Android phone question

[Oldhippy]

I didn't know there was a CC app.
I mininimise apps.
Many apps can just be replaced with a quicklink to the appropriate webpage - and plonk this on your google device homescreen.

Sorry I meant website via ddg. That's how much I know! 😂

 

[Blue Hills]

You can completely de-google android if you want. It is a bit techie and not really for those not techie minded though. I've done it to my tablet but not because of 'google fear*' but more because of speed and space - google sucks resource and slows things down, more so on the later versions of android. I've a 10 year old tablet running android 7 - it'd grind to a halt with google and a later version of android.

You could just disable every app with 'google' in the name though, that's if you can't uninstall it. Edit: really, that's not going to make so much difference though. It's the 'google services framework' (and that includes Play/Playstore) that are the villains of the peace.

*I respect those that don't want google in their lives, I can get my head around that. I personally am not THAT concerned by it though. Google provide a lot for free (well, not upfront cost to you) and there's no such thing as a free lunch etc. Not looking for an argument btw. As I say, I respect people that do want to de-google as I understand why - no quibble from there. Indeed, I am 'google-light'.

you sound like an expert - will maybe be back with questions about specific mysterious google things.
The process you refer to above is I assume "rooting" - dpn't want to risk that - just want to remove things which do nowt for me/slow stuff down/demand updates. Have long since accepted that I am googled - this is typed on a chromebook.

 

[Blue Hills]

You want to try having a Samsung. They come pre-encumbered with vast saggy swamps of bloatware - all of it worthless, all of it ununinstallable. And bits of it particularly irritating - like the notification that pops up every time you wake the phone that says 'Wouldn't you like to change from your Google keyboard to a Samsung keyboard?' I've been swiping that nag away for five years now - must have done it thousands of times. You'd think it might have got the idea, but no: 'Wouldn't you like to change from your Google keyboard to a Samsung keyboard?' As a Samsung owner, you just get reconciled to the fact that the hardware's top notch, the software sucks. Google stuff by comparison is positively gentlemanly.

agree totally about Samsung - wouldn't buy owt of theirs because of this. Bad experience with an android tab of theirs. And of course they sell tellys to sit in the corner and keep an eye on you.

 

[tyred]

I would happily kill it but hadn't worked out a way to do it and not sure what app that update applies to.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Interesting artical here.

https://www.thequint.com/tech-and-auto/tech-news/how-to-stop-facebook-and-google-from-spying-on-you

 

[Cycleops]

It appears you might not be eligible for an official update to Android 11 on the 3X. Some manufacturers abandon updates on their phones even though they might even be a couple of years old. Pretty disgusting. Don't know if this might be causing the problem.
This says you can only do it using a computer. Don't know if that's any help.
https://androidroothow.pro/droid11/installing-android-11-on-alcatel-3x-download/

 

[DaveReading]

You want to try having a Samsung. They come pre-encumbered with vast saggy swamps of bloatware - all of it worthless, all of it ununinstallable. And bits of it particularly irritating - like the notification that pops up every time you wake the phone that says 'Wouldn't you like to change from your Google keyboard to a Samsung keyboard?' I've been swiping that nag away for five years now - must have done it thousands of times. You'd think it might have got the idea, but no: 'Wouldn't you like to change from your Google keyboard to a Samsung keyboard?' As a Samsung owner, you just get reconciled to the fact that the hardware's top notch, the software sucks. Google stuff by comparison is positively gentlemanly.

IME you can uninstall most things (without rooting) if you enable Developer Options and USB Debugging, connect to your phone from a laptop/desktop and use ADB (Android Debug Bridge).

I'm currently using a hand-me-down Meizu phone that I inherited from my DIL, and it came with a particularly annoying bit of cr*pware called TouchPad 2017 that popped up annoying notifications when it felt like it. None of the menu options would uninstall the app, or even just suppress the notifications - but ADB made short work of it.

 

[swee'pea99]

agree totally about Samsung - wouldn't buy owt of theirs because of this. Bad experience with an android tab of theirs. And of course they sell tellys to sit in the corner and keep an eye on you.

You remind me...I can't recall quite how I got there, but at some point I found myself looking at the sub-submenu on my Samsung telly (again, great hardware) that told me how for the three years I'd had it there'd been an option for 'Yes, absolutely I want to automatically send Samsung full data about everything they could possibly want to know, despite it offering zero benefit to me'. Even knowing them as I do, I was appalled that such an option would arrive ticked by default.

 

[swee'pea99]

IME you can uninstall most things (without rooting) if you enable Developer Options and USB Debugging, connect to your phone from a laptop/desktop and use ADB (Android Debug Bridge).

I'm currently using a hand-me-down Meizu phone that I inherited from my DIL, and it came with a particularly annoying bit of cr*pware called TouchPad 2017 that popped up annoying notifications when it felt like it. None of the menu options would uninstall the app, or even just suppress the notifications - but ADB made short work of it.

I once paid for an app that promised to enable me to unbundle the bloatware package and uninstall it bit by bit. Wonderful! And it worked. It did take quite a while to go thru' laboriously uninstalling all that crap, item by item, but it did it. Then Samsung's next update put it all back.

 

[Alex321]

You want to try having a Samsung. They come pre-encumbered with vast saggy swamps of bloatware - all of it worthless, all of it ununinstallable. And bits of it particularly irritating - like the notification that pops up every time you wake the phone that says 'Wouldn't you like to change from your Google keyboard to a Samsung keyboard?' I've been swiping that nag away for five years now - must have done it thousands of times. You'd think it might have got the idea, but no: 'Wouldn't you like to change from your Google keyboard to a Samsung keyboard?' As a Samsung owner, you just get reconciled to the fact that the hardware's top notch, the software sucks. Google stuff by comparison is positively gentlemanly.

You can certainly turn off that sort of notification. I have both a phone and a tablet from Samsung, and never see anything like that (and don't use the Samsung keyboard app on either).

 

[swee'pea99]

You can certainly turn off that sort of notification. I have both a phone and a tablet from Samsung, and never see anything like that (and don't use the Samsung keyboard app on either).

Well, feel free to tell me how, because t'internet's heaving with people bitching & moaning about it - it is 'a known issue', in spades - and I've yet to see anyone suggest a solution, short of rooting the phone.

 

[tyred]

I got rid of it by disabling the Google Speech App which is probably what I should have done in the first place. I don't think I use that app for anything.

 

[Blue Hills]

I got rid of it by disabling the Google Speech App which is probably what I should have done in the first place. I don't think I use that app for anything.

Just looked in my apps and can't see it there. Hidden in some way?

 

[Blue Hills]

One thing you Android guys might not have seen....
Google have put a Covid 19 contact tracing app on your phone. They haven't told you, and you can't remove it. By default it is switched off, but beware - it exists. Settings>Google will find it. Make sure it is off!!!!

So there is.
Took me a bit of searching to find it though.

 

[tyred]

Just looked in my apps and can't see it there. Hidden in some way?

I found in the list along with all the other Apps.