How to freeze unwanted apps and bloatware on your Android
The Android mobile operating system doesn’t have many limitations or restrictions, but there are a few drawbacks. you may customize your device as much as you want except for one key area: the preinstalled apps from device manufacturers and wireless carriers. Grabbing one of themost affordable Android tabletsdoesn’t allow you to escape the problem. Big manufacturers like Samsung include bloatware in their devices. This guide shows you how to remove these preinstalled apps on your Android smartphone or tablet.
Don’t let bloatware clutter your new device
What exactly is bloatware?
Purchasing a new device from a local wireless carrier’s store may be convenient, but there’s a catch they don’t talk about. These devices are typically loaded with unwanted, preinstalled apps from the device manufacturer or the wireless carrier. When these apps serve little purpose, are unwanted, or go unused by most people, they are known as bloatware.
Part of what people love so much about Android is that it’s possible to pick and choose the apps you want. There’s an endless supply of great productivity apps, utilities, and file managers. You can also customize your device’s look and feel withone of the best Android launchers.
The problem with bloatware is that manufacturers and wireless carriers lock the apps in place, preventing you from removing them, even if you use another app. Android’s base operating system also comes with many core apps, and you can end up with two similar apps installed simultaneously, one from Google and the other from your device manufacturer or wireless carrier.
Some devices aremore notorious than others regardingbloatware, but it’s a common practice in the mobile industry. For example, your smartphone manufacturer might include its custom web browser, messaging app, and calculator. These apps take up extra storage space and rarely have a built-in way to uninstall them.
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Those preinstalled apps are mostly untouchable because they are added to the base Android system before it’s compiled and become part of the core operating system. This is known as being “baked in” by independent Android developers. Still, there are some cases where you candeactivate or hide a few of them from the app drawerto unclutter things a bit.
Bloatware can come in many forms from various sources, not only wireless carriers. Preloading carrier-specific phones with unwanted apps is a well-known example of bloatware.
Why does my phone have bloatware?
The bloatware answer to why you find different preinstalled apps for the same phone sold by two separate carriers is simple: for monetary reasons.
Bloatware, preinstalled apps, potentially unwanted programs (PUP), or whatever you want to call them,make manufacturers and carriers money. Many smartphone manufacturers ship devices with apps you might use (such as Facebook, Amazon, Netflix), but carriers may not be as conscientious. Manufacturers often use bloatware to remain competitive in markets with razor-thin margins. Pop a new SIM into your phone, and there’s a chance you’ll notice dozens of new and unwanted apps. Carriers use PUPs to upsell their services and subsidize trade-in deals and promotions.
What’s the story with excessive bloatware?
In the past, we had the Google Play edition program, which lasted only a short time. These were official and certified Android devices that launched without unnecessary bloatware. They only came with the core Google apps, such as theGoogle Play Store.
After this program was discontinued, the bloatware situation got out of control again. The user lost control of that aspect of their devices because there were no ground rules to limit how much bloatware was too much. At worst, you might have ended up with dozens of unwanted apps that couldn’t be uninstalled.
Google has enforced stricter rules to reduce how much bloatware manufacturers andwireless carriers can include on their devices. Although this benefits everyone, the bloatware situation today isn’t perfect. Independent Android developers sometimes root devices and create custom firmware, but there’s no guarantee your phone is one of them. TheShizukuservice discussed in this guide can help you without replacing the entire OS with custom firmware.
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Shizuku is a unique on-device modding tool that uses ADB commands and system APIs, allowing you to debloat and freeze bloatware using a compatible app called Ice Box. It doesn’t require root access like a lot of custom firmware, and you can use it on almost any Android device, giving you more flexibility over what you get from stock.
Why should you freeze an app?
When you freeze an app on Android, it’s temporarily suspended from your device but not removed entirely. This allows you to restore the app to its original state quickly. Uninstalling removes an app. It can’t be recovered under normal circumstances.
Freezing a system app, for example, is safer than uninstalling it. The risk factor of corrupting or messing up your system files is less, which is the primary goal of Shizuku and Ice Box. Freezing an app hides it from your app drawer, helping you clear the icon clutter.
The method used in this guide for freezing apps was tested up to the official public version of Android 14. We didn’t experience any issues using Shizuku with Ice Box and its core features during our testing. Freezing and defrosting apps work as intended.
Install and activate the Shizuku service
Before you could freeze apps or bloatware on your Android device, you must activate the Shizuku service. It constantly runs in the background for the apps that rely on it, so keep this part in mind going forward, and after you get things up and running, make sure not to uninstall it.
This means you’ll need to manually start the Shizuku service after every reboot because it only runs on your system temporarily. This shouldn’t be an issue since you likely won’t need to restart your device much. If you have full root access, set the service to start automatically with your device to enhance and simplify your experience.
To get the Shizuku service up and running, follow these steps:
Visit our guide foractivating the Shizuku service on any Android-compatible deviceif you need a more detailed tutorial. We cover everything you need to know, from the built-in wireless debugging feature to using ADB commands on a computer.
Set up Ice Box and pair it with the Shizuku service
Since the Shizuku service is running in the background now, you’ll need a way to manage the apps and bloatware you don’t want. The Ice Box app freezes and hides installed apps, including built-in system apps. Combining Shizuku with Ice Box gives you a simple yet effective solution to freeze common device bloatware.
To get Ice Box working with Shizuku, check out the following steps:
How to freeze the bloatware on your device
Now that Ice Box is set up and has the proper Shizuku permissions, it’s possible to move on to the fun part: freezing your apps and bloatware. To begin that process, do the following:
If you want to unfreeze an app later, tap theapp iconon theFrozenlist to unfreeze it temporarily and open it. it’s possible to long press theapp iconand selectFreezeto suspend the app again. At the same time, choosing theRemove From Listoptionsets the app to its original state and takes it off theFrozenlist.
Tap theIce Box tabin the lower-left corner to instantly refreeze all apps. This allows you to freeze them with a single tap instead of going through them individually.
How to remove all apps from the Frozen list
If you want to defrost and restore all of your apps from the Frozen list, there’s a convenient feature to help you out. To get started, check out these steps:
Freezing bloatware is the way to go
In the earlier days of Android, after the Google Play edition program ended, bloatware became a problem. Without root access, it was difficult to manage these unwanted apps. Unless independent Android developers unlocked the bootloader, manufacturers usually restricted root access. You likely couldn’t even hide bloatware from your app drawer or home screen.
But now, with the power of Shizuku and Ice Box, you can use temporary on-device ADB commands as a proper alternative solution. It lets you quickly freeze any system app or bloatware with a few taps. The risk of messing up your device or system files is minimal, making it perfect for people just getting into modding their devices.
With the help of the Shizuku service, you may also do things likeback up and restore your Android device using Swift Backup. It’s a powerful tool that offers many of its best features without requiring root access.
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