Database Develop

[Q] What apps/services can be disabled (with descriptions)?

What services and apps can be disabled. But please with a description what people are disabling, so they can decided if they need it or not.
So far i disabled:
Anonymous Usage Stats (self explanatory, not on cost of my battery and data plan)
Auto upload photo (no idea what it is, but if i want to upload a photo i do it myself)
Screen Mirror (brings your screen on a TV, dont have a compatible one, don't need it)
extension for youtube, wikipedia (don't know who is extended here, but if i need those i use my web browser)
extension for google lyrics search (don't care for that)
Exchange Services (suppose it has to do with Microsoft Exchange, which i don't use..)
Face Unlock (very useful feature, people just need a photo of you to unlock your phone, disabled)
Facebook (i'll do my little facebooking with the browser, thanks)
Movies / Devices (got an alternate video player anyway)
gmail (normal mail client is enough for me)
google partner setup (i'm not going to be a google partner)
Google Play Books, Movies, Music (not going to use those)
Google+ (don't need it)
Japanese keyboard layout and skins (not my language so i don't need it, skins won't work for the non japanese keyboard)
MirrorLink Service (Connects your phone to a car, don't need that)
Music unlimited (no idea, doesn't sound important)
News & weather (got my own apps for that)
location based wi-fi (i use wifi rarely and am able to manage that myself, don't allow my phone to locate me all the time anyway)
photo analyzer service (my photos don't need analyzing)
picasa uploader (dont use that service)
Pico TTS (i use only google TTS)
PlayMemories Online (not needed)
SensMe slidshow (sorry its a phone, not a digital photo frame)
Smar Connect (starts stuff if you connect stuff automaticly, doesn't fit my using habits)
Sony car (dont need that)
Sony select (no idea)
Support (thats what forums are for )
Talk (google IM service, don't need it)
Talkback (talks to you about what going on with your phone while using it, my eyes are still fine, so i don't need this practical feature)
TV-App Starter (no TV here that supports it anyway)
Video Studio (sorry, editing videos on a smartphone? no)
visualization (doesn't sound very useful)
weather widget (got a different one)
Xperia Appshare, Calendar sync, FB setup, Friendsmusic, Music Likes, Proxy, Share, Social Engine +photos +sharing, twitter (since i don't use Twitter, Facebook and whatever as native up i don't need any Xperia apps that can work with it)
whatsapp (dont like always on apps, just wastes my battery)
McAfee (i don't think Android need an antivirus program)
com.sonyericson.unplugchargerreminder (removes the annoying message after you removed your charger from the phone)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

nurps said:
What services and apps can be disabled. But please with a description what people are disabling, so they can decided if they need it or not.
So far i disabled:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to do this? Disabling all these? Steps, perhaps?

solidghost9 said:
How to do this? Disabling all these? Steps, perhaps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Disable most in the Settings > Apps section. Tedious, but worth it.
For apps that can't be disabled this way, you'll need root and Titanium Backup to freeze them. Always freeze, never uninstall until your ROM is stable after a few reboots.

You can disable all themes and wallpaper picker

[Q] Which system apps are safe to freeze?

Hey guys,
Is there any system apps or tasks that I can't ever freeze?

All google apps like Google Docs, Sheets, Play Movies, Play Games, Google+ etc. Then various Google keyboard inputs which you are not using like I am not using Google Korean so disabled it. HP Print service, Photos (I don't take online backup of photos so don't need it).
Avoid using Facebook app, instead use browser for FB and G+.
No need to disable Moto Service, afterall these features are what make it a MotoX and also turning any of those service doesn't make any big difference in battery life or performance.
Once you disable the above services/apps, nothing useless left.

Jack Sparrow xda said:
All google apps like Google Docs, Sheets, Play Movies, Play Games, Google+ etc. Then various Google keyboard inputs which you are not using like I am not using Google Korean so disabled it. HP Print service, Photos (I don't take online backup of photos so don't need it).
Avoid using Facebook app, instead use browser for FB and G+.
No need to disable Moto Service, afterall these features are what make it a MotoX and also turning any of those service doesn't make any big difference in battery life or performance.
Once you disable the above services/apps, nothing useless left.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply, man.
But I want to make a new question.
As we navigate on Rom Toolbox (for example), we see a lot of tasks there and somethings I neved heard of... I'd like to know which one of them I can freeze and which ones I can't ever because it would shut the system down.

Don't freeze anything unless you know what it is, and have a specific reason for freezing it.

A lot can actually be frozen depending on what 3rd party apps you use. I actually freeze/disable a ton of stuff on my phone!
If you use a 3rd party camera, you can uninstall the stock one.
Tags is another, i don't even have a clue what this is for but i've never had a drawback from disabling or uninstalling it.
Sound recorder.
I could go on and list a whole bunch, but i really don't know what you have installed for 3rd party.

Apps/bloatware removal, wich ones are safe to delete?

Hello!
I got my z3+ today and so far I'm really happy with it. I installed the GNL (Google Now Launcher) straight away because I just love it, used it on my old Xperia ZR. I want my phone to be as smooth, fast and clean as possible. I uninstalled all apps that could be uninstalled through the app-drawer, and now I'm wondering what apps I can inactivate from the settings->apps menu? Does anyone know what apps are safe to remove? I'm guessing I can inactivate the original mail app and SMS app as I'm using Gmail and Google Messenger instead of those.
Can I inactivate Albums app and use googles app for that aswell? When I did that on my ZR suddenly I couldnt show photos that I took through the camera app (you know the small thumbnail of the photo you just took in the lower right corner), I don't want that to happen again and I don't want any problems of that kind.
Thanks in advance and sorry for my grammar, English is not my main language.

you can disable, as i think rooting Z3+ is not yet available Follow apps:
Most Battery Drainers are Google extra stuff:
Google play games
Google new stand
Google music
Google Plus(+)
And other back ground which might not affect your daily usage.
Also i prefer using Browser for social networking sites instead of apps, because apps keep on searching updates from your friends and it causes your phone to be dead soon
After disabling google extra service my phone had a better life...

asking said:
you can disable, as i think rooting Z3+ is not yet available Follow apps:
Most Battery Drainers are Google extra stuff:
Google play games
Google new stand
Google music
Google Plus(+)
And other back ground which might not affect your daily usage.
Also i prefer using Browser for social networking sites instead of apps, because apps keep on searching updates from your friends and it causes your phone to be dead soon
After disabling google extra service my phone had a better life...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a good idea! I disabled a bunch of apps now and I think I didn't mess anything up so far.
I really really want to disable the album app and use only Google Photos but I got the same issue as this guy: http://forum.xda-developers.com/z3/help/changing-default-album-app-t2921987
I'm guessing there's no fix for that? And now I'm stuck with 2 album apps. Thanks Sony!

Law student in the Netherlands

Hi all,
I am a master law student in the Netherlands. I am researching privacy policies of pre-installed apps for a course. I noticed that on my Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016), (came with Lollipop) among other apps, Facebook was installed. I do not have the possibility to completely remove the app. The option to manually control the persmissions given to apps came an upgrade later, in Android 6.0. So my question is: What permissions do these preinstalled apps have. What permissions do apps like facebook (pre Android 6.0) take advantage of, despite not using (logging in) the app?
Facebook requests permission to see your contact list, texts, locations among others. Do apps like Facebook pre android 6.0 utilize this information, before even using or logging in to the app? Does anybody have more information regarding this matter?
I am willing to share the results of my study here after completion
Thanks!

get rid of andriod spyware

hello with the new way of these phones andriod and others plus spyware .im wondering how do i know what apps samsung etc are spying on my phone maybe uploading my numbers and other infor without me knowing any of you guys got any idea whats the best way to stop it. tbh i hate even google assist even turning on by itself even when i diable it

Hello, first of all, please write in easily readable sentences, that way more people are going to help you.
Second, it is important to be and stay suspicious of the software you use, especially with android. But you shouldn't be worried too much as most of the data that is sent from your phone isn't sent with "evil intentions" or anything like that, it is often rather aggressive diagnostics.
Warning! The following paragraphs are filled with very radical means of removing suspected spyware! Almost all of these require root and knowledge in modding your Android! Beware!
As to how you can spot "spyware" or suspected spyware, there isn't one easy way.
First of all, you could use a custom ROM, so that your system is more open source and there isn't any suspected spyware (or any "ware" at all) from Samsung.
To go one step further, you could try to live without Google services:
Use a different search engine, for example DuckDuckGo or any other really
Use Firefox or any non-Chromium browser
Instead of using opengapps to install Google Play Services (when you install a custom ROM) you could use the replacement project "microG" (microg.org).
Get as many apps as you can from Open source app stores (F-Droid)
Don't use the official Play Store unless you really have to - it is a power hungry data collecting app (that can theoretically install any app without asking, just like the Google Play Services or any other /system/priv-app app with proper permissions) - Alternative for installing Play Store apps: Aurora Store
Replace Google Maps with OpenStreetMap (OSMand)
Use a anonymous YouTube client, for example NewPipe
etc.
These are of course only suggestions, I don't recommend doing them all at once, but if you really don't want any unnecessary data sent from your phone, these are the first steps.
For actually seeing which apps send what data you could either analyze the app bytecode with App Warden or look at all detailed permissions with AppOpsX.
Methods to neutralize spyware are rejecting the permission for the app to use internet access or even run in the background, disabling the suspected app or removing it with system app removers.
Be very careful with actually disabling or removing system apps! Many system apps are needed for the system to work and one can easily misjudge an app by its description and diagnostics! Before disabling an app you should research whether anyone else knows anything about the app and only remove it if you are really sure about it. You have been warned.