Bloatware is a word construct from the English "bloat", meaning to inflate, and software. Bloatware is therefore more rarely referred to as bloat. The term stands for often unnecessary, pre-installed software that offers you as a user no added value. On the contrary - the cell phone becomes slower and overloaded with additional functions. We explain to you what bloatware actually is, why it exists in the first place and how you can get rid of it.
What is bloatware?
To a certain extent, bloatware describes a state that makes either your Windows, Android, iOS or macOS operating system noticeably slower. The reason for this is that the additional, unnecessary software also requires hardware performance. This often runs unsolicited in the background and uses up your device's resources. The term, derived from the English, therefore metaphorically describes the process of inflation. Overloaded software, which is also often buggy, consumes system resources. These could otherwise be used for other important processes and thus also make the device, be it smartphone or PC, work visibly faster. The problem is not even apparent to many users. The unwanted software, some of which you cannot remove at all,is active in the background and uses up valuable device resources. The apps that have already been installed send data to the manufacturer unnoticed.
Before you decide to uninstall various bloatware, we explain to you why it exists at all and how the manufacturers profit from it..
Why is bloatware preinstalled?
Many manufacturers of Android smartphones no longer deliver their devices with only the basic functions of the Android operating system. Samsung should be mentioned as an example. In addition to countless social media apps and games, you will also find pre-installed, in-house calendar apps from the manufacturer. For example, users can smell spyware in the preinstalled "Device Care" smartphone app from Samsung. The modified operating systems are motivated by financial advantages. If you buy something via a pre-installed shopping app, the manufacturer receives a commission. Is a social media app preinstalled? Of course, the manufacturer also gets money for this from the third-party provider. A financial gain through pure data collection using unwanted software is also a common reason.
Windows is not spared from bloatware either. Candy Crash or the Xbox app does not need a user as standard, but the Windows manufacturers will still pre-install various software for you. Why? So that you can make purchases with it and Microsoft also earns from it..
How can you remove bloatware?
If you want to erase the redundant software from your device, check out the following posts:
- Delete preinstalled apps on Android without root
- Uninstall preinstalled apps on Windows
For macOS and iOS there is now the option of uninstalling system apps and bloatware in the conventional way:
- Delete apps from iPhone
- macO: Uninstall programs