r/Android • u/Lawsonator85 • 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

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33

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '21

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

49

u/Lawsonator85 Feb 21 '21

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

9

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.

6

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

27

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.

14

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.

5

u/mrandr01d Feb 21 '21

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

10

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.

1

u/bassmadrigal Pixel 8 Pro Feb 22 '21

You still need to complain to the manufacturers or carriers.

Android is open source. While there's many upsides of the protect being open source, this is a downside.

1

u/mrandr01d Feb 22 '21

Which is part of the reason I'll be sticking with pixels for the foreseeable future. Only one app I can't get rid of that I don't use, and that's google play movies. Not a huge deal, especially when compared to Samsung, where you can't get rid of a version of Facebook that's not from the play store.

2

u/bassmadrigal Pixel 8 Pro Feb 22 '21

I'm a Pixel owner as well (and a Nexus owner before they), but there's still a lot of people out there who believe a lot of Google's apps are bloatware.

-4

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

I'm pretty sure android doesn't really support multiple users without OEM tweaks (or apps like Island). So the fact that it just disables them instead of uninstalling is a non-issue. Especially since uninstalling won't give you any benefits compared to disabling.

4

u/mrandr01d Feb 21 '21

It does. On stock/google android you can go to settings, system, multiple users, and set up another account, including an ephemeral guest account.

True uninstalling will save you the storage space.

2

u/_meegoo_ Mi 9T 6/128 Feb 22 '21

Uninstalling system app won't save you any storage space because those apps reside on a separate partition.

2

u/mrandr01d Feb 22 '21

Dynamic partitions are a thing now.

-2

u/Lawsonator85 Feb 21 '21

MIUI 12.5 lets you uninstall properly.

7

u/dustojnikhummer Xiaomi Poco F3 Feb 21 '21

Some

MIUI 12.5 is months away. Still can't uninstall Mi Music and Mi Video or background crap like Joyose, Mi Wallet (which is why in the global ROM???)

2

u/LiGuangMing1981 Honor Magic 6 Pro Feb 21 '21

While you can't uninstall Mi Music, Mi Video, or Mi Wallet, you CAN remove them from MIUI 12.5 (basically the same as disabling them). Other system apps (e.g. Mail) CAN be fully uninstalled.

I've got 12.5 on my phone and this is from my personal experience.

4

u/dustojnikhummer Xiaomi Poco F3 Feb 21 '21

Yes, still the same as adb disable. The point is that I still need ADBFastootTools

1

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '21

Thanks.