[nstark13]

Mod note: Please use Multi Quote [Quote+] or edit original post, instead of back to back posts. Thanks.

Originally Posted by Kkumar

First of all thank you for this very useful piece of tech advice. Can any window PC can be used for this.

Glad I can be of help. Yes, any windows PC can be used for this, even windows 7, though you might need to install Java or something.

Originally Posted by nitin_knw

Thanks for your time,yes it is Dell venue 8 3230 on Intel processor, Dell abandoned it after release and didn't get any system update.Being a Intel processor it was bit tricky for Custom rom build.

Well I found a fairly active forum link of XDA who've booted a Venue 8 3830 with Android 7.1.2, does this help?
https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/r...-3830.4436495/

[rnkgrg]

I think we are missing something here. Apps that are written on the system partition cannot be deleted. Even with the said process. It does not save any space or anything. At best, what this de-bloater tool can do is hide those apps. A factory reset or even an android update will bring them back up.

To uninstall system apps, you need to root your phone (NOT RECOMMENDED UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING) since that voids the warranty and a lot of banking apps also might stop working. Rooting the phone gives you a read/write access to the system partition, which by default is read only.

Disclaimer - I am not from a tech background. Open to corrections

[PearlJam]

Originally Posted by atulsian

For those who prefer downloading the tools mentioned above from the source. No offence to the OP.

Thanks! Being the skeptic that I am in installing anything from anonymous downloads, I was going to ask the exact same thing.

Thanks to the OP too, for the steps.

[nstark13]

Originally Posted by rnkgrg

I think we are missing something here. Apps that are written on the system partition cannot be deleted. Even with the said process. It does not save any space or anything. At best, what this de-bloater tool can do is hide those apps. A factory reset or even an android update will bring them back up.

Disclaimer - I am not from a tech background. Open to corrections

You see, there are two ways an android system takes up storage in the device. One is with "Apps" (including user Apps and OEM apps) and the other is "System" (the actual system partition which contains a blank image of your OS at it's stock stage including the code for all apps)
By this method you will only be editing the "Apps" section of storage by removing unwanted apps and you cannot make changes to system partition like this.

So, you'll be freeing up the space from Apps section, if you're skeptical about it you can give it a try.

As far as the app coming back by OTA Updates and Factory Data reset is concerned, then YES the apps will be back because what Factory Data reset does is it restores a complete image from the "System" tab including all the apps present. It's not necessary that OTA Updates will restore ALL the removed apps but some can be restored as the OTA is pushed by OEM including "some" apps they want to promote. Majorly this is done by Scam-sung and I've not observed this with Xiao-meme.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by nstark13

As of late there's no manufacturer that is offering their devices without any bloatware (exceptions: Motorola, Nothing).

My last few phones are either pixel or motorola. I am surprised you didn't name pixel. I don't really see any bloatware on my 7a or the previous 3a.

[nstark13]

Originally Posted by Samurai

My last few phones are either pixel or motorola. I am surprised you didn't name pixel. I don't really see any bloatware on my 7a or the previous 3a.

Thanks for pointing out Samurai.
Yes, Pixel was not mentioned on purpose since Google is the developing company for Android and they won't ship the bloatware anyways. It's the manufacturers that go down that path for a better pricing or just good ol' revenue.

[Bala02]

Originally Posted by nstark13

Agreed, but since most users don't keep a rooted device in hand this is the safest method imo. And also you don't need any kind of prior knowledge for this, if you follow the instructions carefully then it can be done easily.

This method works just fine on a Non rooted phone as well. My apologies for not being clear earlier.

I was just trying to mention that we can play god on an rooted Android phone. I previously had a rooted custom os on my earlier device by having a custom TWRP recovery. Downside to that was not being able to use certain apps So had to stick to OEM os on my new device.

[unoczar]

Hey, thank you for this. Just skimmed through your post. Will take time out later. But, tell me one thing - does it remove YouTube? Takes up too much of my time.

[nstark13]

Originally Posted by unoczar

Hey, thank you for this. Just skimmed through your post. Will take time out later. But, tell me one thing - does it remove YouTube? Takes up too much of my time.

Yes, this can remove youtube, youtube music or any other app the manufacturers ship the device with.

Tip: You can also limit the usage of certain apps by setting a daily screen timer to them, that's how I've limited my use.

[GTO]

Many thanks for sharing, nstark13! I am an Android & Samsung loyalist (S6 Edge, S9, Flip3). Love their designs, absolutely love Android but hate all the bloatware that Samsung phones come with.

Am not a rooter - no time, no inclination, no technical skills and love my extended warranties. So I had confined myself to living with the bloatware. Had no idea all this is possible without rooting.

Will implement . Big thanks again .

[ProLearner]

Originally Posted by rnkgrg

I think we are missing something here. Apps that are written on the system partition cannot be deleted. Even with the said process. It does not save any space or anything. At best, what this de-bloater tool can do is hide those apps. A factory reset or even an android update will bring them back up.

To uninstall system apps, you need to root your phone (NOT RECOMMENDED UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING) since that voids the warranty and a lot of banking apps also might stop working. Rooting the phone gives you a read/write access to the system partition, which by default is read only.

Disclaimer - I am not from a tech background. Open to corrections

You are right. This just uninstalls it for the user. This does not free up storage space.
I have known this method from many years now, and have uninstalled apps via adb, but I used commands using the apk names instead of a GUI. If you factory reset they will come back. But the advantage for us is that most of the bloatware cannot be disabled from settings, and can increase battery usage. Uninstalling it this way stops that, as well as any app data from being stored and using more space.

[nstark13]

Originally Posted by GTO

Many thanks for sharing, nstark13! I am an Android & Samsung loyalist (S6 Edge, S9, Flip3). Love their designs, absolutely love Android but hate all the bloatware that Samsung phones come with.

Am not a rooter - no time, no inclination, no technical skills and love my extended warranties. So I had confined myself to living with the bloatware. Had no idea all this is possible without rooting.

Will implement . Big thanks again .

Love your choice of devices GTO, S6 Edge and S9 were some of the most comfortable designs I've used, ever. The Flip3 & 4 are the one of the compact and yet powerful devices you can carry around and it won't bulge out of your trousers.

Woah! Didn't know it would catch the eye of so many people. Glad I can be of help here.
To everyone trying out the method, kindly let me know of your adventures as well and in case a bhpian needs some kind help.

Note to Mods: Since my posts are going through the moderators first, can't use the Quote+ option if I'm replying right away, please bear with me.

Originally Posted by nstark13

You see, there are two ways an android system takes up storage in the device. One is with "Apps" (including user Apps and OEM apps) and the other is "System" (the actual system partition which contains a blank image of your OS at it's stock stage including the code for all apps)
By this method you will only be editing the "Apps" section of storage by removing unwanted apps and you cannot make changes to system partition like this.

So, you'll be freeing up the space from Apps section, if you're skeptical about it you can give it a try.

As far as the app coming back by OTA Updates and Factory Data reset is concerned, then YES the apps will be back because what Factory Data reset does is it restores a complete image from the "System" tab including all the apps present. It's not necessary that OTA Updates will restore ALL the removed apps but some can be restored as the OTA is pushed by OEM including "some" apps they want to promote. Majorly this is done by Scam-sung and I've not observed this with Xiao-meme.

Originally Posted by ProLearner

You are right. This just uninstalls it for the user. This does not free up storage space.
I have known this method from many years now, and have uninstalled apps via adb, but I used commands using the apk names instead of a GUI. If you factory reset they will come back. But the advantage for us is that most of the bloatware cannot be disabled from settings, and can increase battery usage. Uninstalling it this way stops that, as well as any app data from being stored and using more space.

Going back to my earlier point you can just try it for a non-harmful app like Youtube or Chrome, see the results and share as well.
Also we're missing the point here, the main point is to remove it from the background so it won't hoard the RAM or increase the battery usage. This is extremely beneficial in budget or the mid-range series of devices since you have limited resources due to processor capabilities or the other hardware.

[iampulo]

Loved this thread! True, it's the bloatware that uses much space. No wonder why companies keep pushing for 128/256 gb ROM variant. People nowadays, are so busy that they can't remove the junk in their phone, but they do scroll junk on their phone! Funny.

I would love to know how to remove uneccesary whatsapp media. Over the years, WhatsApp has become the elephant in the room. Running almost all conversations, personal, official and loading up GBs of space as local backup. Thats one place, I am particularly interested in reducing the storage consumed.

Can anyone share then knowledge?

[nstark13]

Originally Posted by iampulo

Loved this thread! True, it's the bloatware that uses much space. No wonder why companies keep pushing for 128/256 gb ROM variant. People nowadays, are so busy that they can't remove the junk in their phone, but they do scroll junk on their phone! Funny.

I would love to know how to remove uneccesary whatsapp media. Over the years, WhatsApp has become the elephant in the room. Running almost all conversations, personal, official and loading up GBs of space as local backup. Thats one place, I am particularly interested in reducing the storage consumed.

Can anyone share then knowledge?

Okay so WhatsApp storage size can be reduced by two ways,

First: Back-up Storage

If you're using Android 10 or lower then head over to the file manager, find the "WhatsApp" folder in your internal storage tab, go to "Databases" and you will see lots of whatsapp local backup files as "msgstore-2023-xx-xx-x-db.crypt14". You can delete all of these except the most recent one if you're already backed up on drive.

If you're using Android 11 or higher then head over to the file manager, find the folder "Android" in your internal storage tab, go to media>>com.whatsapp>WhatsApp>Databases and and you will see lots of whatsapp local backup files as "msgstore-2023-xx-xx-x-db.crypt14". You can delete all of these except the most recent one if you're already backed up on drive.

Second: Deleting Older Media

If you open WhatsApp, go to "Settings" within the app, head over to "Storage and Data", then to "Manage Storage" and you will see WhatsApp auto-calculate which chat is taking how much space and also showing large files separately. From their on you can easily filter out the files chat-wise and clear the storage.

Hope it helps!

[Joe367]

In MIUI all the annoying notifications can be turned off from app notification settings without this developer options method. It is time consuming, but possible.

One thing i have to say - there's no need to make fun of these software skins - Xiao-meme/Red-meme, Real-meme etc. They all have their own fair share of useful features and stock applications. I consider most of the Google applications in Pixel devices to be bloatware as well.