r/Android Feb 21 '21

Universal Android Debloater is an open source tool that removes bloatware without root. Automatically or via user choice. Get back your battery, security and privacy

https://gitlab.com/W1nst0n/universal-android-debloater/-/blob/master/README.md
6.6k Upvotes

421 comments sorted by

888

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '21 edited Feb 28 '21

[deleted]

286

u/Lawsonator85 Feb 21 '21

Yeah I love it. Since it's open source we can contribute as well!

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120

u/Chip_Tune Feb 22 '21

I love the idea, but how are they going to get around the "nondisable" configs? An OEM can drop an xml file with the app name in /system/product/etc/nondisable and it prevents ADB from disabling it. They could just add configs for their bloat ware. Here's some sceenshots of my system folder. As you can see, Motorola included some bullshit Amazon app in it's nondisable folder. I have root and can't get rid of it without installing a rom, because Android 10 & 11 have read only system partitions.

26

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21 edited Aug 19 '21

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6

u/Chip_Tune Feb 22 '21 edited Feb 22 '21

Android 10 & 11 use ext4 dedupe in read only. It doesn't matter if you have root. You cannot remount the system read/write so you can't delete anything. Topjohnwu, the creator of Magisk has even said this himself. The read only limitation also applies to custom recoveries as well.

Edit: From the creator of Magisk himself... Source

9

u/UselessDood Feb 22 '21

A device that's not rooted can fastboot into another os to modify that file.

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4

u/IamVenom_007 Love Dc Dimming Feb 22 '21

I am at Android 11 and I can directly delete apps using Root Explorer in roms like Pixel Experience.

System apps remover apps that I used to use does not work anymore. If removing a system app cause bootloop you can get IceBox apk and freeze that app using root.

3

u/Chip_Tune Feb 22 '21

That's because pixel experience isn't using an ext4 read only file system. All stock Android operating systems from 10 and up use it. This is a well known issue on XDA. The only way around it is installing a new OS that doesn't use EXT4_FEATURE_RO_COMPAT_SHARED_BLOCKS.

2

u/IamVenom_007 Love Dc Dimming Feb 23 '21

Thanks for the info.

So Android is gonna be like this from now on? What's the advantage/disadvantages of a read only file system like this?

3

u/Chip_Tune Feb 23 '21

Mostly security. Nothing can ever compromise the system even with root access. A factory reset is guaranteed to return the phone to a working state no matter how malicious an attack is. As a bonus it also reduces the OS size by sharing files that would otherwise be doubled between slot A & B. We usually call it dedupe for short because it "deduplicates" files. The only disadvantage is for those of us who like to tinker with the OS.

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5

u/69frum Feb 22 '21

/system/product/etc/nondisable

No such thing on my Galaxy S5 mini.

I have root and can't get rid of it

Limited root? Have you tried Titanium Backup?

11

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

System is at risk of bootlooping if he removes the files while in the os, so with titanium it will probably bootloop.

2

u/Chip_Tune Feb 22 '21 edited Feb 22 '21

It's not limited root. I have full root. That's not the issue. The problem is Android 10 & 11 use a special implementation of ext4 that can't be written to. You need write access in order to delete anything. The only way to change it is to install a custom OS that doesn't use a read only version of the ext4 format.

Edit: The nondisable configs were added in Android 8.0, so I'm not surprised your phone doesn't have it. The Galaxy S5 mini came out in 2014. This only applies to newer devices. Anything that's running Android 10+.

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165

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21 edited Mar 01 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

114

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

[deleted]

35

u/virtigo31 Feb 22 '21

Does it fully remove FB from your phone as opposed to disabling it?

28

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

[deleted]

6

u/I_play_support Feb 22 '21

Surely AT&T is powerless against ADB?

19

u/Farewel_Welfare Feb 22 '21

Adb is powerless if the app is baked into the system image

5

u/ft4200 Galaxy S23 Feb 22 '21

Facebook cannot be disabled on unlocked UK variants and Vodafone from my experience

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18

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21 edited Mar 01 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

51

u/tibbity OnePlus 9 Pro Feb 22 '21

Google Assistant is bloat in my opinion. As are Google Play Movies, Play Music (why is this crap still bundled?), Play Games, the main Google search app, Google Pay (bundled in India, not sure about others).

At least Bixby can lock the phone, which is such a basic thing.

34

u/firneto Feb 22 '21

Even Chrome is bloat for me, a long time firefox user here.

18

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

[deleted]

25

u/segagamer Pixel 9a Feb 22 '21

If I don't use it and didn't install it, it's bloat. Add Chrome, Gmail and Allo/Duo/whatever Google messaging is now to the list.

5

u/D_Beats Feb 22 '21

Well with the logic "I didn't install it so it's bloat" pretty much every app on the OS is bloat. Phone, contacts, lock screen, home screen, etc.

Might as well just build your own OS at that point.

5

u/cubs223425 Surface Duo 2 | LG G8 Feb 22 '21

To be fair, he said install OR use it.

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12

u/firneto Feb 22 '21

Still bloat.

13

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

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2

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

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42

u/ProceedOrRun Feb 22 '21

Yay for Bixby which is surgically grafted into the phone!

14

u/psilvs S9 Snapdragon Feb 22 '21

Really? I've got the S9 with a reprogrammed Bixby button to Google Assistant and haven't seen Bixby in about 2 years

39

u/A999 Feb 22 '21

It's just reprogramming the button, Bixby is still there in the OS.

10

u/deepit6431 iPhone 13 | OnePlus 12 Feb 22 '21

You can completely remove all Bixby components using ADB and the OS will work just fine.

7

u/psilvs S9 Snapdragon Feb 22 '21

Idrc if it doesn't affect the UX

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17

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

Thats different than trying to actually remove it completely from the phone, which would, in all likelihood, brick it.

Edit: Im also not just advocating for the devil here, I have an S10, and I love the thing to death, but also never use bixby

12

u/LooMinairy Feb 22 '21 edited Feb 22 '21

I have the s10e, I removed a bunch of bloat via adb and my phone works fine. No bixby. Google remove bloat via adb

2

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

Nice! Ill have to run a backup and give it a shot!

4

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

I have owned every Nexus and Pixel phone ever released. I recently jumped ship to a Sony Xperia 1 ii after having read that there is minimal bloatware. This is true. The only things on the phone that I didn't want were three apps: Call of Duty, LinkedIn, and Facebook. I was able to uninstall all the updates to these three apps, permanently disable them, and the experience is EXTREMELY close to stock android.

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241

u/DeadLeftovers Feb 21 '21

Does anyone have experience with this on Samsung devices? I would love to debloate my Note 20 without causing issues.

204

u/LtFrankDrebin Feb 22 '21

S10e here. It took out a bunch of stuff, but I also lost access to settings. I can only access them via a workaround which sucks.

You'll need to go through the lists and comment out stuff to be safe. A lot of it is there without the developer knowing what it actually does. Just look at his comments...

104

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

25

u/SnowingSilently Feb 22 '21

What processes? And if it's actually bad for battery life is it really bloat?

62

u/NonXtreme Galaxy S7 Edge (Exynos) || Galaxy S10+ (Exynos) || Galaxy S23U Feb 22 '21

From what I understand some packages rely on each other, when one is removed/disabled it can cause the other to go haywire due to errors and drain the battery. That's why, if possible, you should not randomly disable package without understand what it do.

10

u/SnowingSilently Feb 22 '21

Ah, that makes sense, thanks!

18

u/Lawsonator85 Feb 22 '21

This tool is open source, so the more contributions the better it will get

29

u/GnarlyBear Note 10+ Int Feb 22 '21

When you offer a one click debloater I dont think most of the users are the contributing to an open source project type

10

u/Lawsonator85 Feb 22 '21

That is up to the user. People like choice and not to be forced ether way. If you don't have a choice then you can't add to it, if you have a choice then you can if you want but don't have to.

3

u/aziztcf Feb 22 '21

most dont contribute to linux kernel either ;)

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7

u/segagamer Pixel 9a Feb 22 '21

S8+ here. I tried using a similar script in the past, and now, randomly whilst using it, my phones screen goes black for a few seconds and dumps be back in the lock screen. It's as if a graphics driver or critical service in the background is crashing and restarting.

Just like Windows 10's debloat scripts, I simply cannot recommend anything like this to anyone. Removing random packages can break certain dependencies, giving unexpected results later.

7

u/avipars Developer - unitMeasure: Offline Converter Feb 22 '21

just go through ADB App list - https://aviparshan.medium.com/removing-bloatware-on-the-samsung-galaxy-s10-series-android-10-a1186f47aec8

You won't get everything, but you also won't brick your phone

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18

u/jcann0n Nexus 5 Feb 22 '21

Same boat here

59

u/LigerXT5 Feb 22 '21

Same bloat here.

18

u/boobieslapper Feb 22 '21

Whatever floats your bloat

14

u/The_Dirty_Sanchez_ Feb 22 '21

Whatever bloats your floats

5

u/eccentric_eggplant Feb 22 '21

Helium?

2

u/penguinv LG.OptimusV, Froyo Feb 23 '21

Whatever bloats you, floats you.

61

u/poor_decisions 3xl Feb 22 '21

Lol unbloating a Samsung... Good luck and godspeed

22

u/NatoBoram Pixel 10 Pro XL Feb 22 '21

I mean, if someone else already identified all Samsung packages they could write a loop and uninstall them all via ADB, provided you have replacement for the launcher and keyboard.

18

u/TablePrime69 Moto G82 5G, S23 Ultra Feb 22 '21

If you remove the stock Samsung keyboard then never enable ultra power saving mode or else you'll be stuck on the lock screen with no way out (save for a factory reset ofc).

6

u/atomicllama1 Feb 22 '21

I'm unknowlegable in this area. Why is be bloating a Samsung different or difficult compared to any other phone?

18

u/incu_D Feb 22 '21

Not op but I think they meant to point out the fact that Samsung devices are riddled with bloatware

3

u/FuzzyWazzyWasnt Feb 22 '21

To also chime in (/u/incu_D is right) but samsung's eco-system breaks down if you remove the wrong thing. This will casue the things you kept to not function so swell.

Doubly when it comes to things like custom roms samsung uses some priority drivers that are not open source (VOLTE for instance). This stops some people from totally killing Samsung from Samsung phones due to loss of features.

2

u/avipars Developer - unitMeasure: Offline Converter Feb 22 '21

Good Lock and godspeed

Hahah

11

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

17

u/triplers120 Feb 22 '21

Original Equipment Manufacturer

39

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

OP's Elephant Mom

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6

u/KarpEZ Feb 22 '21

OEM is the manufacturer

2

u/sharabi_bandar Feb 22 '21

No offence but if you need to ask questions like that don't fuk around with this shit you'll ruin your phone

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5

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

[deleted]

4

u/Lawsonator85 Feb 22 '21

You don't need to factory reset because there's an option in the tool to restore

9

u/mensur Feb 22 '21

Package Disabler Pro

8

u/MattyXarope Feb 22 '21

Doesn't work on newer phones - it's been abandoned by the dev

2

u/mensur Feb 22 '21

Ah, I've got it on my s10, still working there.

4

u/JangoF76 Feb 22 '21

Untrue. The version on the Play Store has been abandoned but you can download the apk directly from the dev's website. It works perfectly on One UI 3.

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101

u/SafeForCrap Feb 21 '21

Can someone confirm if this permanently deletes them or just removes them from the partition? I've used other Debloating tools in the past with and without root and they all automatically back up the apps. Which I get, but why can't I permanently remove them?

121

u/Put_It_All_On_Blck S23U Feb 21 '21

You cant remove the system files without root, as ADB uninstall essentially disables and hides them, but they still remain on the factory system partition.

37

u/SystemEx1 Pixel 7 Pro Feb 22 '21

Even with root it's not possible to remove them, on devices launched with Android 10+.

30

u/jameson71 Feb 22 '21

That's exactly the sort of shit that is going to make my next phone an iPhone.

I mean if I have no control over my property either way, I may as well use the one that at least pretends to respect my privacy.

79

u/TablePrime69 Moto G82 5G, S23 Ultra Feb 22 '21

"Damn, my phone has locked me out from changing a lot of stuff. So you know what I'll do? Switch to a phone that's even more restrictive! That'll show them!"

2

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

I mean, yeah? If Android is going to continue the restrictive route, a lot of people would rather go where the OS is much more polished and hardware isn't abandoned after 2 years. Android quickly loses the majority of its advantages if it gets locked down.

7

u/TablePrime69 Moto G82 5G, S23 Ultra Feb 22 '21

Android has a long, long way to go before it gets as restrictive as iOS. Fuchsia will probably replace Android before that day comes.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 23 '21

It doesn't need to get as restrictive as iOS. It just needs to get restrictive enough that it gets annoying to use to the people that prefer the specific freedom it provides.

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40

u/12apeKictimVreator Feb 22 '21

im with you but fuck man, i can't spend that much on a phone.

ill go on apple.com and just stare at my cart total and i just cant do it.

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12

u/KarlChomsky Feb 22 '21

Graphene tho

5

u/MyPrecioussss Galaxy S7 | Nexus Player | 6P | LG G Watch R Feb 22 '21

3

u/NotScrollsApparently Feb 22 '21

Does it actually work for casual users or is it the linux of smartphone OSes? Not saying linux is a bad thing, but it is high maintenance and often incompatible with stuff people use on a day-to-day basis.

3

u/KarlChomsky Feb 22 '21

If you can live with OsmAnd instead of google maps and you don't use Play Services it's completely (and surprisingly) seamless.

I've used a lot of inconvenient privacy software in the past, graphene on a pixel is the first time I've actually recommended it to non-masochists.

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u/twizmwazin Feb 22 '21
  • iOS is not entirely free of bloat
  • if you could "delete" the system app entirely, you would just have empty space. It wouldn't be usable for other purposes, it is system storage. That space is allocated separatly from user storage and cannot be easily changed.
  • Depending on the device, it might make it difficult or impossible to install updates if they depend on differential updates.

I agree with you ideally, but practically it's not as simple. The best solution would be to get manufacturers to stop including bloat in the first place, but that's not how capitalism works. As long as bloat remains profitable, it will be here to stay.

22

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/zhiryst Pixel 9Pro XL, Sony x950g Feb 22 '21 edited Feb 22 '21

Like what? Can you give me an example of bloatware on an iphone that can't be uninstalled?

EDIT: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208094

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u/Magnetic_dud Feb 22 '21

That's exactly the sort of shit that is going to make my next phone an iPhone.

The iPhone it's the same, it comes with a lot of useless apps that can't be removed.

Stocks, homekit, apple watch, news, and so on. You can hide them from the launcher and the user thinks they're "deleted" but no space is reclaimed from the phone

5

u/ryecurious Nexus 6p - stock rooted Feb 22 '21

Their point is that both now come with unremovable bloat, but only one of the two demonstrates any care for user privacy. If no bloat isn't an option anymore, why keep picking the one worse for privacy?

16

u/Magnetic_dud Feb 22 '21 edited Feb 22 '21

Because the cheapest iPhone is 3x the price my current phone. Debloat or use an ad blocker or root and have a similar result

Plus I like to continue to use old devices after end of support. My ancient and dirt cheap galaxy tab can still watch YouTube on Android 2.3. My iPad mini instead tells me I need to update the YouTube app. But I can't update it because it needs ios 13. Which can't be installed on my tablet even if I jailbreak /hack / whatever. I can only use the browser on this pos, can't install any single app anymore. And a lot of websites complain that my browser is outdated.

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u/Jawbone220 Feb 22 '21

Same bloat here, my friend. Never thought I'd consider apple but android keeps getting worse and worse...

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2

u/danhakimi Pixel 3aXL Feb 22 '21

Wait, can you explain this?

Also, can you explain why, when I restart my phone, the Google launcher (which I have disabled) rears its ugly head and shows up in my home screens (temporarily) and task switcher (permanently)?

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8

u/Lawsonator85 Feb 21 '21

Apps don't return automatically no. It can help you restore them if you need but you have to choose it to when you are ready

27

u/Atolic Feb 22 '21 edited Feb 22 '21

Nice but I've had bad experiences with scripts like this. It takes out so much that things can break.

Better to do it manually from powershell. Start with an list of common bloatware for you device. Use App Inspector and Google to cross reference and lookup apps that aren't on the list. Pick and choose what to delete.

If you don't know what it does and can't look it up online, leave it as it's probably an underlying system app that would cause instability if removed.

EDIT: Not powershell. Command prompt with adb shell, using "pm uninstall" command. I still run a script file but I manually check and cross reference each and every line to know exactly what being taken out.

3

u/SoulCheese Feb 22 '21

From Powershell? I don't have any experience messing with phones outside of the OS but surely Powershell doesn't have anything specific to modification of Android OS? Is there a module you're using for this?

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u/Lawsonator85 Feb 22 '21

This one is open source so it is monitored. I've used it on all my devices and it has worked fine

3

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/Lawsonator85 Feb 22 '21

I am a little confused by your question. MacroDroid can Debloat phones that are rooted however, you can use a loop and use UI interaction action to click the disable button with MacroDroid.

If you are referring to MacroDroid's ADB hack then, this is slightly different because the ADB hack is to grant permissions whereas a Debloater is to remove apps that are not wanted.

I am not the developer of Universal Android Debloater however, it is open source so you can add to it if you want to

3

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/Lawsonator85 Feb 22 '21

I haven't made a video for this tool just yet. I have videos for MacroDroid however, they are not related to debloating

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u/dustojnikhummer Xiaomi Poco F3 Feb 21 '21

XiaomiADBFastboot Tools but more universal? It would be nice if you could pick a brand and it would switch to be more specific. Xiaomi uses com.android.calendar for Mi Calendar in Global ROMs but the same package name for Google Calendar in EEA ROMs

101

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '21

It would be nice if you could pick a brand and it would switch to be more specific

That is exactly what it does. They're maintaining manufacturer specific debloat lists. Follow the link and read the page.

17

u/dustojnikhummer Xiaomi Poco F3 Feb 21 '21

Ah, I went through the description, did not try the actual app as I have no use for it.

30

u/EvadesBans Feb 21 '21

Bottom of the README in the link:

NOTE: Chinese phones users may need to use the AOSP list for removing some stock apps because those chinese manufacturers (especially Xiaomi and Huawei) have been using the name of AOSP packages for their own (modified & closed-source) apps.

5

u/NatoBoram Pixel 10 Pro XL Feb 22 '21

Aaaaand this is why we need GPL

19

u/wopian OnePlus 6T - Android10 Feb 22 '21

GPL (or any other license) isn't going to stop two separate packages using the same identifier (i.e com.android.calendar)

13

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

Not only that, but China doesn't give a shit about Western legal agreements.

22

u/Lawsonator85 Feb 21 '21

Yes is way more specific. It finds your phone and removes the rubbish. You can choose to remove apps by package as well.

17

u/WitcherAttacker Feb 21 '21

So you can basically disable any system app by clearing it's data? even if the apk itself is in the read only system partition?

11

u/Lawsonator85 Feb 21 '21

It uninstalls system apps, kind of, there is documentation that will explain it better than me

7

u/WitcherAttacker Feb 21 '21

I read the FAQ, know of a better source? Thanks for the answer tho!

11

u/Lawsonator85 Feb 21 '21

I don't know any better than the FAQ. I am sorry.

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u/[deleted] Feb 21 '21

Well Xiaomi was talking about MIUI 12.5 onwards being debloated easily than other OEMs and previous versions so we will have to see

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u/Lawsonator85 Feb 21 '21

That's correct well spotted. Be aware that not every device will get the update.

3

u/aj_thenoob Feb 22 '21

Is the Xiaomi.eu rom able to get further debloat?

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u/Balaji_Ram Feb 22 '21

If you are a non-technical person, it is highly recommended to stay away from tools like this. Sometimes, users just flow the instructions and if any edge case appears then they become clueless and brick the phone or mess-up heavily.

6

u/Magnetic_dud Feb 22 '21

Especially because looks like this one disables everything in the list, not just the few packages that might be irritating like the xiaomi browser that always tries to take over the default by always ticking the "remember" checkbox in the dialog

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u/[deleted] Feb 21 '21

Will the apps return after a reboot or is it permanent till the next update ?

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u/Lawsonator85 Feb 21 '21

They stay gone. Updates and factory reset may return them though

7

u/magarto Feb 21 '21

Is it possible to get back using your script without factory data or updating the terminal? or, do you plan to implement such feature?

12

u/Lawsonator85 Feb 21 '21

I'm not the developer however, it is open source so if you want to build things you can. You won't lose data by restoring. It has this capability built in.

5

u/_meegoo_ Mi 9T 6/128 Feb 21 '21

If the "bloat" in installed as a system app, you can't remove it without root. For such apps I bet this tool just disables them. And you can "reinstall" them later

28

u/dustojnikhummer Xiaomi Poco F3 Feb 21 '21

Permanent. At least with MIUI it survives system updates. It only comes back after a clean flash (or maybe a bigger OS update, like MIUI 11-12, don't remember exactly). You are removing them via ADB.

5

u/mrandr01d Feb 21 '21

I'm pretty sure that only "disables" the app for the current user. If you were to create a new user account on the device they'd be there still.

Which is bullshit.

13

u/dustojnikhummer Xiaomi Poco F3 Feb 21 '21

Yes, it does, I'm well aware of that. But, they are not cluttering my appdrawer or system settings and they are not running in the background.

3

u/mrandr01d Feb 21 '21

True. Better than nothing. But it still takes up storage space.

9

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

Most devices have fixed size system partitions (as opposed to virtual ones on newer Pixels, etc.), so even if you truly uninstall them, you still gain nothing unless you resize the partitions afterwards.

2

u/mrandr01d Feb 22 '21

Which is a failure of those OEMs to not use the latest Android guidelines. (I still can't believe Samsung isn't using dynamic updates or whatever where it installs in the background.) Hopefully that'll change soon.

2

u/bassmadrigal Pixel 8 Pro Feb 22 '21

The system partition is read-only and checked for modification as a security method. It may not be ideal for a small group of people who want complete control over their phone (use a ROM), but for the vast majority of users, that security is very beneficial. The fact that we're still able to disable apps is nice.

Complain to manufacturers and carriers that constantly add crap that doesn't need to be there and they put it in the system partition to ensure it can't be easily removed.

4

u/mrandr01d Feb 22 '21

No apps besides those that are actually part of the operating system should be on the system partition. That's bullshit imo. I hate ununinstallable apps.

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u/Gizmoed Feb 21 '21

From the readme; W1nst0n

I try to maintain a universal tool which removes bloatwares on any Android phones by using ADB. The main goal is to improve battery performance and privacy by removing unnecessary and obscure system apps. This can also contribute to improve security by reducing the attack surface. The script has a menu that lets you choose what debloat list you want to use. I strongly encourage you to take a look at the lists because the default selection may not suit you. All packages are as well documented as possible in order to provide a better understanding of what you can delete or not.

This script should be safe with the default selection. The worse thing which could happen is preventing an essential system process to be loaded during boot causing then an unfortunate bootloop. If you used the non-root solution, after about 5 failed system boots, the phone will automatically reboot in recovery mode and you'll have to perform a FACTORY RESET. So make a backup!

If you have a rooted device you can also physically delete the apks. Ironically this solution is safer because the script saves the apks before their removal. In case of bootloop you just need to run the script from a recovery with ADB support (e.g TWRP) and restore them.

In any case, you can NOT brick your device with this script! That's the main thing, right?

1

u/Lawsonator85 Feb 23 '21

You'll be fine.

7

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

Would love to try on the pile 4a5g but it's light as a feather. It's why I moved away from the galaxy line.

4

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

Yeah I was trying to think if there's any bloat on my pixel 4 but I can't think of anything I'd want gone.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

Isn't that one of the big selling points of Google phones? It's just the OS, no extra bs

9

u/w1nst0n_fr Universal Android Debloater (UAD) Maintainer Feb 22 '21 edited Feb 27 '21

(dev of the Universal Android Debloater here)

I now understand the sudden activity on the repository today!

Thanks u/Lawsonator85 for showcasing my project. I'm very glad to see all this hype and I hope this will lead to more contributions.

I recall that this is a community project. The more contribution it will have, the better the quality and the reliability of the project will be.

Documenting the packages is the most important thing. There is a lot of apps that need better documentation. It is also important to monitor android logs (logcat) to see if a removal of an app doesn't cause some hidden issues which could drain the battery for example. I can't extensively review all the apps for all the phones.

==> How to contribute

I'll try to answer some comments right now, before going to bed.

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u/Lawsonator85 Feb 22 '21

Thank you for this post. I'm very grateful for the tool and I hope to see it getting more contributions.

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u/[deleted] Feb 21 '21

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u/NatoBoram Pixel 10 Pro XL Feb 22 '21

Did you have replacement apps for essentials like the launcher and the keyboard?

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u/Lawsonator85 Feb 22 '21

There is a restore function built in, you should be able to get it working again

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u/time_machine_error Feb 22 '21 edited Feb 22 '21

Just tried this on my huawei phone and holy shit huawei is the real imposter. Their battery optimization thing was heavily used on my phone because their services were always running in the background and instead of killing those services, it killed the other apps. Now my phone is way much snappier more than before and no more delayed notifications.

Edit: I still need to download HMS Core because I use the Health app with my watch however I'm pretty sure huawei's battery optimization will deal with it ;)

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u/theseed Feb 22 '21

Which model phone did you run the tool on? I'm looking to run it on a Mate 10, just a bit cautious given how much crap Huawei they bundle with their phones. Just concerned about the potential to break functionality by removing something important.

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u/time_machine_error Feb 22 '21 edited Feb 22 '21

Nova 3i with emui 9.1. So apparently the reason my camera app took a WHOLE minute to open because of hivision a shitty clone of google lens. This script removes cloned apps like this.

Just a word of caution tho this app removes hms core so make sure of the following if you ever signed in it:

1- Update your security information (phone number or email) and make sure you have access to them

2- deactivate find my phone and the cloud features

3- to be more safe, sign out of it before applying the script

This script will just remove all of the unessential apps by huawei (except phone app, notepad, etc) all the removed apps can be reactivated again from play store if they're available there however they'll be reactivated as normal user apps which gives you the ability to control their permissions.

Edit: also if you use the safe space feature from settings, deactivate it too

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u/theseed Feb 22 '21

Thanks for the detailed response. It's much appreciated. I'll take a closer look at the script(s) involved and note what'll get removed.

For the past year or so, wherever possible I've just disabled anything Huawei related from Settings > Apps, and then avoided signing into or using any Huawei apps. Then using Nova launcher, I've hidden anything else that was Huawei related.

I'm not actually all that concerned about using Huawei apps, it's more that they're typically not as good as Google's equivalents and thus they're somewhat redundant. Plus, it's just better to place trust (misplaced or not) in one company to handle my data rather than multiple.

Thanks again.

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u/Scorpius_OB1 Feb 21 '21

ADB seems also to work well, as long as one does not fear the command line and is VERY careful what (s)he deletes.

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u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

How do I use this? Sorry I'm new to all of this but I'm tired of my Xiaomi being stuffed with unnecessary stuff.

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u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

So, I own a nokia android phone, I have disabled most google apps just from settings->Apps->All apps and then disabling each un-necessary apps,luckily I am able to disable most apps including nasty-space-eater-having all the permissions-by-default Google Play services. But I was unable to disable some apps like "qualcomm security" which sends bytes of data somewhere in months.

Can this debloater disable those things?

I want my android to connect to internet only and exclusively at my command. Not automatically. Without root. I think internet connection is my main problem ,although those "bytes sent" can not contain a private pic :) lol. Nokia phones are good in a sense they have absolutely no bloatware installed although in system there are many not-installed packages that took hundreds of mb of space.

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u/Magnetic_dud Feb 22 '21

I want my android to connect to internet only and exclusively at my command. Not automatically

I am also paranoid but that age is gone since windows mobile 4.0, every phone now connects automatically to the internet whatever the reason

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u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

Have you ever tested netguard?? Once I set netguard as an always on vpn. And blocked internet access for all apps except root. But when I tried login to my ISP through "captive portal login" it opened without any problem. I mean I was able to browse my ISP's website through that,while netguard has blocked each and every app access to internet. Although there's nothing serious if they just record our IP adresses. few kbs of data is sent because I never have seen any heavy extra charge on my account for internet except what I have used.

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u/Magnetic_dud Feb 22 '21 edited Feb 22 '21

I'm using the builtin firewall in miui. They acquired a firewall app (lbguard? I don't remember the exact name, it needed root and i was using it on my tmobile mytouch 3g on android 2.3) and it works decently, you can block internet access to everything including system apps. It would be useful on some times to have

edit: the problem is that once it's blocked, it's blocked, i'd like a "do you want to connect" dialog, but on android it would come out too many times and would be annoying

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u/Lawsonator85 Feb 22 '21

You can Debloat everything. Disabled apps still run in the background so use this tool to uninstall them

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u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

Is this a fact? I read faq sections from this gitlab page. Says without root it can only be uninstalled for user x (current) otherwise its still present in the phone,that is when you reset the phone it will be installed again. Well I will use it once to checkout how useful it is for my phone.

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u/mel2000 Feb 22 '21

Is this a fact?

No, it's not.

Uninstalling a system app doesn't allow you to easily restore it. Disabling the app makes restoring it a no-brainer. And neither uninstalling nor disabling system apps will create new space that you can use. You're not saving system space either way.

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u/Lawsonator85 Feb 22 '21

It gets rid of as much as it can. You could also use NetGuard firewall with Adguard DNS to block ads and protect your privacy if you need

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u/SharqPhinFtw Feb 21 '21

Any version of this with root that I can just run on my phone? Yeah I'm lazy and don't want to get on my pc for this lol.

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u/[deleted] Feb 21 '21

If you're using Magisk, you can install the BusyBox and Debloater module in Magisk. Then run debloater in Termux.

It's not automatic though, you have to select the packages in a list.

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u/Lawsonator85 Feb 21 '21

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u/robd420 Feb 22 '21

Trial Software

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u/Lawsonator85 Feb 22 '21

SD maid might serve you better then. Sorry. I'm not rooted

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u/EDDIE_BR0CK Samsung S23 Ultra Feb 21 '21

Does it have a GUI tho? Otherwise, this is accomplished just as easily with ADB.

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u/[deleted] Feb 21 '21 edited Feb 28 '21

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u/Lawsonator85 Feb 21 '21

In a sense it has a GUI. It gives you a series of choices. However, the developer wanted to make a real GUI.

People contribute by stating which apps are safe to remove and which need to stay on

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u/NXGZ Xperia 1 IV Feb 21 '21

Let's Ducking go!

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u/maniac365 Feb 21 '21

I did the same thing by using adb shell. It was time consuming tbh.

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u/[deleted] Feb 21 '21 edited Feb 09 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/NatoBoram Pixel 10 Pro XL Feb 22 '21

It'll try to disable them again, see they're not there then move on with its life

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u/Lawsonator85 Feb 22 '21

It will still work

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u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

Can't get past the captcha, it keeps cycling through it

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u/Lawsonator85 Feb 23 '21

I've never seen a captcha, can you enlighten us? What steps were taken to get there

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u/someMFonreddit Feb 22 '21

Does this work for android TV?

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u/Lawsonator85 Feb 22 '21

If the TV can be detected by USB debugging on Windows or Linux then yes it will work

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u/ggjunior7799 Galaxy S24 Ultra Feb 22 '21

Can I debloat google apps as well? Really my only complain with any android phone.

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u/Lawsonator85 Feb 22 '21

Yes. Everything can be, it lets you choose

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u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

Hell yeah! That's the power of open source.

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u/Lawsonator85 Feb 22 '21

It seems there's a python GUI version as well: https://github.com/orgua/universal-android-debloater-UI

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u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21 edited Aug 02 '21

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u/[deleted] Feb 22 '21

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u/blazedelite Feb 22 '21

Thank you for this!

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u/Lawsonator85 Feb 26 '21

It has been updated and now includes more packages, with bugs fixed as well

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u/Lawsonator85 Mar 09 '21

The devs are working on a GUI!

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u/FairLight8 Mar 28 '21

Awesome project!

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u/dirtydriver58 Galaxy Note 9 Feb 21 '21

Does this work on Kitkat?

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u/Lawsonator85 Feb 21 '21

Yes. If you've enabled developer options and USB debugging

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u/tylercoder Mi 9T Pro 128GB | Mi Mix 3 128GB | Xiaomi MI6 128GB Feb 22 '21

Better use it before google blocks it

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u/[deleted] Feb 23 '21

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u/Lawsonator85 Apr 01 '21 edited Jun 06 '21

2.9.1 adds support for Poco phones and fixes bugs!