Preinstalled Facebook, Netflix and Microsoft apps on Android

Many Android phones arrive with apps from companies other than the phone maker: Facebook, Netflix, Microsoft OneDrive and Office, LinkedIn, Spotify, games, travel and shopping apps. They are there because of deals between those companies, the phone maker and sometimes the carrier. Most of them can be removed like any app you installed. A few are built in more deeply, and some come back.

Why do phones come with Facebook, Netflix and Microsoft apps?

App companies pay or partner with phone makers and carriers to be on the phone from the first day. For the phone maker it is income or a feature deal; for the app company it is a head start. The arrangements differ by model, country and carrier, so two people with "the same" phone can have different preloads.

These apps come in three forms:

• Regular apps installed during setup or at the factory. They uninstall like anything else.
• Apps built into the system image. Settings offers only Disable.
• Helper services with no icon that install or update the partner's apps.

Can I uninstall them?

Usually, yes. Touch and hold the icon and tap Uninstall, or open Settings > Apps, choose the app and tap Uninstall. If you see only Disable, the app is part of the system image. Disable stops it completely: it cannot run, show notifications or update. To remove it for your user as well, use ADB; see how to uninstall system apps with ADB.

If you want the app, keep it. Preinstalled copies of Facebook, Netflix or OneDrive are the same apps as the ones on the Play Store and update the same way.

What are Meta App Manager, Meta Services and Meta App Installer?

On many Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Motorola and carrier phones you will find three Meta packages with no icon:

• com.facebook.appmanager: Meta App Manager, which updates Meta's apps.
• com.facebook.services: Meta Services, which supports Meta's apps on the device.
• com.facebook.system: Meta App Installer, which can install Meta apps, for example during setup.

They have no settings of their own and do nothing visible. If you do not use Facebook, Instagram, Messenger or WhatsApp, disable all three. If you do use them, the Play Store keeps those apps updated anyway, so disabling the helpers is still usually fine. Their verdict is Safe to disable.

Which preloads are harder to remove?

• Facebook on some Samsung and carrier phones, installed as a system app: Disable or ADB only.
• Netflix's partner activation package, com.netflix.partner.activation, a helper with no icon that ships next to preinstalled Netflix on some phones. Disable it if you do not use Netflix.
• Microsoft apps on Samsung phones, such as OneDrive (com.microsoft.skydrive), Microsoft 365 (com.microsoft.office.officehubrow) and LinkedIn (com.linkedin.android). On most models they uninstall normally; on some, they are disable-only.
• Carrier-installed partner apps, which may be reinstalled by the carrier's setup tool after a reset.

Why do some preinstalled apps come back?

There are four usual reasons:

1. A factory reset restores the original software, preloads included.
2. Setup runs an installer. Some phone makers and carriers include a service that offers or installs partner apps during setup, and again after a reset. Read setup screens carefully and untick suggested apps.
3. An installer helper is still enabled. If Meta App Installer or a carrier setup tool is enabled, it can put its apps back.
4. A major system update reinstalls apps it ships a new version of. See what changes after an Android update.

Disabling the helper services, not just the apps, stops most returns.

Do preinstalled apps collect data if I never open them?

An app can reach only what its permissions allow. Check App info > Permissions for each preload: a preinstalled app can hold permissions you never granted yourself, because the phone maker can grant them in advance. Helper services can run in the background to check for updates or report that they are installed, which is why they appear in battery and data lists. If you want to be sure, check each preload's permissions in App info, or disable it. Our package pages describe what each documented package reads or sends, with sources, and say so when the evidence is thin.

How do I remove them cleanly?

1. Uninstall every partner app that offers Uninstall.
2. Disable the ones that only offer Disable.
3. Disable the helper services: the three Meta packages, Netflix partner activation, and any carrier setup helper you no longer need.
4. Save your list, and re-check it after updates and resets.

The brand lists name the preloads for each maker: Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus and OPPO, Motorola and the carriers.