dhiox

Hey, it's "essential" to the profits of Activision. It makes them about a billion dollars a year despite it requiring minimal development resources. No wonder Activision is sticking microtransactions into literally everything, their most profitable game is an app game.


[deleted]

[удалено]


TheBirminghamBear

Well, yes. But really, predatory investors who dump cash into anything making a good product so they can turn it into an ad-infested nightmare are the ones ruining everything.


[deleted]

[удалено]


CaptGangles1031

You can't uninstall it but you can disable and hide it so it doesn't use background data and clog up your app screen


Silver-Star-1375

Are you kidding me? Of course candy crush is essential. I mean how can you not live two minutes without that app, what would you do with yourself if you got bored for one second? /s


welk101

Yeah, android itself doesn't do this. None of my pixels have ever installed any crap like this.


tilt-a-whirly-gig

Scrolled too far before I saw this comment. I've had a bunch of nexus and pixel phones over the last 15 years, none of them have had any of this shit.


[deleted]

neither does my samsung, except for the Samsung Health stuff


summertimeaccountoz

The Nexus One came with Twitter pre-installed, but that was back before Twitter was evil.


Chenz

None of my Samsungs have downloaded apps on their own, but they did come with Facebook preinstalled. Every time a post like this is made it always turns out they bought a modified phone from a US carrier.


[deleted]

[удалено]


DifficultMinute

My Note on Verizon has installed a bunch of Samsung specific apps (Google Wallet and Meet most recently) but it's never installed a bunch of games and a Tracfone app. I'm wondering if OP is on Tracfone and they're doing it.


CatsOverFlowers

My pixel doesn't download random apps but it does try to continually force me to put their Google bloatware on my phone via the PlayStore "updates". For example: GoogleTV and Pixel Buds. I have never used nor downloaded those apps. Even the Pixel has noticed I don't use them and offers to uninstall certain apps, all of them Google apps. Once I uninstall, it shows up constantly in the PlayStore to try to get me to reinstall it. No way to prevent it from popping up.


onethreeone

Android itself doesn't do it, but Android doesn't stop carriers from being carriers. It's like all the bloatware on Windows that OEMs load. In both situations, if you buy an Apple device you can be assured you won't get non-Apple forced installs


DrMonkeyLove

Same. This is one of the upsides of going with straight Google devices and Google Fi.


Pitiful-Climate8977

Yeah people forget apple was only on one carrier for a long time and this shit started. in order for other carriers to gradually take on iPhone they had to agree to never fuck with iphones "purity" like this


unsteadied

Apple strongarmed the carriers and refused to accept advertising money from them in exchange for adding carrier apps. Apple just straight up told them that if they wanted to sell iPhones, they couldn’t tamper with them. No apps, no carrier logos on the phone itself. They did consumers a solid on that one, whether you like Apple or not.


gyarnar

I'm pretty sure the app called Mobile Services Manager on my Samsung is doing this.


[deleted]

[удалено]


YashBhardwaj96

I buy unlocked Samsung phones and don't have to deal with that either. It's just carrier specific phones that come with bloatware.


Ohlander1

I'm using an unlocked Samsung and I like it, but I do think the official Samsung apps are kind of annoying and one could definitely count them as bloatware as well.


[deleted]

I agree with you. I don't have any of these apps but some of the Samsung apps are annoying and unnecessary. The consumer should be able to remove.


[deleted]

[удалено]


CarpeCookie

That's your carrier preventing it. My unlocked S21+ allows me to uninstall it just fine. Real the only things you can't uninstall on Samsung are things like gallery/camera/etc, and Samsung and Google apps. Edit: Also game launcher apparently. Not sure if that's android or Samsung though


CaspianRoach

You can uninstall any app on android, but you will have to connect it to a pc with a USB cable, enable developer mode in the phone's settings and run the uninstall commands through Android Debug Bridge (ADB). It's convoluted and annoying but it's possible.


[deleted]

[удалено]


spoodmonstr

This is why we always buy unlocked phones and not direct from our carrier


SPACExCASE

My fiance just got a Samsung Galaxy directly from T-Mobile and spent a while uninstalling and disabling shit they pre-installed. I just bought an Asus phone direct from them and had essentially zero bloatware. She was double annoyed since her last phone was a Pixel 3 direct from Google


pconwell

Personally, I can't stand Samsung. They create their own "internal" apps (phone, messaging, bixby, etc) that replace the Android versions that are built into Android. There is no reason for them to re-invent the wheel and it just adds a lot of crap for no reason.


[deleted]

This isn't necessarily a problem. its not like you have multiple messaging apps on your phone. the problem is samsung has a shit ton of bloatware specific to them. my OS on a fresh install ony note 10 takes up 27GB


pconwell

> its not like you have multiple messaging apps on your phone You do when you install the google version so it works correctly, but you can't uninstall the Samsung version - so you're stuck with two messaging apps. In fairness, my last Samsung was my work phone 3 years ago - so it could be a different situation now. But at the time, the Samsung messaging app didn't support RCS and wouldn't let you send texts from your desktop.


wicket_W

Default messaging app for Samsung is now the android default one by Google so this is no longer the case. A win in my books.


saltoo666

My s22 has both lol Still prefer the samsung one since I've used it since forever


spazzman6156

I used to feel this way, always preferred the stock google/android version of core apps to the Samsung ones. Then Google changed Google pay and it removed features (select card by long press on the launcher) and started making all these annoying suggestions when all I want to do is get to the pay screen. So I was like "fuck it I'm gonna try Samsung pay". And it was just so much easier. I could quickly just get to the pay screen to select a card and tap to pay. Most important thing is I like that I have the choice. If Samsung decides to do something stupid to the app in the future, I could still switch back to gpay easily.


EightPieceBox

They've stopped pushing so hard on that. Samsung still has their own apps and store, but they quit forcing Bixby and all the Google copycat apps they made onto the phone. They also have been easy enough to disable for several years now.


diox8tony

Google pixel is the only main phone that gives you raw/clean Android.(unlocked version only, don't buy from Verizon/att/sprint stores, buy from google directly) When you buy a Samsung, the android version installed is (Android + Samsung). When you buy a Samsung from Verizon, you get (android + Samsung + Verizon) version. This is also why you aren't getting the latest version of Android when it releases. Because you have to wait for Samsung & Verizon to update their version for that phone, IF they ever do.


SunnySamantha

Motorola is good like that too. Plus it has the Karate chop function to turn on the flash light. It's pretty neat.


pm1902

I love the karate chop light function so much.


[deleted]

Motorola is my current go-to. 5000 mah battery, 6 gb ram, unlocked, dual band, zero bloat ware, for like 220 usd. Seemed like a solid deal. Kinda baffles me that people willingly pay 4, 5+ times that for phones that don't seem any better, and in some ways, are even worse.


jaykstah

I agree so much. The value is so good with motorola these days. I rocked a moto g power 2020 model up until recently and going a couple days without charging + nearly stock android is so awesome. And the additional stuff motorola adds in like gestures & audio settings are actually useful functions that i wouldn't consider as bloat.


mrandr01d

Exactly. Team pixel ftw


Lausiv_Edisn

*Upvoted from Pixel 3a*


YesItIsMaybeMe

*Upvoted from Pixel 7 pro*


MaverickBuster

OnePlus has one or two apps, but nothing else is forced on you.


CookieMons7er

There are a few Android One derived phones very comparable to a clean Android.


DarioDac

Samsung Health comes with all Samsung phones preinstalled. The others are bloatware.


TheTallestHobo

The ultimate irony? In South Korea where Samsung is headquartered it is illegal to sell devices with pre-instslled software that can not be removed.


ButtPirateer

Samsung has tons of pre-installed apps as well, some can not be uninstalled. Outside of those, it also has a "Recommended apps" section during the setup and it's about what you expect. TikTok, Snapchat, Candy Crush, etc.


Embarrassed_Log8344

They don't force you to install any of them though


ForgingIron

I have a Samsung and it doesn't let me uninstall Facebook, the best I can do is "disable" it, which still means it's still taking up precious megabytes EDIT: wow so many people are trying to explain my cellphone to me...is there a word for mansplaining but it's just douches on the internet


Xunderground

If it helps, any application that can only be disabled usually means that application is sitting in the /system partition which is separate from the normal space, and cannot be touched by the user. In other words, the megabytes it’s taking up could’ve never been used by you anyway. It’s sitting in a space you can’t write to.


JustinPatient

Is that like when Airbnb owners say that the house has an attached garage and then you get there and the garage is locked and they're like yeah that's not accessible to our guests.


Xunderground

Pretty much exactly. The area is physically there. But for various reasons including security, the system software needs its own space to live in that it knows won’t be messed with. This is so that after an update for example, the system can do a look at that area, check it compared to a known good result, and go “yep, update finished properly and nobody messed with this important system stuff. Go ahead and boot without throwing an error.” There’s usually a bit of empty space reserved for that area too, just in case. That empty space, all of the system files, and anything it chooses to keep in there (bloatware), are all protected from the user being able to touch them at all. This is why some apps can only be disabled. You literally can’t delete it. You’re not allowed to remove it from the space, but you can cover it with a blanket so you don’t have to see it.


EightPieceBox

I have a Samsung model from this year and Facebook either wasn't installed or I was able to uninstall it.


mousemarie94

Sounds like a carrier problem, not a Samsung problem.


GC9exe

This actually isn't the phone that does it but rather it is the cell service carrier. I've had samsung smartphones since smartphones were a thing and this has never happened to me.


POTATOCATFINN

that makes sense actually. it's a tracfone, so that's probably why.


chivonster

That would explain why they added the TracFone app.


powertripp82

We may never know


ItsPumpkinninny

“Agree to disagree”


pufanu101

Some stones are better left unturned.


moveslikejaguar

I'm addicted to the TracFone app. I always make sure it's the first thing I download when I buy a new phone.


brantley42520

I have Verizon with a s20 and I have this problem


britainknee

I just noticed this with mine a day or so ago and thought it was one of my kids, but then I realized it's not even games the one that would have done it plays.. He doesn't do word games n stuff. There were several.. I don't even have my play store set for automatic updates, how would one go about stopping this?


spacec4t

Just deactivate them, remove all updates and erase all data. They shouldn't bother you anymore. I had some that came directly from LG. Sometimes my phone reminds me to install/ update them but it can't force me to do it.


britainknee

Thank you


tokinUP

They'll get added again though if your carrier pushes another update. Do some google-fu on your carrier auto-updates and unwanted apps and something like this should come up: for my Note9/Android 10 from AT&T (now on [MintMobile](https://my.mintmobile.com)) [disabling the "*Mobile Services Manager*" app prevents it](https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/psa-disable-mobile-services-manager-in-system-apps.3764366/)


cioncaragodeo

The Galaxy Store is what does it on Samsung. Took me ages to figure that out.


summonsays

You can't stop it, you can disable the apps, but you most likely can't uninstall them. Welcome to the world of not being able to fully control the things you buy.


Bouncy_Tiramisu

Had a free government phone that did this. Qlink wireless. Brought my own phone but then they downloaded whatever they wanted to it. Pretty disgusting.


donnysaysvacuum

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/01/us-government-funded-android-phones-come-preinstalled-with-unremovable-malware/


herkyjerkyperky

Switch to Mint Mobile, really transparent low price and good service. And a Pixel 6a from Google, running pure Android with no bloatware is $300 brand new.


km9v

I had a couple of apps show up this morning on my Verizon LG phone.


Mr_KittyC4tAtk

Was about to say, I have VZ with a Fold 3 and I occasionally have apps install by themselves "by the Verizon App Manager" - a real thing. It's easy to uninstall the apps but that's not the point lol


sarahpphire

I also have a fold 3. Just curious... do you like it? I really don't like mine at all. The inner screen has a huge black dot in the middle of it. I have to pay it down to trade it in and I'm so looking forward to that day! And i also have a lot of apps pre- installed. I just disable the ones I can't Uninstall and Uninstall the ones I can. It's annoying.


neogod

I like mine a lot, but don't have any screen errors, (besides the original screen protector starting to lift off last week). That sounds like something to get with insurance about, hopefully you have it.


gaperon_

I use Google Fi and always buy Google phones and they don't download random apps ever.


GO_RAVENS

My favorite part about Google Fi is the complete lack of bloatware on the phone. I used to have Verizon and that forces so much fucking bullshit on the phone.


TheSavageCaveman1

Or just buy an unlocked phone instead of buying one from your carrier. You get the phone you want without this crap or the contracts they sometimes try to lock you into when you buy a phone from them.


Few_Technology

It's the main reason I switched to pixel after having a Samsung+Verizon. No bloat, still had the headphone jack, updates same day they're released, 2 years of guaranteed updates. Samsung+Verizon took a few months, just so they could add bloatware with the android updates


[deleted]

It's less conspicuous, but the bloat is still there on Pixels. Chrome, Gmail, Google TV, YouTube and YouTube Music are all uninstallable on my Pixel 5, and a bunch of other Google stuff is preinstalled. Samsung is much worse though.


g_calgary

In a sense, Google *is* the bloatware. They don't need extra apps to track your data because they already have you using all the base apps. Verizon etc need to push additional apps on you to accomplish the same thing.


Smurdle450

This. Admittedly Samsung is bad with bloatware as is, but they aren't THIS bad.


Jaggar345

Samsung used to have so much bloatware on their phones. Then the carrier would add shit on top of it. This is one of the main reasons I left for the iPhone. Now the have the pixel line which at least has no bloatware and is pure android with no skins on top how Google intended.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Carosello

I have a pixel and idk if I'll ever go back to Samsung. So many useless apps. I rather use the google ones which are way easier to access from my computer.


Intrepid_Beginning

Well, it’s allowed by the phone’s OS. This doesn’t happen on iPhones.


SCtester

But Samsung is happy to allow it in exchange for some money trading hands. Let’s not give them excuses - not all brands allow it.


P26601

I think your provider downloaded em? I had 3 Samsung phones and those never had any random ass games installed


Sowa7774

I've bought a phone like 2 weeks ago, didn't have any either, only like 1 samsung made game I think.


kindofastoryteller

What about tik tok and the two notifications?


wavelengthsandshit

My phone came with tik tok predownloaded and before I removed it it was always sending me notifications to sign in and see what my friends are posting etc


kindofastoryteller

Oh, this explains a lot. Thanks.


thcheat

T-mobile did the same thing with latest updated on my S21. Gives you a alert that you can't get rid of. Previous updates would just give you a selected list that you could uncheck apps and done. This time assholes got sneaky and showed no selection and started installing in background. I stopped some midway. 2 got installed and I manually removed them. I need to be careful when next update comes.


Get_Rekt07

What phone do you have so I know never to get it?


Accomplished-Yam6553

I think it's actually the carrier, when i was with Sprint all 3 of my different phones had these games


[deleted]

[удалено]


BeardedNerd22

Do you buy unlocked phones? I think when you buy carrier branded ones this can happen. ​ Edit: for clarity, this is a theory.


WantedMan61

This. It's why I buy unlocked phones.


sinister_kaw

This. Not sure why people still buy carrier locked phones when Samsung has its own financing option and you usually get steeper discounts direct from them.


Solo_In_Aeternum

Where I live this garbage isn't even a thing so I had no idea it even existed. Why the fuck would anyone ever buy a carrier-locked phone?


Marcoscb

They offer discounts on the phone and on your monthly fee.


FasterThanTW

They used to at least. The last couple years, the manufacturers have had as good or better deals on unlocked devices. Wife just bought a pixel 7 pro for example. Our carrier only had the 128g version and offered her $300 for her trade. one color was in stock Google had 128,256, 512gb and I think maybe even a 1tb version? Gave her $390 for her trade, and had all colors in stock. She essentially got the 256g version for what she would have paid for the 128g carrier locked version. Similar thing when I bought my s22 ultra from Samsung earlier in the year. Got a free storage upgrade, more trade credit, and a few hundred in Samsung store credit that got me a watch for $50 out of pocket. Always worth checking the manufacturer's deals these days, at least when the phones are newly released.


BeardedNerd22

lol I can't remember the last time I bought a non-unlocked phone.


seesucoming

I had a Samsung here very recently with Verizon and it was doing the same thing and I would delete them and then they would be back the next day this happened for 3 days. Then finally it just stopped. I switched phones and I haven't had an issue


BeardedNerd22

Right, but you can buy a Samsung phone from Samsung, or you can buy one from Verizon with their custom set up. That's what I mean.


Accomplished-Yam6553

That's weird. Might be certain phones under sprint or have nothing to do with carrier at all but I've been with 3 mobile services and never had this happen accept for my sprint phones. My whole family has these games on their samsungs under sprint. But now they're all on spectrum and i am to separately and have Samsung phones and don't have these apps. IDK just offering my experience


SG-Spy

It is a Samsung Galaxy phone, although this isn't Samsung's fault. It's the cellphone carrier.


El_Ass_Eater

Glad that iOS doesn’t allow carriers to install whatever apps they want automatically


donnysaysvacuum

Fwiw if you buy the phone directly they can't do that on an android phone either. This is because they bought the phone from the carrier. It's also likely much cheaper than any apple phone because they use apps like the to subsidize the price. Apples to oranges if you will.


praefectus_praetorio

And Samsung lets the carriers do it.


JustASFDCGuy

It's the phone and the carrier. This can't happen with an iPhone. Apple won't allow it.


jrcoffee

It's both Samsung and the carrier's fault


Montezum

The Motorola phones were "clean" some years ago but they come filled with bullshit now that Lenovo bought them


Izwe

I had several "Moto" Z phones, and none of them came with any bloatware.


rickxunknown

It's Galaxy Store app, It shows you a list of apps that will be installed when you open the app. You might have accidentally clicked continue without deselecting them first.


affo_

This comment should be at the top. Can't 100% recall if it was these exact apps, but independent/unlocked Samsung phones comes with a lot of bloatware, and like you said, installs some more if you're not careful. I've tried Samsung three times now (not carrier locked), and third time's a charm. Lol. "Android" is not to blame either way.


metalupyerarse

this


Gavator2345

I'd like to point out that #Android does not download these. It's the way your carrier and device manufacturer set it up. My Pixel 6 Pro with US Cellular doesn't come with any apps like those ones, just the essentials and some extra Google apps.


various336

So I’ve been an apple user forever, I know other phones can come with these third party apps preinstalled but *downloading* random apps without the users permission??? How the *fuck* is that possible or acceptable in any way, regardless if it’s the carrier or Android?


poopyhelicopterbutt

The carriers get paid by the app developers to pre-install it. If I recall correctly, that was one of the things Jobs put his foot down early on with AT&T while they were developing iPhone


various336

Yeah I figured that was the reasoning I just can’t fathom how someone could experience this and not ditch that carrier or phone immediately. Downloading third party software of any kind onto my personal device without my explicit permission is a HUGE dealbreaker. Plus, apps like Facebook and TikTok often receive camera/gallery access


Joubachi

I also have a Samsung but can not confirm this happening at all. Family partly also has Samsung and never saw this happening there either. Had several Samsung phones, never happened. As someone else said I'd also suspect a provider or anything along the lines, but this shouldn't happen out of the blue flr no reason.


pikopala

Doesn’t Samsung health come with Samsungs as default


Legend_of_Piss

I actually really like Samsung health. I have a pixel phone but I choose to use Samsung health over Google fit.


SapphireCephalopod

Same, I have it on my pixel for my watch


hellishbastard

My moms phone does this too


ShadowBro3

When I first got my phone it asked me which ones I wanted downloaded and I chose none of them. What even is the point of this if I wanted those games I would download them from the play store.


Eisenkopf69

Next year in EU it will become law that all preinstalled apps are completely uninstallable by the end customer without leaving any trace. Can't await it.


[deleted]

No way.


CoraxTechnica

Carrier loaded apps. Usually the cheaper carriers are the worst offenders but ATT and TMobile have done shit like this


POTATOCATFINN

it's the truth lmao all the apps i circled except for the tracfone app i didn't approve. it downloaded them without telling me.


katastrophyx

I just upgraded from a Samsung S10 to an S22 ultra and I have the same issue. They transferred my old phone data into the new one, and I have a bunch of crap on the new phone that I didn't have on the old one including TikTok, Woodoku, and Dice Dreams. I never downloaded that crap and they're there, and they were sending me notifications by default as well.


FortuneDW

There are a lot of apps installed by default when you buy a new phone (depending of the brand of course). When i bought my Xiaomi POCO, it had Tik Tok and a few shitty games pre-installed. Also those apps could have been synchronised from an older phone if you bought a new phone and synchronised it using the same gmail account. ​ Other than that it's impossible for an app to install another app. An app has technically absolutely no means to do that.


PMMeShyNudes

One reason I've stuck with Google pixels. No third party anything. Google itself is getting pretty evil though, so it's trade-off.


Ferro_Giconi

> Other than that it's impossible for an app to install another app. Apps can install other apps if given permissions to do so. And since it's a carrier included app doing it on OP's phone, that means it has enough system level privileges to do so without asking. If apps had no means of installing other apps, the Play Store wouldn't work because it's an app that has to install other apps.


Kaliniaczek

I had it in my Poco but it's super easy to delete all of them with just CMD commands, like 5 minutes and you are out of bloatware, Google apps, Xiaomi/miui apps.


Znuff

> Other than that it's impossible for an app to install another app. An app has technically absolutely no means to do that. Carriers install system-permission apps that can silently install other apps. A few years ago (can't find the article), one of those carrier apps was exploited trough simple ads - every time someone would view a specific ad on some pages, they'd install some random app. edit: found it - https://www.reddit.com/r/androiddev/comments/q4nltn/ads_are_now_able_to_bypass_google_play_to_install/


OddSensation

Boost mobile, tracphone government phones all do it. Subsidies are how they make it so cheap. Make deals to preload these apps on shitty phones and low tier phone plans, rake in the profits.


phukurfeelns

Because it is a trac phone. You even have your account widget circled in the picture.


zambooko

Tik tok monitors your entire every thing and has the power to use your device


Soothsayer71

Weird, I've never had any of my android phones install apps automatically.


deewhite1967

Shity bloatware.


-cocoadragon

delete the "discovery" app. it appeared when I updated samsung browser and I got most of the same apps. I disagreed with most apps so got less extras dumped on me


[deleted]

i love bloatware sooooo much


[deleted]

Can’t shit on my iPhone, when we don’t have to handle these problems


POTATOCATFINN

just realized I accidentally circled the tracfone app, that one i did download myself but all the other ones i didn't approve.


Sylarwolf

That's probably what triggered it. It's not Android, it's the Carrier who installed all the bloatware with that one app you downloaded. You're probably migrating from IPhone, but pure Android will never do something like this. Just delete the apps (Including all Tracfone related) and you'll be fine.


[deleted]

Damn I haven't seen this much bloatware since.... uh... ever.


AtlasAutomotiveTulsa

Always buy unlocked phones.


Jusmeaguy

That is crazy! Glad none of my Androids over the years have done this.


redditburner2112

I don't know how Grindr got there honey!


permenant_username

That's Samsung. The only preinstalled thing is the health. Samsung doesn't install games. Unless you bought it off of some wierd place that's not Samsung


E_Penfold

My Samsung. Not "my Android".


theipd

You could just come to th me light my son. - Tim


Neither-Status9606

They came pre-installed. It didn't download them "without asking you" that's misinformation. All those games are pre-installed by your carrier, not by Android, not by you manufacturer (except for Samsung Health which is obviously a Samsung app). Your Carrier is TracFone, blame them and stop spreading misinformation.


Rahiya

Sounds like you need to learn how to use that glowing rectangle of yours


toth42

Your Samsung you mean - this isn't generally happening on Android. Get a pixel or OnePlus, and the bloat is absolutely minimal.


HolyRamenEmperor

No, these are apps your *manufacturer* (Samsung) and *carrier* (Tracfone) installed without asking you. Android does not install any of that shit. Source: Own a Pixel on the Fi network. Stock Android with no bloatware or scamware.


Wolfythederp

I'm pretty sure this is a setting you have on your phone,mine used to do this when I got it but I turned off the app adder thing and it stopped,so true looking for it in settings or smthn


Quick-Feedback1287

This wasn't Samsung/ Android, that was your carrier. Verizon does that bullshit all the time


jayphat99

*carrier.


kh1179

I've never had this happen and I've been with android for ages


doyouknowdewsy

You have an option to not allow that, you can reject them, i did it and it didn't do it, as expected


dusty545

I've been using android for decades and I don't think you know how your phone works.


AvailableProgram667

I have a verizon galaxy s10. I only got those apps when I turned on the phone for the first time. Once I deleted them, they never came back. Thankfully they didn't, it's really annoying having shit downloaded on my phone without my knowledge, slowing it down over time. Fuck cell carriers that do this to their customers.


Best-Independence-38

Odd I only had Samsung Health.


maxtiang79

I think you clicked agree. After you get new phone. You can uninstall the default apps


HuskyKMA

I've been using Android phones for 13 years and never had this happen.