Develop Bugs

Android Without Google

There have been posts about this here and there, but most of them are just asking for advice on how to do it. I plan to follow through and document the solutions I find.
Why, you ask? I don't like Google having so much data on me. I used to not care but in today's environment with SOPA and new NSA data centers and whatnot, well... maybe I'm paranoid but I don't necessarily want anyone to so easily have such a complete profile of all my searches, contacts, location history, etc. Anyway, if you think it's dumb, ok, got it, move along please.
So if I don't like Google then why use Android? Well, a couple of reasons. First of all, Google is not Android. Android is maintained by the Android Open Source Project, which in turn is made up of members of the Open Handset Alliance. Yes, Google is the lead member of the Open Handset Alliance, and yes most of the developers working on the Android Open Source Project are Google employees. But I've been following Android for long enough now to know that Google and Android are for all practical purposes separate entities.
The second reason is because Android is simply the best mobile operating system on the planet right now, and it is free open-source software. I use Ubuntu on my laptop, and I'm not interested in switching to Windows or Mac, so that pretty much rules out iPhone or Windows Phone right there.
But isn't Android really Google's OS? Yes and No. As I mentioned, Google does pretty much run the AOSP, along with device manufacturers. But AOSP is very "provider agnostic." Much of what you see on your phone is not from AOSP. The Galaxy Nexus is a GOOGLE device, not an AOSP device. Gmail, Maps, Market, Location Tracking, etc are all GOOGLE ADDITIONS and are NOT a part of AOSP! When you build AOSP from source (or Cyanogenmod), you end up with an agnostic, neutral device that has practically no mention of anything Google whatsoever.
But what about what you DONT have in AOSP? No Market??? No Gmail??? How can you possibly use Android without these things? Well that is exactly what I intend to find out.
Please feel free to contribute to the discussion with ideas and questions. Hopefully this thread can eventually be helpful for someone else who comes along and wants to do something similar.
More posts to follow as I progress....
EDIT: I should add, I also will try to avoid other "free" services like Yahoo! and Hotmail-- basically anyone who wants to run bots through your mail to sell you ads or sell your data to others who want to sell you ads, etc. I will be trying to use open-source or for-pay services where possible (if it's "free" then YOU'RE the product!).

I commend your ambition, but this is nothing new. There are already non-Google Android handsets an tablets on the market. The Kindle Fire, for example, is non-Google.
You can do the same with a GNex. Just don't add a Google account or use a ROM without the gapps. Install the Amazon App Store, change your default search, and away you go.

please...stay safe

Personally the only Google apps I use are Gmail and the Play store, with an occasional use of maps and goggles.
Having a market is really just for convenience, you could install with APKs like on Windows you have to install from EXEs or MSIs. And if you're that against google you could just use the Amazon marketplace for stuff, though I've heard they take longer to receive updates.

In all honesty I don't know what to suggest except flashing 100% and not signing into Google services in any way or form. What you are asking is not possible unless you use apks from non market source and using Hotmail or something.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus expect possible typos.

If somebody figure out how to use Calendar, without creating google account for at least one time, or tell me the alternative calendar (not just widget) that will not sync with google, it would be nice. For example Smasung TW Launcher has it's own calendar, that you can choose, without google, but pure ICS does not have.
I have tryed many alternative, such as Jorte, Pocket Informant, etc, but they are far away from stock ...

I use:
1mobile.net
4shared.com (You also get 15gb cloud space free)
appbrain.com (get app from 4shared)

I absolutely love Google and all of their services. You're crazy! Good luck with it though.

Somebody needs to come out with a tinfoil hat edition ROM.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

sashavegas said:
If somebody figure out how to use Calendar, without creating google account for at least one time, or tell me the alternative calendar (not just widget) that will not sync with google, it would be nice. For example Smasung TW Launcher has it's own calendar, that you can choose, without google, but pure ICS does not have.
I have tryed many alternative, such as Jorte, Pocket Informant, etc, but they are far away from stock ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THIS is the point of the thread. Replacing Android Market with Amazon App Stores is completely simple and obvious. Getting contacts and calendar syncing, things like that are not so obvious. Mainly because I am not only going to avoid Google, but other services like Yahoo! or Hotmail, etc (anything that's "free" so they can monetize your data).

Stay off the grid bro
Sent from my francoPhone

ChongoDroid said:
Stay off the grid bro
Sent from my francoPhone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly! Lol.

Once you're connected to the internet, you're pretty much open to everyone... You can go offline if you don't want any of these... It's not only google... There's ways you can go anonymous like using proxy.... Using search engine that don't track search data... Google has an option for you to opt-in or opt out... Just like the previous responses, you can use amazon but don't think amazon doesn't track you also... How would they know what to recommend you... Google don't force users to stick only to them... And that's why I like google for this reason only...
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4g with Beats Audio

matt2053 said:
THIS is the point of the thread. Replacing Android Market with Amazon App Stores is completely simple and obvious. Getting contacts and calendar syncing, things like that are not so obvious. Mainly because I am not only going to avoid Google, but other services like Yahoo! or Hotmail, etc (anything that's "free" so they can monetize your data).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There should be some third party app that will do these things, well you use linux, you should know that there's a lot of alternatives... Try if the software you use in ubuntu are available for android
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4g with Beats Audio

Try this one, if you use thunderbird. Seems decent...
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.callicia.birdiesync
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4g with Beats Audio

AndroidNeophyte said:
Once you're connected to the internet, you're pretty much open to everyone... You can go offline if you don't want any of these... It's not only google... There's ways you can go anonymous like using proxy.... Using search engine that don't track search data... Google has an option for you to opt-in or opt out... Just like the previous responses, you can use amazon but don't think amazon doesn't track you also... How would they know what to recommend you... Google don't force users to stick only to them... And that's why I like google for this reason only...
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4g with Beats Audio
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The point isn't really to be 100% anonymous. That would require a dumbphone with prepaid sim or VPN/Proxy setups etc, and that's not what I'm look at. The point is to make an experiment and see how "non-Google" AOSP really is and how useful it is as a mobile OS on its own, without Google proprietary add-ons. Many people say you "have to have a Gmail account to use Android," or "you have to sync your contacts through Gmail" etc and I want to show people how they can do it without Google if they so choose.

AndroidNeophyte said:
Try this one, if you use thunderbird. Seems decent...
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.callicia.birdiesync
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4g with Beats Audio
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I saw that one and I plan to try it out. I do use Thunderbird, thanks!

AOSP + open source Exchange alternative for syncing Calendar/Email/Contacts hosted on your own server (ie Zimbra)
Sideload all apps
Voila!

matt2053 said:
THIS is the point of the thread. Replacing Android Market with Amazon App Stores is completely simple and obvious. Getting contacts and calendar syncing, things like that are not so obvious. Mainly because I am not only going to avoid Google, but other services like Yahoo! or Hotmail, etc (anything that's "free" so they can monetize your data).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
XDA monetizes your data. Every website does; that's how they pay for hosting and bandwidth.
Use a different calendar app and sync your contacts to Outlook, or just back them up somewhere.

Alright, but you should really start off removing the antenna from your smartphone. Then compile AOSP, don't flash GApps, sideload all APK files.
There, now you're off the grid. Enjoy boredom and next to no convenient functionality.

[LIST] System Apps that are SAFE* to remove!

while I was surfing the Older forums, i found one deep burried but useful post that mentions Which all apps are safe to remove from /system/apps folder. THANKS TO THE GUY WHO ACTUALLY POSTED THIS -- IonAphis
Please know that removing certain system app may interfere in smooth functioning of your phone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The list below describes all stock S5360 - S6102 (may be some app not listed) apks under /system/app. You can see this folder via RootExplorer or FileExplorer or the like, or see them through Titanium Backup, although they might be out of order and with different names (they will use the display name rather than apk name on Titanium).
YES -- Indicates an application can be removed, but please don´t remove them without reading the description.
NO -- Means an application is essential or pretty important for the functionality of your phone.
Some of these descriptions have been based off of Insanity´s I9000 Galaxy S ROM, however all of these have been tested on the S5360 S6102 (this is not just a copy paste, rather I based my original understanding of this list in his).
Use at your own risk, I cannot be held responsible if you break your phone.
If your are going to attempt this, first your should have some knowledge of flashing your phone via ODIN, because if you happen to delete something that was important to you, you might need to reflash.
Keep in mind you don´t need to delete apps right off the bat. You can rename them from Application.apk to Application.OLDapk or whatever. This will prevent your phone from recognizing them as applications without you having to fully remove them. When you are sure of your choices and want to free up space, go ahead and delete them.
Some firmware versions will have .odex files with the same name as the .apk. When deleting and apk, delete it´s respective .odex. If you are going to rename an .apk, then rename the .odex as well (aka Application.OLDodex)
AccountAndSyncSettings.apk -- NO, Sync settings, this is required, even if out don´t sync, this is because it syncs more than just calendar and contacts, it is the effective sync to your google account, required for just about anything.
ApplicationsProvider.apk -- NO, required for application installation and uninstall.
audioTuning.apk -- ?, not really sure about this one. I guess this is an automatic sound adjustment according to background noise, however I´ve never seen this into effect. If you´re feeling lucky, you can try removing it, however I´ve never monitored this actually showing up resource managers.
AxT9IME.apk -- YES, This is the stock Samsung keyboard. You can remove it, but even if you have swype, swype doesn´t have all of the keyboard layouts. I´d leave it, to my opinion, this is kind of essential.
BadgeProvider.apk -- NO, Something to do with messaging and email. Removing this causes SMS and email related apps to force close. Even if you manage to keep the program open for long enough without it foce closing, you won´t be able to send messages, they´ll just be stuck on "sending".
Bluetooth.apk -- YES, incorrectly named, this apk actually manages the Bluetooth printing rather than the bluetooth itself. If you have no need for bluetooth printing, this won´t ever be missed or will never bother you in any occasion.
BluetoothOPP.apk -- NO, this apk actually manages file transfer between phones. Remove this and you´ll never be able to transfer files. This actually includes streaming music through Car bluetooth and headsets, since they effectively speaking, file transfers.
BluetoothServices.apk -- NO, provides general framework for Bluetooth. If you´re going to use bluetooth for any reason, this apk is a must. Removing this one breaks all other bluetooth applications.
BluetoothTestMode.apk -- YES, this is activated when you need to test the fidelity of your bluetooth. You can do that by going into the test section by typing the secret code *#*#197328640#*#*. Removing it is possible, however, some BT connections actually test the bluetooth to measure how much data is transfered. This way, it calculates the buffer size it needs to use, and at what quality media can be streamed. Removing it can disrupt communications with those BT terminals or you can experience fade-outs, where while listening to songs, the sound will fade every few seconds, because of inadequate bandwith. (this can occur even with this application left as is, if your BT terminal doesn´t have the auto regulation feature)
Browser.apk -- YES, removing this will make you lose your browsing ability (not internet as a whole). If you have firefox or opera for android, and like those best, you can remove this without any problems.
BuddiesNow.apk -- YES, this is just that widget offered by the TouchWiz launcher. If you don´t use it, remove it.
CallSetting.apk -- NO, do you like to use your phone for... umm calling people? This is kind of essencial, it will allow call setting to be edited. Stuff like call waiting and forwarding will not work if you remove this, as well as other stuff I didn´t have time or willingness to test, as soon as I confirmed dialpad and other things while calling had been disabled.
Camera.apk -- NO, this is the camera application. If you find an alternative one (I don´t think there are any on the market) you could remove it.
CameraFirmware.apk -- NO, this is the actual ROM (if you will) for the camera. Without this, camera.apk is useless.
CertInstaller.apk -- NO, Installs certificates for the apps you install. I assume without this, you cannot give permissions for apps to do things and access certain folders and files. I´m guessing if you don´t have this installed, you couldn´t even install root on your phone. So in short, no.
ClockPackage.apk -- YES, however this controls the alarm clock, stopwatch, world time and timer. There are alternative applications online if you want, but this seems to do the job pretty well and all under the same apk.
Contacts.apk -- NO, this controls the contacts application (the contacts / groups / history / activities tabs). Removing this will make you have to call everyone by physically inputing their number.
ContactsProvider.apk -- NO, this controls contacts sync. Pretty useful if you still don´t use google contacs sync, you should try it. In theory if you don´t use it, you could remove it, but I don´t know what effect it would have on your contacts.
CSC.apk -- NO. This breaks CSC. According to insanity, this can be removed after first successful boot, but if you ever have to hard reset or restore factory settings, this will not allow you to boot successfully.
DataCreate.apk -- NO.
DialerTabActivity.apk -- NO. This controls the dialer. Even if you have all your contacts already stored, you cannot call them without this app.
Divx.apk -- YES. This is some licesing information for the video player. I don´t really watch alot of videos on my phone, but after removing this I´ve never had any problems. If you do remove it, and have problems, post it on the comments.
Dlna.apk -- YES. This is allshare. Never had any use for it, and it shall not be missed.
DownloadProvider.apk -- NO. Handles file downloads and market downloads.
DrmProvider.apk -- NO. In theory, you cannot remove it, it will break your ability to play DRM protected files, aka, Ringtones and SMS notifications. I´ve been in the process of de-DRMing my ringtone files. I would imagine, if you don´t have a reason to play DRM protected files, this could be removed. However keep in mind all DRM protected files will not be able to play. This apk takes up a lot of memory and stays on all the time on the background. It is one of my most hated apks, it serves no function rather than to protect you from copying or editing the stupid samsung ringtones.
DrmUA.apk -- NO, see above.
DualClock.apk -- YES. Dual clock widget. If you don´t need, remove it.
Email.apk -- NO. According to insanity, removing this will break things.Haven´t tried it yet though.
EnhancedGoogleSearchProvider.apk -- YES. This controls that ability to hold the menu button for a second or two and the search menu pop up. I usally keep it.
FactoryTest.apk -- YES. Removed it without any problems. If you have ever run autostarts, you´ll realize how much of a hog this apk really is during some actions.
FlashPlugin.apk -- YES. This allows flash content to be displayed, so even though you can, I don´t recommed it.
FlashSVGPlayer.apk -- YES. As far as I know, this is the player which provides you to view the flash content through the plugin above. Removing this might break your flashplugin.
FMRadio.apk -- YES. Radio player.
Gallery3D.apk -- YES. This is a battery hog. It´s that fancy 3D accelerometer enhanced gallery. If you remove it, you won´t be able to easily access photographs though. If you want a good replacement, I would suggest QuickPic, it does the job, it´s fast and doesn´t hog memory (although its not fancy like the 3D Gallery)
GlobalSearch.apk -- YES. This is the search function on your phone. Remember the Enhanced search this above, well, that actually accesses this to do the search. That can be removed and this will be fine (although you´ll have to access the search feature by the app drawer). But if you remove this, the enhanced search will be useless.
Gmail.apk -- YES. Don´t use gmail? It can be removed, but will break Talk.apk as well.
GmailProvider.apk -- YES. I guess it is tied to gmail.apk. See above.
GoogleApps.apk -- ?. This is didn´t even come installed on my phone, so I guess it´s not that important.
GoogleCheckin.apk -- ? Same as above.
GoogleContactsSyncAdapter.apk -- YES. Syncs contacts through google. This can be removed, but you won´t be able to sync contacts.
GooglePartnerSetup.apk -- NO.
GoogleSearch.apk -- YES. This is the google search widget you can add onto your launcher desktop.
GoogleSettingsProvider.apk -- NO.
GoogleSubscribedFeedsProvider.apk -- ?. Don´t know, this is not on my phone.
GpsSetup2.apk -- NO. This sets up GPS configurations.
gtalkservice.apk -- YES. You might have this as talk.apk or gtalkservice.apk, although it´s all the same thing, it´s Google Talk.
HTMLViewer.apk -- YES. No side effects were noticed when removing this.
HwCodec.apk -- ?. Don´t have this on my phone.
IcsService.apk -- ?. Don´t have this on my phone.
InfoAlarm.apk -- YES. This is the daily briefing widget. Don´t need it remove it.
InputEventApp.apk -- NO.
Layar-samsung.apk -- YES. Layar. Seems awesome on paper. Never has been of any use in reality.
LbsTestMode.apk -- YES. GPS testing mode. Can be accessed via *#*#197328640#*#*, but not needed per se.
lcdtest.apk -- YES. Removing this will cause your screen to not turn off when you lock your phone. By installing spare parts you can fix this, however if you don´t use spare parts for any other reason, that´s just replacing a passive apk for one that invades your phone on all levels. So I rather just leave it and not worry about it.
LogsProvider.apk -- NO. Lots of things will crash and force close if you do.
Maps.apk -- YES. Google Maps apk. If you don´t use it, remove it, but it is pretty useful, since it has gps navigation as well.
MarketUpdater.apk -- YES. Safe to remove but when the market gets updated you won´t be recieving the update.
MediaProvider.apk -- NO. Needed to access media files and ringtones.
MediaUploader.apk -- YES. This uploads pictures to picassa (facebook as well?). If you don´t need it, remove it.
Memo.apk -- YES. Remove it and you won´t be able to write memos though.
Mms.apk -- NO. This controls MMS sending and recieving on the phone.
MobileTrackerEngineTwo.apk -- YES. This app and the next control the tracker ability on your phone. What this does is if you lose your phone you can use this to track it down and find it. If it gets stolen, you can use this to lead the cops to the thief. Although this is an awesome idea, if you don´t live in a perfect world, it would be wiser not to go after the guy who stole your phone in case he decides to, hum..., go kill you afterwards... Besides, I live in Argentina, and the cops cannot be trusted to do this kind of job... they´ll tell you they can´t do anything. These things stay on memory all the time and really consume battery, so if you don´t care about this feature and really just take care of your stuff, you´ll not be needing these two apps.
MobileTrackerUI.apk -- YES. See Above. I forgot to mention though an extra feature this offers though. If you have these 2 apks installed, you have the samsung apps and singin (you´ll see them later further down), you can use another apk called wipereciever.apk to remotely wipe all the data on your phone, in case you are very privacy concious. However, removing any of these 2 apks, removing samsung apps and not setting up a samsung apps account before your phone gets stolen, this feature becomes disabled. Really in my opinion, its too much stuff to be worried about, and my phone doesn´t contain any nuclear launch codes. So I rely on my lock screen password to protect my data. (Most thieves don´t have the knowhow to crack the lockscreen protection and access the info inside the phone. At most they´ll get bored and might find the info on how to flash a new ROM or reset to factory settings, where your info will be deleted and your privacy sensitive stuff with it).
MtpApplication.apk -- YES. Required to sync with Kies. Do you flash your ROMs rather than update through Kies, this is useless to you then. (Updating through Kies is the equivalent of upgrading from XP to windows 7. It does the job, but it never works as well as installing from scratch.)
MusicPlayer.apk -- YES. This is the music player. If you remove this, you can still preview sounds and stuff through the SoundPlayer.apk. This can be effectively replace by PowerAMP and Winamp. In fact, if you have a stable music player alternative installed, I would recommend you delete this, since it could cause clashes and you might even get both players playing different songs at the same time via Bluetooth.
MyFiles.apk -- YES. This is the default file viewer installed by Samsung. If you use RootExplorer, this is kind of pointless. However, I sometime do things on the go and need to access things fast. I usually use this for everyday use and leave RootExplorer just to do alterations such as what we are doing in this list, so as to not delete important things by accident.
NetworkLocation.apk -- YES. This is the semi-accurate GPS simulation. It uses Cellphone Cell information to estimate your location, rather than using the battery hog GPS antenna. If you remove this, things like automatic weather location will be broken (you´ll have to input your location manually). I usually leave this on, because since it uses the very GSM network used by the phone, it seems like hitting two birds with one stone. Using the real GPS will force you to have two antennas working together. This wastes a lot of battery, and really most of the time the network location does a pretty good job of narrowing down your location. If you use GPS A LOT, I recommed just buying one of those TomToms or Garmin GPS, it has better maps, better accuracy and the very device is optimized to use only the GPS antenna, therefore wasting less battery, and not wasting your phone battery life.
OtaProvisioningService.apk -- NO. According to insanity, this is required. However see wssyncmlnps.apk to get more of an idea.
PackageInstaller.apk -- NO.
Personalization.apk -- NO.
Phone.apk -- NO. Remove this and you won´t have the dialer application. Even though your phone will theoretically work, you just won´t be able to dial out or view missed calls and stuff.
PhoneCrashNotifier.apk -- ?. Don´t know, my phone doesn´t have this.
PhoneErrService.apk -- NO.
Phone_Util.apk -- NO.
PicoTts.apk -- YES. This is part of the text to speech (not speech to text). If you´re blind, this is kind of important, because the phone will read via a a robotic voice things to you. This is also part of the Google GPS application where it will tell you "turn left" "keep right". If you remove this, GPS navigation will work, you just won´t have someone talking to you. If you decide to remove this, remove TtsService.apk as well.
Preconfig.apk -- NO.
RilFactoryApp.apk -- ?. The galaxy 3 seems to be the only phone in the world that has this. Nowhere I have seen is this apk mentioned. I have no idea what this does.
SamsungApps.apk -- YES. Samsung apps, if you remove this, you can remove signin.apk as well. If you remove this, and you manage your music and have apps via Kies, they might not work, however Kies will still connect (if you want to update firmware via Kies). By removing this, your samsung and touchwiz widgets will still work.
SamsungWidget_CalendarClock.apk -- YES. Calendar clock widget.
SamsungWidget_FeedAndUpdate.apk -- YES. Feeds and Updates widget.
SamsungWidget_StockClock.apk -- YES. Stock clock widget.
SamsungWidget_WeatherClock.apk -- YES. Weather clock widget.
SecDownloadProvider.apk -- NO. I believe this has to do with the maket, so I´d just leave it alone.
serviceModeApp.apk -- NO. Required for secret codes and service tasks, such as those accessed by secret codes.
Settings.apk -- NO. Isn´t settings explicit enough?
SettingsProvider.apk -- NO. Some Carriers will send you settings via sms or internal message. This is mostly for those people who don´t really know how to configure their phone (anyone not reading XDA ). Although it seems banal, it could be useful at some point, and some people have reported things force closing because of this
SetupWizard.apk -- NO. In theory can be deleted after first successful boot. However this could cause problems if you need to factory reset
shutdown.apk -- NO. Tells you your battery is low and manages shutdown notifications.
signin.apk -- YES. See SamsungApps.apk
SisoDrmProvider.apk -- NO. Has to do with the DRM. If you successfully manage to remove DRMUA and DRMService, maybe this can be removed as well. Don´t know, haven´t been able to rid my phone from drm still.
SnsAccount.apk -- YES. Does the feeds sync with facebook and twitter. Without this, you won´t be informed of new tweets of your friends saying "OMG! I´m at the toilet reading cosmo magazine. LOLZ".
SnsProvider.apk -- YES. See above.
SoundPlayer.apk -- YES. This, not to be confused with MusicPlayer.apk plays sounds and previews ringtones. Even though it can be removed, you´ll be pretty limited if you do, since it works a bit faster and to the point than MusicPlayer. It doesn´t genera playlist, history and has no visualization. It just plain to the point plays sounds. Even if you have Winamp, PowerAMP, cubed or whatever I recommend keeping this.
Stk.apk -- YES. You know those annoying menus your carrier offers you, you know, to inform you about your hororscope (no I didn´t misspell it), roaming information or traffic information, making you send a message so they can send you the info back? This is the menu apk for that. Don´t want to download your carrier (payed) games or apps telling you bad jokes? Delete this.
Street.apk -- YES. Streetview for Google Maps. Removing it will not break google maps, but you won´t get to view street pictures.
Swype.apk -- YES. Swype keyboard, and awesome alternative to samsung´s. It does a good job at predicting text, but not essential if you like to manually type all words out.
syncmldm.apk -- YES. Device Management. I read something somewhere but don´t really remember what it was. I deleted this accidentally while trying to delete syncmlds.apk but nothing has broken yet...
syncmlds.apk -- YES. This has to do with the Synchronize page options in the settings menu. If you don´t use it, it has no meaning in your life.
Talk.apk -- YES. Google Talk. There was some chatter about removing this breaking Gmail or the Market. As far as I´ve read, this can be removed, although I still haven´t gotten around to trying it out.
TalkProvider.apk -- YES. See above.
TelephonyProvider.apk -- NO.
thinkdroid.apk -- YES. This is the mobile version of a microsoft office clone. Removing this will not let you open .doc or .xls or .pps on your phone.
TouchWiz30Launcher.apk -- NO. Even though if you use Zeam or LauncherPro or GoLauncher, removing this is kind of dangerous. Let me explain. A while ago when I was a virgin at ODIN flashing and new to the phone, i deleted this because I was using LauncherPRO. I had also deleted something that made my phone force close all the time. I didn´t trust flashing yet, and in my haste, I decided to restore factory settings. The thing is, when you do that, it deletes all non stock apps and reconfigures the phone to use stock apps. When I that, even though the phone booted, I couldn´t access anything, because launchers also control the appdrawer. My phone was literally blank, although if was working. The problem is, if you factory reset, the settings that control your USB connection as MODEM or PDA go back to its original settings. As mine did. So I couldn´t get to anywhere on my phone and couldn´t get my computer to recognize the phone. Until I flashed it via Odin (after a 7 hour desperation overnight, and finding some miracle Samsung USB x64 drivers for mobile phones on a forum) the phone was in effect soft bricked.
If you remove anything from this list and have problems, you can factory reset or prepare you contacts and apps for a flashing via ODIN. If you delete however, you won´t even be able to prepare yourself or backup anything. I wish this upon no one, so I advise keeping this, just to be on the safe side.
TouchWizCalculator.apk -- YES. Calculator app, although can be removed, it´s pretty cool and functional.
TouchWizCalendar.apk -- YES. Calendar app, although can be removed, it´s pretty cool and functional.
TouchWizCalendarProvider.apk -- NO. This has something to do with calendar sync and seems to be the connection between the calendar app and the phone´s internal calendar and date settings.
TtsService.apk -- YES. See PicoTts.apk
TwWallpaperChooser.apk -- YES. Wallpaper Chooser. If you have 3DGallery or QuickPic installed, you can use those to set wallpaper, even though there are some wallpapers (internal to this apk) you won´t get.
UNAService.apk -- ?. I have no idea what this is, and so doesn´t insanity.
UserDictionaryProvider.apk -- YES. You know when you add new words, like names and nicknames to your keyboard prediction? This is where those are kept. Delete this and you´ll have to write like the English Academy of Words wants you to write. LOLZ and WTF won´t be recognized as words and you´ll have to write them out everytime you write them, rather than it being available to you via prediction.
Vending.apk -- NO. Part of the Android Market. Actually this IS the Market.
VideoPlayer.apk -- YES. Video player. Do as you wish.
VoiceDialer.apk -- YES. Allows you to dial by speaking someone´s name. Most people´s names when I say them, tend to return something entirely different from what I was looking for. Sometimes though, it surprises. For some reason this sometimes doesn´t work if you don´t have mobile internet activated, making me believe this actually sends via internet the recording, and an algorith somewhere in the Google empire sends the decodification back... Very ineffective.
VoiceRecorder.apk -- YES. Allows you to record your voice. Some people complain the quality is too low, however I use this as a notepad, rather than writing my to-do list, I speak them. Much faster and much easier. Don´t see why something such as this would need audiophile levels of quality.
VpnServices.apk -- YES. VPN for Android. Perhaps gMote or applications that allow you to control your phone via PC desktop might require this. I don´t , so I delete it, and it doesn´t break anything.
wipereceiver.apk -- YES. Remember mobile tracker? This is the apk that lets you wipe your data remotely.
WlanTest.apk -- YES. Tests wireless settings, via the same test menu mentioned on the above test apks. Required for OTA updates.
WriteandGo.apk -- YES. Write and Go application.
wssomacp.apk -- NO. Required for SMS messaging.
wssyncmlnps.apk -- YES. This is Over The Air Programming. What this does is if your provider decides it has a better way to configure your device or alterations to do to improve something, they´ll send you a message telling to dial such and such number. Your phone will go into download mode and somethings will be updated. My carrier never has done such things, and really I trust the guys from XDA to configure my phone way better than my carrier. I usually remove this.
YouTube.apk -- YES. Since android has limited flash support, this application allows you to take the full youtube experience, rather than having to access youtube through the browser. Delete it if you don´t watch videos.

thanks! really helpful!

Thanks bro nice one
Sent from my GT-S5360 using xda premium

that list needs a rename of some sort. There's apps there that my phone doesn't have or are named different, making it very difficult to follow along which apps to remove and which to keep.

i felt like reading a bible
nice one

nice i will try this.

i'm afraid this list is outdated. we already have the updated one for sgy.

kurotsugi said:
i'm afraid this list is outdated. we already have the updated one for sgy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes friend i found it other forum ..so.i posted hare.....plz pm me updated one i update my thread with credit.....
Sent from my GT-S6102 using Tapatalk 2

you can check the newest one on FAQ section.

Thanks bro. It's helpful.

wo ho ho...
such a long list ...
nice...
but ut reminds me of somethimg that i want to ask..
recently my phone was auto-bricked ...
i was not able to acces any apps like dialler or msgs...
however menu and home screen were working...
but after some time..
evem home screen force close..
nd my phone shows nothing else than black screen....
thought restart gonna make everything okay i made a restart..
nd boom..soft brick..
odin made it back to life but i still want to know what was the reason..
was it because these apps got del. bythemself...
can a virus do that.?
(just to be sure)...
rooting is new for me...and i am noob to root...

check this out :
very reliable !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wohooo....gonna update my script to this
Checkout my signature

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1993601
tagged thread on the same subject

Thank You Sir! It's pretty helpful

Nice work
Very helpful
Can u tell me why some apps force closes when installed in system??
Sent from my GT-S5360

Ohh yes..
Good job man.
Helpful.
Sent from Earth

Accidentally deleted account&sync by titanium backup
Dear sir accidentally i deleted account&sync by titanium backup and when i install new account&sync.apk it was not installing .Please help me ASAP.

[Q] T-Mob Bloatware Removal

Anyone figure out how to remove the T-Mobile Hotspot app? I used Titanium to remove pretty much every other crApps but can't seem to isolate that stupid app. I'm rooted and waiting for more custom ROMs, but would love to get rid of the needless bloat in the meantime. Also... Is there any other hidden apps (Carrier IQ, etc) that I could remove? How do we do it?

Check the development section. It should solve your problem
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

Yep. I did. Didn't see it there after searching so figure I'd post the question here since it's not really development related.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

twosixths said:
Anyone figure out how to remove the T-Mobile Hotspot app? I used Titanium to remove pretty much every other crApps but can't seem to isolate that stupid app. I'm rooted and waiting for more custom ROMs, but would love to get rid of the needless bloat in the meantime. Also... Is there any other hidden apps (Carrier IQ, etc) that I could remove? How do we do it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Searched and searched but can't find a list of bloatware that are safe to uninstall using Titanium. If you happen to find one please share.
Thanks in advance.

Download and flash the ashman aroma installer by Mr robinson. It's a bloat remover tool. Last I checked it was in the themes and apps section
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

this is from the international forums.. use with caution!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1667140

These are the ones I've disabled so far thru the stock applications manager..
Allshare controller
Allshare play
Amazon
Bonus apps
Chaton
Email
Exchange services
Game hub
Google play books
Google play movies
Google play music
Google plus
Kies air
Media hub
Mobile life contacts
Music hub
S suggest
S voice
Samsung account
Samsung apps
Samsung backup provider
Samsung cloud data relay
Samsung cloud syncadapters
Tmobile name id
Tmobile tv
Yahoo finance
Yahoo news

paul.p said:
These are the ones I've disabled so far thru the stock applications manager..
Allshare controller
Allshare play
Amazon
Bonus apps
Chaton
Email
Exchange services
Game hub
Google play books
Google play movies
Google play music
Google plus
Kies air
Media hub
Mobile life contacts
Music hub
S suggest
S voice
Samsung account
Samsung apps
Samsung backup provider
Samsung cloud data relay
Samsung cloud syncadapters
Tmobile name id
Tmobile tv
Talk
Talkback
Yahoo finance
Yahoo news
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same ones i have uninstalled via titanium.. i cannot seem to find the t mobile hot spot app to uninstall..
and also i did not uninstall exchange services, i see that you have disabled it, does it cause any problems? because i always see it running in my services, didn't know if it is anything important.

Crisisx1 said:
same ones i have uninstalled via titanium.. i cannot seem to find the t mobile hot spot app to uninstall..
and also i did not uninstall exchange services, i see that you have disabled it, does it cause any problems? because i always see it running in my services, didn't know if it is anything important.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had it off for over a week now and no problem I can see.

paul.p said:
These are the ones I've disabled so far thru the stock applications manager..
Allshare controller
Allshare play
Amazon
Bonus apps
Chaton
Email
Exchange services
Game hub
Google play books
Google play movies
Google play music
Google plus
Kies air
Media hub
Mobile life contacts
Music hub
S suggest
S voice
Samsung account
Samsung apps
Samsung backup provider
Samsung cloud data relay
Samsung cloud syncadapters
Tmobile name id
Tmobile tv
Yahoo finance
Yahoo news
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you share how to do it on non-root phone? thx

DandroidT said:
Can you share how to do it on non-root phone? thx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On a non-rooted phone, you can only disable from the Application Manager. To remove from your phone completely, you have to root it first.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

ikhtiaralam said:
On a non-rooted phone, you can only disable from the Application Manager. To remove from your phone completely, you have to root it first.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but when I go to Setting->Application Manager->ChatON (as an example), I only see 2 options, Force stop and Uninstall updates. I did not see any disable option.

You have to uninstall updates before it will give you the option to disable.
Keep in mind not all system apps will have the option. But uninstall updates, and then see what it says.

check this thread for a more detailed list(also in the international forum)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1634624

Thanks for the list. I'll give it a shot.
Sent from my T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S3.

DandroidT said:
Can you share how to do it on non-root phone? thx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe you have to be rooted

Does freezing with Titanium do the same as uninstalling? I'm afraid to uninstall, in case I need to go back to stock (I already deleted a couple apps, I want to be able to get my warranty if needed).

So has anyone removed the Hotspot app? I keep seeing run-arounds removing other bloatware (which does help!) but specifically, can the "T Mobile Hotspot" app be removed? What's it named and where's it located? It's the last piece of bloat I have.

Samsung backup provider
Samsung cloud data relay
Samsung cloud syncadapters
What exactly do these three items do? Can I still download movies like the Avengers? I am guessing these are similar to google backups for contacts/ calenders etc. I see them running all the time.

This works great. Used it on Wicked rom and on Domination V2.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2075993
Ok son, please put the 50 cal down nice and slow....

[Q] Safe bloat ware/apks to uninstall?

Greetings member, hope your all well...
Just downloaded the stock firemware again on the phone. Running good, and good to see my internal sd and RAM not full yet. Spent a while trying to find accurate info'/links on apks/system app/bloats etc that can be safety removed.... No such luck yet.
If any one has link/info' on safe apks/system app/bloats to remove it would be nice to know, and delete them soon..
Found this page, it's not very detailed and I reckon I would need some of the apks listed http://www.droidviews.com/list-of-b...ng-galaxy-devices-that-can-be-safely-removed/
I downloaded nobloat free yesterday, says it can move the aps to ex ds them re install later. I tried, can not re install on the apks I deleted already
Any info' on safe bloat ware removal would be great. Thanks guys n ' gals
Alex

mr_b_alex said:
Greetings member, hope your all well...
Just downloaded the stock firemware again on the phone. Running good, and good to see my internal sd and RAM not full yet. Spent a while trying to find accurate info'/links on apks/system app/bloats etc that can be safety removed.... No such luck yet.
If any one has link/info' on safe apks/system app/bloats to remove it would be nice to know, and delete them soon..
Found this page, it's not very detailed and I reckon I would need some of the apks listed http://www.droidviews.com/list-of-b...ng-galaxy-devices-that-can-be-safely-removed/
I downloaded nobloat free yesterday, says it can move the aps to ex ds them re install later. I tried, can not re install on the apks I deleted already
Any info' on safe bloat ware removal would be great. Thanks guys n ' gals
Alex
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is a list of apps that can be removed.. But Understand what you are doing:
Active applications
AllShare Play
AllShare Service
Best Face
Bluetooth Test 1.0
Bubbles 1.0
ChatON
Chrome
Clock (Digital)
Clock (Modern)
Deep Sea 1.0
DirectConnectManager
Dual Clock (Analogue)
Dual Clock (Digital)
Email 4.0
Exchange Service
Face Unlock
Favorite Apps
Flash Annotate
Flash AnnotateSvc
Game Hub
Google Play Magazine
Google Play Music
Google+
Group Play
Help 1.0
Kies Via Wi-Fi
Live Wallpaper
Luminous dots 1.0
Mobile Print
Mobile Tracker
Music FX 1.4
Nearby Devices
PageBuddyNotiSvc 1.0
Phase Beam 1.0
Photo wall
Picasa Uploader
Pickup Tutorial
Polaris Viewer
S Memo
S Note Provider
S Planner Widget
S Suggest
S Voice
Samsung account
Samsung Apps
Samsung Browser
Samsung Calendar
Samsung Cloud
Samsung Contact
Samsung Push Services
Samsung Setup Wizard
Samsung Snote SyncAdapter
Samsung Syncadapters
Samsung TTS
SamsungAppsUNA2
SASlideShow 1.0
Simple Alarm Clock
SNS
Talk
Talkback
Task provider
Trim 38.6
User manual
Weather Daemon
Weather Widget
Weather Widget Main
Windy Weather
Wlan Test
Yahoo Finance
Yahoo News
You can use Root Uninstaller, for removing bloatwares, it will automatically the copy of APK which you are uninstalling.Hope your phone is rooted, as rooting is essential to remove bloatwares/system apps

Hey DMJoh, thanks for the info'
I had on mine also (first in list) acu weather widget apk and also acu weather something, there the first to go, reckon chat on will become chat OFF very soon

Weather Daemon (0.06%)- Battery Stats Plus
battery.rootuninstaller.com/app?pkg=com.sec.android.daemonapp.ap...
Weather Daemon battery usage stats on Android devices: 0.06% ... Battery Statistic on Android-powered Device Report (update 21 March 2013)
(This one gone to weatherdemon)

Please note for s3 prob' still relevant.Looks good info'
http://www.downloads.galaxyunlocker...e-Samsung-Galaxy-S3-S2-GalaxyUnlocker.com.pdf

Okay Cool.. So what are you trying to say? Anyways, everything is fine i hope, Bro!

DMJoh said:
Okay Cool.. So what are you trying to say? Anyways, everything is fine i hope, Bro!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just mean't the info' is about the weather demon apk, saw a few bits on google about the battery consumption on it, that's all. Was a 'lazy' cut n paste..
Hey DMJoh, I have deleted the windy weather apk amonst others apks, though can see the apk for deleting the stockwall live and the news wall live paper. Know where these 2 apk are 'hidden' by any chance? There not on any root uninstaller list.
Thanks for any info',
Alex

mr_b_alex said:
Just mean't the info' is about the weather demon apk, saw a few bits on google about the battery consumption on it, that's all. Was a 'lazy' cut n paste..
Hey DMJoh, I have deleted the windy weather apk amonst others apks, though can see the apk for deleting the stockwall live and the news wall live paper. Know where these 2 apk are 'hidden' by any chance? There not on any root uninstaller list.
Thanks for any info',
Alex
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use any Root File Explorer apps, i personally prefer Xplore, but it depends on your mindset.. Okay, whatever, see you can find these apks in /Root/system/app. If it is there, just simply delete it. If you want a backup copy move it to some other location, say External SD.
But understand removing live wallpaper picker may sometime creates FC. But am not sure about that, see to it.

DMJoh said:
You can use any Root File Explorer apps, i personally prefer Xplore, but it depends on your mindset.. Okay, whatever, see you can find these apks in /Root/system/app. If it is there, just simply delete it. If you want a backup copy move it to some other location, say External SD.
But understand removing live wallpaper picker may sometime creates FC. But am not sure about that, see to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, xplore is good, now deleted the ES file explore ap'... Using Xplore, have ticked see hidden files box, though still can't find that sneaky apk stockwall live and the news wall live paper apk? Ar well,no worries
Cheers

mr_b_alex said:
Thanks, xplore is good, now deleted the ES file explore ap'... Using Xplore, have ticked see hidden files box, though still can't find that sneaky apk stockwall live and the news wall live paper apk? Ar well,no worries
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the apk is livewallpaper picker something like that, am not sure, search a bit in dat folder.. Also see /Root/system/priv-app. But you should be careful deleting files in that folder. Sorry i cant exactly remember the name of those apks, am not on stock now!
There is an apk called SecWallpaperChooser.apk, its the app which chooses wallpaper, not live walls, so dont delete it,
You need superuser access that you can enable in Configuration menu of Xplore.

DMJoh said:
I think the apk is livewallpaper picker something like that, am not sure, search a bit in dat folder.. Also see /Root/system/priv-app. But you should be careful deleting files in that folder. Sorry i cant exactly remember the name of those apks, am not on stock now!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK cool thanks for the intel':good:.Will have a look. Think I will not delete anything I am not sure of, after last week deleting the actually live wall paper, all good now though, reflashed stock firmware

DMJoh said:
I think the apk is livewallpaper picker something like that, am not sure, search a bit in dat folder.. Also see /Root/system/priv-app. But you should be careful deleting files in that folder. Sorry i cant exactly remember the name of those apks, am not on stock now!
There is an apk called SecWallpaperChooser.apk, its the app which chooses wallpaper, not live walls, so dont delete it,
You need superuser access that you can enable in Configuration menu of Xplore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool, thanks alot for your info' again

Go the Google way?

So, eBay willing I will get my Huawei Mate Xs in about 10 days time.
And I have a difficult decision ahead of me. Do I Google or not?
Installing GMS and the Google apps will make my phone more like my existing Android device. But it will also introduce inevitable stability (and possibly security) issues.
Sticking to the Huawei apps avoids these, but limits my options somewhat.
What do you guys think. Do I Google or not?

If you can do without Google docs and drive, I say skip the Google hack. It's kinda risky. Even if you use the Mate XS as is without the hack, you can still use some Google services.
Gmail still works through Microsoft Outlook. Google calendar works through Business Calendar. Google Maps load fine even though can't sign in. Chrome works. Facebook Instagram WhatsApp all work.
So the only thing I use often that's missing for me is really Google drive, doc, YouTube. For latter I just go on the web browser to watch and it's ok. Not as good as app but not terrible.
I made a video of the whole setup if you're interested.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JBzmPXS7KrA&
rcs1000 said:
So, eBay willing I will get my Huawei Mate Xs in about 10 days time.
And I have a difficult decision ahead of me. Do I Google or not?
Installing GMS and the Google apps will make my phone more like my existing Android device. But it will also introduce inevitable stability (and possibly security) issues.
Sticking to the Huawei apps avoids these, but limits my options somewhat.
What do you guys think. Do I Google or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

radioraheem2 said:
If you can do without Google docs and drive, I say skip the Google hack. It's kinda risky. Even if you use the Mate XS as is without the hack, you can still use some Google services.
Gmail still works through Microsoft Outlook. Google calendar works through Business Calendar. Google Maps load fine even though can't sign in. Chrome works. Facebook Instagram WhatsApp all work.
So the only thing I use often that's missing for me is really Google drive, doc, YouTube. For latter I just go on the web browser to watch and it's ok. Not as good as app but not terrible.
I made a video of the whole setup if you're interested.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JBzmPXS7KrA&
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. I'm using stock browser, email, and messenger. I can do almost everything just as if I was using Google.

misleading
radioraheem2 said:
If you can do without Google docs and drive, I say skip the Google hack. It's kinda risky. Even if you use the Mate XS as is without the hack, you can still use some Google services.
Gmail still works through Microsoft Outlook. Google calendar works through Business Calendar. Google Maps load fine even though can't sign in. Chrome works. Facebook Instagram WhatsApp all work.
So the only thing I use often that's missing for me is really Google drive, doc, YouTube. For latter I just go on the web browser to watch and it's ok. Not as good as app but not terrible.
I made a video of the whole setup if you're interested.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JBzmPXS7KrA&
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
all due respect that video is not yours. its Ben from ben gadget review. please stop lying

rcs1000 said:
So, eBay willing I will get my Huawei Mate Xs in about 10 days time.
And I have a difficult decision ahead of me. Do I Google or not?
Installing GMS and the Google apps will make my phone more like my existing Android device. But it will also introduce inevitable stability (and possibly security) issues.
Sticking to the Huawei apps avoids these, but limits my options somewhat.
What do you guys think. Do I Google or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can have the best of both worlds by downloading vmos. I have the Huawei mate xs and it is working well.

The issue I have with VMOS is that I know *nothing* about the company who makes it. You are giving an awful lot of power to a company where the owners are unknown, that has no obvious revenue model, and where the code is closed source.
I sent a message using their contact us form, to understand what they were doing and to see if I could help with commercialisation (I'm a reasonably successful tech entrepreneur).
But I got no response.
So... I might use VMOS to run Uber in, but I'm not connecting my Google account to it.

Just got mine, tried without... but it was just not possible, there were about 10 apps I use regularly that do not want to work without Google services. Plus there are several apps I have purchased that I could either not use at all or would have had to use the free version full of ads - just not an option.
The videos posted in this thread were really hard to follow, ommitted important steps etc.
For me this one was great, even if it was still a pain and I needed 3 hard resets before getting there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYOU_YxrHhc
Now I only have 2 apps I can't use: Google Play music (but that plays fine in the browser so no big deal, also on VMOS if needed to be offline), and... the most stupid of things, the McDonald's app for getting coupons. That damn app is more protected than games and banking apps, it's ridiculous... it won't run on VMOS either.
EDIT: Damn it's been a while since I've been here, [email protected]

radioraheem2 said:
If you can do without Google docs and drive, I say skip the Google hack. It's kinda risky. Even if you use the Mate XS as is without the hack, you can still use some Google services.
Gmail still works through Microsoft Outlook. Google calendar works through Business Calendar. Google Maps load fine even though can't sign in. Chrome works. Facebook Instagram WhatsApp all work.
So the only thing I use often that's missing for me is really Google drive, doc, YouTube. For latter I just go on the web browser to watch and it's ok. Not as good as app but not terrible.
I made a video of the whole setup if you're interested.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JBzmPXS7KrA&
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What about youtube music or banking apps?

Youtube Music works for me. Google play music didn't but since that's going to be killed shortly and once should migrate to YTM and use that it's what I did.
Banking apps most of mine work, only one doesn't.

im think for buy the huawei xs but if the xda dont want unlock root ....

I'm getting mine tomorrow and I'll try it without GMS and see how I like it. Biggest drawback I see is the lack of native Youtube app support, I prefer not to use the browser version.