Delete Apps on Android

If you need to clear out some space on your device, uninstalling old apps is a great place to start. You can quickly uninstall any app that you've downloaded from the Play Store. If the app came preloaded on your device, you'll have to jump through a few hoops in order to get rid of it. You can also disable any apps that you can't get rid of.

Steps

Uninstalling Downloaded Apps

  1. Open the Settings app. You can delete any app that you've downloaded using the Settings app on your device. Open the Settings app from your app drawer.
    • You cannot use this method to uninstall apps that came preloaded on your device. See the Delete-Apps-on-Android for details on removing preloaded apps.
  2. Tap "Apps" or "Applications." This will open your device's application manager.
  3. Swipe to the "Downloads" tab. This tab contains all of the apps that you have downloaded from the Play Store or installed from other sources. The "Downloads" tab is usually the leftmost tab.
  4. Find and tap the app that you want to delete. Scroll through the list of downloaded apps and tap the one that you want to delete. This will open the details for that app.
  5. Tap the "Uninstall" button. You will be prompted to confirm that you want to remove the app. Tap "OK" to confirm that you want to delete it.
    • If you can't find an "Uninstall" button and only see an "Uninstall updates" or "Disable" button, the app came preloaded on your device. Even preloaded apps can show up in the Downloads tab. The only way to remove these apps is by rooting your device and uninstalling them through the command prompt. See the next section for details. If you just want to hide the app, you can "Disable" it instead and the icon will disappear from your app drawer and home screens.

Uninstalling System and Carrier Apps

  1. Root your Android device. This is by far the most complicated part of the process, since rooting is different for every single model of Android. Even the carrier you use can affect your ability to root the device. On some phones, such as the Nexus line, rooting is very easy. On others, it may be impossible. Rooting is required to uninstall apps that came preloaded on your device.
    • See How to Root Android Phones for instructions on rooting several popular devices, as well as tips on finding specific instructions for your device.
  2. Install the Android SDK on your computer. Once your device is rooted, you can use the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) tool included in the Android SDK to uninstall the app via command line. You can download the Android SDK for free here. You just need the "SDK Tools only" package, not the entire development environment. Download and run the installer for your operating system.
  3. Connect your Android device to your computer via USB. Use your standard USB cable to connect your Android device. Install any drivers that you may be prompted to install.
  4. Turn on USB Debugging mode on your device. If you didn't have this turned on already during the root process, you'll need to enable USB debugging now.[1]
    • Open the Settings app and tap "About phone."
    • Tap the "Build number" entry seven times to enable the hidden "Developer options" menu.
    • Open the new "Developer options" menu at the bottom of the previous screen.
    • Enable "USB debugging."
  5. Launch ADB on your computer. ADB runs through the Command Prompt. The best way to launch it is to find it using Windows Explorer first.
    • Navigate to the folder you installed ABD to. By default, it is C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools.
    • Hold ⇧ Shift and right-click in the folder.
    • Select "Open command window here". This will launch the Command Prompt at the current location.
  6. Display a list of applications installed on the device. Once you're in the Command Prompt, you can tell ADB to retrieve the list of apps installed on your device. Type the following into the Command Prompt:
    • Type adb shell and press ↵ Enter. This will start a dedicated command prompt for your device.
    • Type cd system/app and press ↵ Enter. This will open the apps folder on your device.
    • Type ls and press ↵ Enter. This will display a list of all of the apps installed on your device.
  7. Find the app that you want to uninstall. The list of apps will likely be fairly large. Scroll through the list and find the app you want to remove. Note the entire file name of the app.
  8. Uninstall the system app that you want to remove. Type rm .apk and press ↵ Enter to remove the app. You can repeat this for any other apps you want to remove.[2]
    • Type reboot and press ↵ Enter after you are finished removing apps to reboot your phone and finish the process.

Tips

  • If you decide to delete an app that you paid for, you can re-install the same app at a later date for no extra cost. To re-install an app you paid for, open "Play Store" on your Android device, tap "Menu," then "My Apps." The app will display in the folder and be available for download.

Warnings

  • When you delete an app, all the information associated with that app on your Android device will also be deleted. Make sure that you back up or export any information you want saved to a different location before deleting the app from your device.
  • Be careful when uninstalling applications from the ADB terminal. If you remove applications necessary for your device’s operation, you may render the device inoperable. Always research the apps you are going to delete.
  • Some Android devices may not allow you to delete certain apps, especially if they came preloaded on your device. Additionally, some apps cannot be deleted if your Android device requires them to be able to function normally.

Related Articles

  • Remove an Uninstalled App from Your Google Account (Using Your Android Phone)

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://developer.android.com/tools/help/adb.html#Enabling
  2. ↑ http://forums.androidcentral.com/general-help-how/103712-how-remove-system-apps-through-adb.html
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