[nstark13]

Originally Posted by 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.

Disabling notifications and removing applications are two different things, yes you can be happy by just disabling notifications but then the app won't stop functioning, it will still be active in the background. The nomenclature for these skins used by me is not to offend any user but just my personal opinion. That's why I said initially that the definition of bloatware can and will vary from person to person.

And these skins might be having their fair share of features but their shortcomings like data leaks, annoying ads, redundant bloatware and unsafe recommendations outweigh them.

[Voodooblaster]

TL;DR - Samsung has the worst bloatware from personal experience

Have used the following smart phones (in chronological order ) over the past 15 years

1) HTC Wildfire S (Updated OS and used up all internal memory. Later it fell down and died despite a screen change operation)
2) Lumia 730 (bricked when I updated OS from windows 8.1 to 10)
3) Redmi Note 4 (exchanged within family after getting the Samsung )
4) Samsung A51 (fell down and died)
5) Realme 9SE 5G (exchanged within family after getting I Phone)
6) I phone SE

Every single phone has bloatware. Phones in ascending order of least bloat ware (at least could be disabled )

1. Lumia
2. I Phone SE
3. HTC Wildfire S
4. Redmi Note 4
5. Realme 9SE 5G
6. Samsung

Lumia topping the list is not surprising as Windows struggled to attract developers into its fold

Though iOS has bloatware, most of it can be uninstalled

HTC Wildfire S is 1.5 decades old and back then phones was not so bloated (smaller internal memory could be a reason)

Redmi note 4 allowed me to uninstall most 3rd party bloatware. The redmi / Xiaomi native apps could be forced to stop working in the background. Experience with Realme was also more or less the same

The worst Android experience was from Samsung. I had tweaked the options in such a way that no app could update unless explicitly updated from play store by me. Even the compulsory google apps like chrome, maps YouTube couldn’t over ride it

I religiously update only the apps I use manually , no sense in wasting memory over bloatware that we never use

But the pre loaded FB app always got updated. I was flummoxed for nearly 6 months. I even thought I might have updated the app by oversight. Later I guessed that Samsung has given a more privileged access to the preloaded FB app which helps it to over ride all other user defined settings. That was pretty unsettling and I decided to steer away from Samsung in future

TL;DR - Samsung has the worst bloatware from personal experience

[atulsian]

Speaking of bloatware, I got my pixel 6a(only reason was to have a de-googled device) today and installed Graphene OS and with more granular control over apps, access they request.

It is not rooted firmware, I'm running phonepay, Paytm, sbi yono, HDFC Bank app on this Bootloader can be locked after installation and read that Google doesn't void warranty. I've installed Google Play services on a separate profile to have applications which are fully dependent on Google services. Latest version has cross profile notifications.

[vigneshA]

Thanks nStark13 for an informative article. I am surprised by absence of Nokia in the whole thread. No one spoke of this.. That's the last of stock android still available in my opinion. Even Motorola has a small add-on on top i believe.

[Bala02]

Originally Posted by vigneshA

Thanks nStark13 for an informative article. I am surprised by absence of Nokia in the whole thread. No one spoke of this.. That's the last of stock android still available in my opinion. Even Motorola has a small add-on on top i believe.

Nokia was a legendary company just like the blackberry, their symbian os was unparalleled and they were the first the introduce many features like video calling. It's really sad that they did not adapt to Android os and instead choose windows os for their devices. This decision proved to be a disaster and they have become insignificant. Whenever a new model of Nokia comes out, I would check the review and stats. But they have always faltered and are not able to match the Chinese competitors in terms of specs.Most of us would have owned a Nokia at some point of time and Nokia triggers a nostalgia like "Bahubali". I wish they come back stronger and provide value for money phones like they used to.

[nstark13]

Originally Posted by atulsian

Speaking of bloatware, I got my pixel 6a(only reason was to have a de-googled device) today and installed Graphene OS and with more granular control over apps, access they request.

It is not rooted firmware, I'm running phonepay, Paytm, sbi yono, HDFC Bank app on this Bootloader can be locked after installation and read that Google doesn't void warranty. I've installed Google Play services on a separate profile to have applications which are fully dependent on Google services. Latest version has cross profile notifications.

Yes, a stable custom rom with safetynet passing by default works just like/sometimes better than stock with all banking apps working as they should be. I'm also currently using PE+ A13 since last year December on my tester Moto X4. The Oneplus 5T has been kept stock till the EOL until I shift to something better and after that will serve as the next tester.

Originally Posted by vigneshA

Thanks nStark13 for an informative article. I am surprised by absence of Nokia in the whole thread. No one spoke of this.. That's the last of stock android still available in my opinion. Even Motorola has a small add-on on top i believe.

Nokia was skipped since no average user considers them as a value preposition anymore. There pricing is always hit or miss and specs are sub-par at best. Also, they include some unnecessary apps within the Android One they offer, like some feedback app and what not. The last good device from their stable was the Nokia 6.1 Plus imo. Had used it for a while, it was a nice experience.

Originally Posted by Bala02

Nokia was a legendary company just like the blackberry, their symbian os was unparalleled and they were the first the introduce many features like video calling. It's really sad that they did not adapt to Android os and instead choose windows os for their devices. This decision proved to be a disaster and they have become insignificant. Whenever a new model of Nokia comes out, I would check the review and stats. But they have always faltered and are not able to match the Chinese competitors in terms of specs. Most of us would have owned a Nokia at some point of time and Nokia triggers a nostalgia like "Bahubali". I wish they come back stronger and provide value for money phones like they used to.

Completely agree with you, there newer devices are either just overpriced budget series or the extremely tough rugged phones, which in the general market do not make much sense but are targeted towards a different kind of audience. And since they are offering Android One as standard with at least 3 years of clean android updates and no ads as much they can't really match the meme pricings. I still remember my brief share of devices, it was a Nokia 3110 and a 1600, both legendary and still functional kept in some drawer. The blackberry's were the real flex in old times, I used to take my curve 8310 to school just to show off. Damn!

[iampulo]

Originally Posted by nstark13

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!

Thanks a ton. Tried the Second Setting and it really works. Bit afraid of First, but will give it a try once I backup those older backups into my hard drive

[W.A.G.7]

Thanks a lot for this useful thread. I debloated my Realme phone in a matter of minutes by reading this useful thread. The first thing that I got rid of was the Glance App. Completely irrelevant and useless app. It amazes me how many of these are installed without our knowledge and they keep sending our data to anonymous places.

[mathewspaul]

Thanks for this very useful thread. I uninstalled many useless apps in my phone. However I couldn't find this app in the list provided by UAD - 'Glance for MI' a very annoying app. My phone is Redmi Note 10 pro. I guess it is listed with some other name. If anybody had success in removing it, please help.

[nstark13]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

Thanks a lot for this useful thread. I debloated my Realme phone in a matter of minutes by reading this useful thread. The first thing that I got rid of was the Glance App. Completely irrelevant and useless app. It amazes me how many of these are installed without our knowledge and they keep sending our data to anonymous places.

You can still find quite a few details embedded in the settings. Search for "usage diagnostics" in the settings and you'll be surprised to see that your device was sending all your personal information including location n everything to an outside server.

Originally Posted by mathewspaul

Thanks for this very useful thread. I uninstalled many useless apps in my phone. However I couldn't find this app in the list provided by UAD - 'Glance for MI' a very annoying app. My phone is Redmi Note 10 pro. I guess it is listed with some other name. If anybody had success in removing it, please help.

Yes, the package name for glance is different.
Either you can just disable it by going into lock screen settings or if you want to completely remove it, then package name might be under the aosp list tag since Xiaomi is infamous of hiding the packages.

[Joe367]

Originally Posted by vigneshA

Thanks nStark13 for an informative article. I am surprised by absence of Nokia in the whole thread. No one spoke of this.. That's the last of stock android still available in my opinion. Even Motorola has a small add-on on top i believe.

The original NOKIA company has stopped making smartphones and distanced itself from consumer products by building new brand identity. (They recently changed the iconic Nokia logo). They're focused more on networking solutions. It's hmd global, another finnish company which has licensed Nokia brand name and producing Android smartphones.
Eventhough they come with stock Android, most of their recent devices packed decent to mediocre hardware and had lot of software issues. The update promises were sometimes never kept or unreasonably delayed. Their customer support team is outsourced and takes ages to fix major issues. Their community forum is almost dead. Also the bootloader in these new devices cannot be unlocked.
Still they're holding on, re introduced some of the dumb phones, the rugged phones were pretty unique and their partnership with ifixit to improve repairability is a great initiative. I hope they recover from this. It's a brand name that still many people trust.

[Joe367]

Originally Posted by mathewspaul

'Glance for MI' a very annoying app. My phone is Redmi Note 10 pro.

I think I had removed this app from Google Files GO app. It might be listed under a different name - Wallpaper carousel.

[lejhoom]

I have one Redmi Note 4 that has outlived its purpose. When I ported all contents to a new non-MI phone, I was mostly successful. However, I am not able to transfer files stored in the “Notes” folder, a MI special. Can anyone please help me to transfer them? There are many important texts in that folder that I cannot ignore. Thanks a lot.

[nstark13]

Originally Posted by lejhoom

I have one Redmi Note 4 that has outlived its purpose. When I ported all contents to a new non-MI phone, I was mostly successful. However, I am not able to transfer files stored in the “Notes” folder, a MI special. Can anyone please help me to transfer them? There are many important texts in that folder that I cannot ignore. Thanks a lot.

Hi lejhoom,
I think the Mi Notes app backs up all the notes in your Miui Account as well as on onboard storage. Check for the file saving destination of the notes app on your RN4 (mido) and transfer it to a PC or to the New phone.

OT: which new Non-Mi phone did you get?

[lejhoom]

Thank you very much for the reply. As you have mentioned, probably I will have to check the MI account. I couldn’t see anything on the internal storage. In fact, I couldn’t even connect this phone to PC even though following your steps mentioned in this thread, I could connect my MI 10T. I did backup data from the phone. Thanks for that.

Connecting RN4 to the PC seems to be difficult.

I got Samsung S21FE as a replacement for RN4.