steven36 Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 There's a problem with those calls to Delete Facebook: some people physically can't. Want to delete Facebook? Too bad. Some Samsung smartphone owners have found that they're unable to remove the pre-loaded Facebook app from their phones, according to a new report from Bloomberg. That's concerning for people who are trying to remove the mammoth social media app from their lives, either because they no longer enjoy it, or because they're concerned about their privacy and security. The new report also brings to light how little the public knows or has control over the app pre-load deals that Facebook makes with smartphone makers, including but not limited to Samsung. Quote Why can't I delete #facebook #app from my #samsung #phone anyone? #techsupport pic.twitter.com/WOlYRsZz4d — benn achilleas (@mrbennbenn) December 22, 2018 Most mobile phones come with some apps pre-loaded onto them, like email and messenger clients, or other utilities. But phone makers have also started including apps like Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, YouTube, and others as pre-installed apps. You can usually customize your phone, removing and adding apps as you like, though some are immutable; iPhone users couldn't remove certain annoying pre-loaded iPhone apps like Stocks until 2016. Facebook comes as one of the pre-installed apps on some Samsung devices, though Bloomberg reports that there is no list of all the Samsung and non-Samsung devices on which it is installed. Facebook declined to provide that information to Bloomberg as well. Apparently, when some Samsung users tried to delete the pre-installed Facebook app, they found there was simply no "delete" option. The best they could do was "deactivate." This reportedly means that the app stops functioning; it acts as if it's not there, but that little blue square remains. Facebook says that deactivating means that the Facebook app won't collect any data on you. And social media and reverse engineering expert points out that the pre-installed Facebook app is just a shell, or a placeholder — not the actual app. So it's not clear what simply having the defunct pre-loaded app on your phone could do, other than be annoying. Quote Samsung only ship the stub version of Facebook on their phones. It’s basically a non-functional empty shell, acts as the placeholder for when the phone receives the “real” Facebook app as app updates https://t.co/KHdkF9fFyK — Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) January 8, 2019 Quote This is my take for clearing out some technical misconceptions when it comes to OEM Android apps. It’s easy to be paranoid because it’s Facebook, but thinking the app will still spy on you even it’s just a stub / been disabled is a bit of overreaction — Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) January 8, 2019 However, Facebook and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg have been caught making misleading statements about the extent of data Facebook collects on both users and non-users plenty of times in the past few years. So its assurances that the deactivated apps won't affect users are not something users can (or should) necessarily trust. In the past year, Facebook has claimed its watchwords are "transparency" and "choice." But Facebook is declining to say with whom it has pre-install agreements and what the nature of those agreements is. And apparently some Samsung users simply do not have a choice about whether to completely remove Facebook from their digital lives. Sorry, isn't that the opposite of both transparency and choice? Just checking. Source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debebee Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 POWER Users usually find a way: Root, then remove or use SAMSUNG SPECIFIC BLOATWARE REMOVAL Software Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Bob Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 I remember when Samsung started this on my old note 4 when it upgraded to marshmallow https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/2jhxbv/preinstalled_facebook_app_reenables_itself_on_the/ plus then the app wanted superuser access https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/the-facebook-android-app-is-asking-for-superuser-privileges-and-users-are-freaking-out/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
straycat19 Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Samsung phones are terrible when it comes to bloatware. On the other hand Motorola (Lenovo) phones have very little other than the basic Google crap that is part of the Android operating system. Not only that but the Motorola phones are much cheaper. Their top of the line Z2 Force, which is normally $720 is on sale for $249. Two of the phones I have to carry are Samsung and there is nothing I can do about it, but the other four are all Z2 Force. I really like them because in normal use I can go three to four days before I have to charge them, unlike the Samsung which have to be charged daily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven36 Posted January 9, 2019 Author Share Posted January 9, 2019 38 minutes ago, straycat19 said: Lenovo Lmao that's because they were sued for putting superfish spyware in PCs and had to pay and can't afford another class action law suit. 38 minutes ago, straycat19 said: the basic Google crap Lol yep all Android phones come with your basic spyware Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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