Android phones will often contain apps that you aren’t able to uninstall. All of the OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) stick their own apps on your phone before it ever reaches you, and the carriers follow suit with their own bundle of bloatware. Occasionally these apps serve a useful purpose, but all too often they are useless to you.
Sadly, even if you aren’t using them, many of these apps may still run in the background, eating up system resources and/or spamming you with notifications. We’ve looked at how to shut off Android notifications before, and how to go from mere mortal to superuser, but today we’re going to explain how to disable Android apps you have no interest in.
It’s very easy to disable apps, here are the steps required:
It’s equally easy to get those apps back if you want to:
You have to be careful about disabling apps randomly because there are apps running that perform important functions and it’s not always obvious what they are. You may also find that some apps don’t have a disable option, or are grayed out.
Try searching for a list of apps that it’s safe to disable for your specific device. You’ll find some useful threads with suggestions for most Android smartphones over at XDA Developers forum.
If you want to disable an app, but there’s no option to do so, or the option is grayed out, then you can still do it by rooting your Android phone. This will also allow you to remove any app you want.
For a look at the pros and cons and some advice about how to proceed, check out our how to root Android article.
There you have it, that’s how you disable apps on Android. If you have any comments or questions then please post a comment.
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.