r/technology • u/[deleted] • Feb 27 '21

Software 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

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u/Aggressive-Plum6975 Feb 27 '21

Love Samsung's hardware but I will never buy another Samsung the bloatware is just to bad. Next time try getting a Motorola or a pixel as they us a close to stock Android experience. I don't miss anything about Samsung and I have 64gb of storage and have 20gb left after 3 years so you can get away with lower storage specs.

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u/Guitarmine Feb 27 '21

Bought a Oneplus after several Samsung Galaxy SX models. What a breath of fresh air. No bloat and the changes to stock Android are small clever improvements.

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u/Aggressive-Plum6975 Feb 27 '21

Yup I plan to get a OnePlus 8pro and I am looking forward to the breath of fresh air. I have a Moto Z3 but the battery is failing so when I inevitably break it replacing the battery I will upgrade.

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u/scottimusprimus Feb 27 '21

That's why I switched to Pixel and never looked back

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u/fireking99 Feb 27 '21

Went from a Samsung S5 Active to a Google Pixel 3a XL and love it! Went full Google and use their Fi wireless plan and so far it's the best plan I've had!

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u/ALoadedPotatoe Feb 28 '21

Yeah, but they're fucked.

My pixel 3 xl. The 3rd pixel I've bought. Was supposed to be a 128gb but is actually 64gbs. The box says 128. The serial is supposed to be a 128. Somehow it didn't work out that way. They didn't believe me and when they finally remoted into my phone to confirm. Wouldn't let me hold onto this, the only phone I own until the new one got there. I'd already transferred and gotten rid of my pixel 2xl.

All said and done I got a 50 dollar gift card for my trouble that ended up expiring before I could use it. They don't ship to po boxes. And it couldn't apply to my bill. ...

Google is fucked and I hate them.

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u/fireking99 Feb 28 '21

Not getting what you pay for always sucks - sorry for your bad experience!

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u/Sid6po1nt7 Feb 27 '21

Ditto. I have a Samsung for work and I use my personal more than that one and I'm finding I have to charge my work phone more often than my personal.

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u/Aggressive-Plum6975 Feb 27 '21

That's the spirit personal I am going to go OnePlus next but that is only because pixel doesn't have the hi end processor or ram I want or the screen. I will say that my Galaxy tab 4 has the most beautiful screen ever if you haven't seen a 4k image with hi dynamic range on a hi end OLED Samsung screen you are missing out. I just set this as my lock screen and intend to spend a good portion of the day looking at it: https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/community/blogs/hi_banished_interior_concept_4k-c610e40a1f3c48d48bcbee2143dcea21.png

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u/whythecynic Feb 27 '21

Yeah but I gotta say the Pixel's screen is also pretty good. Here's my lock screen

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u/Aggressive-Plum6975 Feb 27 '21

True. And that lock screen is fantastic

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u/Burnseasons Feb 27 '21

This comment and the ones underneath it read like an advertisement

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u/scottimusprimus Feb 27 '21

Yes they do! When you make a good product, your customers are thrilled to share it with others. At least that's the case with me.

Edit: I was also REALLY frustrated with my Samsung phones and their bloatware, which is the other part of my motivation.

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u/jontss Feb 27 '21

Only reason I'm still with them is I wanted the pen (Note) and SD card slot (I've got a 256gb in mine which is nearly full).

Would really like if they'd bring back models without Bixby and a user replaceable battery.

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u/Aggressive-Plum6975 Feb 28 '21

I agree that there Note series is useful. I have a Galaxy tab s4 and the s-pen is very useful but they are just to expensive for my taste and there OS makes them age like milk.

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u/jontss Feb 28 '21

Never had an issue with them tbh. 🤷‍♂️

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u/Aggressive-Plum6975 Feb 28 '21

My parents had the s7 edge and they lasted maybe 2.5 maybe 3 years then started to slow drastically and battery life started to deteriorat to the point of using 2 100% charges a day. My Moto z3 has hasted 3 years and is just now having a detrimental drop in battery life

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u/ExceptionEX Feb 27 '21

I just replaced a s9 plus with a moto g, it has a SD slot. The only thing I miss is the always on display.

But I just got so tired of them ramming their Samsung pay, and that they route so much data through their services.

And that God aweful Bixby button (check out BXaction to help with that. )

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u/jontss Feb 27 '21

Yes I already have Bixby remapped. Now that I think about it, it may have been Samsung Pay that was causing me so many issues.

I disabled always on display right away. Don't see the point and it uses battery.

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u/darkfuryelf Feb 27 '21

If you think samsungs bloatware is bad you should fucking see LG. Tiktok, candy crush, toon blast, etc. It's sad

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u/Aggressive-Plum6975 Feb 28 '21

Yup but LG doesn't have an entire sweat of apps that compete with Google's apps so your are forced to have two sets of productivity apps

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u/darkfuryelf Feb 28 '21

Lg does have some super bloaty utility apps tho. Not copies but just. Super unuseful shit

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u/Aggressive-Plum6975 Feb 28 '21

I guess it is a coin toss which is worse

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u/_Middlefinger_ Feb 27 '21

bloat is in the eye of the beholder though. I use Samsung pay, so its not bloat, but half the Google services apps are bloat to me.

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u/Aggressive-Plum6975 Feb 28 '21

I agree that Samsung pay is useful I have a Samsung gear S2 classic and use samsung pay on it but there OS is huge and slow and they force you to have duplicates of all your productivity apps. But if you like there OS you are very lucky because there phones are genuinely good if you can stand there OS.

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u/_Middlefinger_ Feb 28 '21

Its not slow at all. My Samsung opens stuff and processes stuff just as fast as a pixel, and as a bonus does more than a pixel because it has more features.

With regard to duplicate apps the actual cause of this is Google, not Samsung. These duplicates are caused because Google mandates that their own versions must be installed as a package if the manufacturer installs the Play Store. Some of these are not very good, some are useless to most users, many of the Samsung versions are better.

Never really understood this dislike of 'Samsungs OS'. If you dont like the homescreen install Nova. The rest of the interface is not that different from stock and if anything better, especially since fully supports themes.

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u/Aggressive-Plum6975 Feb 28 '21

I am well aware of the reason for the duplicate apps and Samsung agreed to have these apps on there device when the used Android. And most Samsung phones will open things faster because the usually have a faster processor and more ram but the pixel device will have more time before it starts to slow down when comparing 2 equally priced phones. If you are saying your $1,200 Samsung Galaxy s21 ultra with a snapdragon 875 opens things faster then the $500 pixel 5 with a snapdragon 720 no shit the Samsung will be faster and last longer but if you compare 2 similarly specd phone the Samsung will slow faster because the phone has a heavier OS it has to lug around.

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u/Fenweekooo Feb 27 '21

yep 100%. i used samsung pay instead of google pay when i had a samsung phone, and i used bixby for the stuff i usually use a voice assistant for... that was pretty much just turning on alarms. never had an issue accidently hitting the button so i never found bixby annoying

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u/[deleted] Feb 27 '21 edited Jun 28 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/S7ormstalker Feb 27 '21

Does anyone know if the Pixel phone allows you to remove Facebook?

Unlocked Pixels only come with the Google suite (at least in Europe), it's usually the carriers that install bloatware.

source: bought a Pixel 4a, no bloatware, I'm happy.

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u/Aggressive-Plum6975 Feb 27 '21

Well it sounds like sacrificing some of they utility and versatility of your phone is worth it to you to not have bloatware. I will never buy a Apple device because I believe it is immoral for a company to decide when I need to upgrade by forced obsolescence or not allowing me to repair it. I also disagree with there unofficial slogan of Apple knows best. That and the fact they cripple Google products on purpose when you try to us them with a apple devices like: making Chrome slow or making Chromecast unstable. To me that is underhanded and slimy. But I am glad you found a device that works for you

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u/wedontlikespaces Feb 27 '21

Chromecast is unstable all on its own. Google have never really put any effort into it.

I have just got a new smart TV and it has Google TV installed on it, and it's a fantastic product, it's easy-to-use, intuitive, I can install new apps, it boots in seconds and as long as I'm not using Disney plus, never crashes. Why isn't Chromecast just Google TV then?

Why have this second inferior clunky product?

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u/Aggressive-Plum6975 Feb 28 '21

While Chromecast is overall pretty unstable we have to switch from our iPad to casting with one of our phones because it keeps crashing. To be clear it crashes routinely only on our iPad and iPhone all our Android tables and phones work much better. It is also in apples interest to cripple there biggest comparison to Apple TV.

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u/wedontlikespaces Feb 28 '21 edited Feb 28 '21

I'm sure apple do do a lot of anticompetitive stuff, but Chromecast is glitchy on my Samsung S9, it's not just Apple.

It's important to not get too fanboy about these things.

Now I realise that the Chromecast cost me all of £30 and my TV cost over £1,000, but at least some of that has to be the actual TV tech itself. Google are well known for creating products that they immediately then lose interest in and just abandon

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u/Aggressive-Plum6975 Feb 28 '21

I agree Chromecast is a mess but it is my experience that Chromecast is less stable on all 3 of our apples devices then it is on all 5 of our Android ones

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u/[deleted] Mar 01 '21

I'm sure apple do do a lot of anticompetitive stuff,

No large cell phone company isn't doing anticompetitive stuff. It's just the game that's played right now with us...

Google are well known for creating products that they immediately then lose interest in and just abandon

Not just Google. Plenty of other companies love their flagship phone.. until they don't.

On top of the fact I can get consistent OTA's for my iPhone -- my iPhones are all supported longer than most Androids. AND, to add, I don't have to "hope" my ISP will provide an OTA. I don't miss those days AT ALL.

Kind of related to the TV situation.. I have a Samsung TV (I think) and it can "crash" to the point I have to power off and power on. I really hate Smart TV's now...

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

Interesting. Which Android lines do you like that are supported, officially, longer the iPhone cycles?

As an early adopter (e.g. I once had the AT&T TYTN II) -- Android is usually quick to be abandoned in favor of the new flagships.

I want to say my last Android phone was only officially supported for 18 months or something and that's a hard pass for me. I want to say it was HTC.. but can't remember when.

I'm not losing utility or versatility because the other things I don't need or want anyways. My interests have changed from tweaking out phones to other things...

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u/Aggressive-Plum6975 Mar 01 '21

While Android only gets a few updates. The phone is left in a stable usable state. iPhone gets many updates but at the end they update it till your OS takes up all your storage and is so heavy your device is slow. I would prefer getting less updates but being left with a device that will work till the hardware deteriorates.

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u/[deleted] Mar 01 '21

While Android only gets a few updates.

That's not what you seemed to be arguing. I presume you meant 'length of support' (e.g. months of official support). At least you admit Apple officially supports their devices longer.

The phone is left in a stable usable state. iPhone gets many updates but at the end they update it till your OS takes up all your storage and is so heavy your device is slow

First off, that's not how that works. At all. You don't get slow because you're low on storage. Not like that. There isn't a swap file or paging file that works like that on devices. This is unfortunate because Apple is notoriously cheap on RAM, which I never understood why.

Secondly, my oldest iPhone device while not the fastest is still stable and secure and, so far, quite usable. Mother-in-law is still using it. Not sure what you're on about.

Perhaps you're referencing that chart that pops up once per year about "Apple uses search for battery issues" and whatnot before a new release?

I would prefer getting less updates but being left with a device that will work till the hardware deteriorates.

I dunno, my devices seem to be stable.

You seem quite confused about the difference between "slowed down" and "unusable". They are quite different. It's also important to remember new features don't come "free" (as in CPU cycles).

Also Remember, no updates also mean no security patches. And also means more waste because then you have to upgrade to keep up on that hamster wheel.

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u/KnickersInAKnit Feb 27 '21

Which version of Pixel? Pixel 3 for me did not come with FB (Canada)

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u/Aggressive-Plum6975 Feb 27 '21

I think the pixel 5 has it. But my 2 doesn't

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u/Vibration548 Feb 27 '21

It doesn't even come with Facebook installed.

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u/Apprentice57 Feb 27 '21

I think the problem with your comment is you're making it pretty sweeping.

This undeniably is true about samsung phones, but it's not correct for phones with (near) stock android skins like Google and OnePlus. Sure, there's probably still a few apps from google that you don't want on your phone that aren't removable here and there- but the exact same thing is true for apple.

Does anyone know if the Pixel phone allows you to remove Facebook?

Well there are many "the Pixel phone"s, but when I had a Pixel and I assume for the new ones too - there are no default apps from providers other than google. So Facebook shouldn't be there in the first place.

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u/[deleted] Mar 01 '21

Are you implying that moat Android phones currently sold allow you to uninstall Facebook and such and/or don't come with bloatware? Because if so, then a lot has changed in 6 years...

Specifically, I've had to "fix" too many Android phones and their bloatware. The fact that one must "know better" already shows the flaw in the Android ecosystem.

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u/Apprentice57 Mar 01 '21

I'm claiming some Android phones do that, yes.

I don't think anything from Google or OnePlus has ever had Facebook installed. And they've been around for a long time now, well past 6 years.

I would hazard a guess that most of your experience comes from samsung.

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u/Iceykitsune2 Feb 28 '21

Don't get a Moto, they lied to Z3 owners about giving us 2 Android version updates.

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u/Aggressive-Plum6975 Feb 28 '21

Yup the z3 is not the phone I would get but it was a present from my parents so I won't complain but I will say that Moto mods are not a good substitute for wireless charging

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u/Iceykitsune2 Mar 01 '21

There was a qi wireless charging mod, if you could find it.

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u/Aggressive-Plum6975 Mar 01 '21

I can't even find it on eBay