Bloatware: Difference between revisions

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~~{{StubNotice}}~~

There are multiple definitions of bloatware within the context of software. They include:

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Bloat can be a symptom of a decline in quality of devices and services, colloquially referred to as [[enshittification]].

==~~Why~~ it is a problem==

==How it works==

Bloatware often arises as pre-installed software and applications because the device manufacturer (OEM) has a contract or partnership with another corporation. The terms and processes leading to these partnerships, however, lack transparency. One study determined that personal data collection and user tracking was prevalent in pre-installed apps, with the data collection including [[wikipedia:Personal_data|personally identifying info]] (PII) and geo-location data, personal email and phone call metadata, contacts, behavioral and usage statistics as well as isolated malware samples.<ref>''J. Gamba, M. Rashed, A. Razaghpanah, J. Tapiador and N. Vallina-Rodriguez, "An Analysis of Pre-installed Android Software," 2020 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (SP), San Francisco, CA, USA, 2020, pp. 1039-1055, doi: 10.1109/SP40000.2020.00013.'' https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9152633 Accessed 2''6 Feb 2026.'' ([http://web.archive.org/web/20251130162318/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332932516_An_Analysis_of_Pre-installed_Android_Software Archived])</ref>

Bloatware often arises as pre-installed software and applications because the device manufacturer (OEM) has a contract or partnership with another corporation. The terms and processes leading to these partnerships, however, lack transparency.

==Why it is a problem==

===Non-removable===

All major [[wikipedia:Operating_system|OSes]] ([[iOS]], [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[Android]], etc...) don't allow removing, uninstalling, or disabling, bloatware; they only allow disabling a very narrow set of apps.

Many Android device manufactures have taken extreme measures to prevent users from disabling trivial apps, even via [[wikipedia:Android_Debug_Bridge|ADB]] (a tool designed for developers and power-users). Some OEMs, such as [[Samsung]], are known to artificially introduce bogus dependencies between apps, so that if a user disables an undesired app it also breaks basic features of the system.{{Citation needed|reason=unfounded accusation}}

[[Microsoft|MS]] Windows is well-known for preventing the disabling of apps such as [[wikipedia:Internet_Explorer|Internet Explorer]] and [[Microsoft Edge|Edge]], even when the user already has an alternative browser installed.

===Tracking and advertising===

One study determined that personal data collection and user tracking was prevalent in pre-installed apps, with the data collection including [[wikipedia:Personal_data|personally identifying info]] (PII) and geo-location data, personal email and phone call metadata, contacts, behavioral and usage statistics as well as isolated malware samples.<ref>''J. Gamba, M. Rashed, A. Razaghpanah, J. Tapiador and N. Vallina-Rodriguez, "An Analysis of Pre-installed Android Software," 2020 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (SP), San Francisco, CA, USA, 2020, pp. 1039-1055, doi: 10.1109/SP40000.2020.00013.'' https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9152633 Accessed 2''6 Feb 2026.'' ([http://web.archive.org/web/20251130162318/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332932516_An_Analysis_of_Pre-installed_Android_Software Archived])</ref>

Bloat, in any of its forms, raises privacy and security concerns<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hubert |first=Bert |date=2024-02-08 |title=Why Bloat Is Still Software’s Biggest Vulnerability |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/lean-software-development |access-date=2025-11-21 |website=IEEE Spectrum |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260131190126/https://spectrum.ieee.org/lean-software-development |archive-date=31 Jan 2026}}</ref>. As a rule of thumb, every added branch of code can make a program exponentially harder to prove for correctness<ref>{{Cite web |last=Howard |first=Gavin |date=2024-03-26 |title=What Computers Cannot Do: The Consequences of Turing-Completeness |url=https://gavinhoward.com/2024/03/what-computers-cannot-do-the-consequences-of-turing-completeness#infinite-state |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251214082939/https://gavinhoward.com/2024/03/what-computers-cannot-do-the-consequences-of-turing-completeness#infinite-state |archive-date=2025-12-14 |access-date=2026-01-06 |website=Gavin D. Howard}}</ref>, making it impractical or impossible to verify that a program is not malicious (such as [[spyware]]) or has an exploitable [[wikipedia:Software_vulnerabilities|vulnerability]]. The problem is exacerbated if the source-code of the app is not [[wikipedia:Source-available_software|available]], since [[wikipedia:Reverse_engineering|reverse engineering]] is difficult and (in some cases) illegal. This means that user is unable to control or ensure the safety of their devices.

===Unsafety===

Bloat, in any of its forms, raises privacy and security concerns<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hubert |first=Bert |date=2024-02-08 |title=Why Bloat Is Still Software’s Biggest Vulnerability |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/lean-software-development |access-date=2025-11-21 |website=IEEE Spectrum |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260131190126/https://spectrum.ieee.org/lean-software-development |archive-date=31 Jan 2026}}</ref>. As a rule of thumb, every added branch of code can make a program exponentially harder to prove for correctness<ref>{{Cite web |last=Howard |first=Gavin |date=2024-03-26 |title=What Computers Cannot Do: The Consequences of Turing-Completeness |url=https://gavinhoward.com/2024/03/what-computers-cannot-do-the-consequences-of-turing-completeness#infinite-state |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251214082939/https://gavinhoward.com/2024/03/what-computers-cannot-do-the-consequences-of-turing-completeness#infinite-state |archive-date=2025-12-14 |access-date=2026-01-06 |website=Gavin D. Howard}}</ref>, making it impractical or impossible to verify that a program is not malicious (such as [[spyware]]) or has an exploitable [[wikipedia:Software_vulnerabilities|vulnerability]]. The problem is exacerbated if the source-code of the app is not [[wikipedia:Source-available_software|available]], since [[wikipedia:Reverse_engineering|reverse engineering]] is difficult and (in some cases) illegal. This means that user is unable to control or ensure the safety of their devices.

===Poor performance===

Bloat is known for causing sub-par [[wikipedia:User_experience|user experience]] (UX):

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*Instability issues due to difficulty in testing and verifying big code-bases<ref>{{Cite web |last=Muratori |first=Casey |date=2018-05-12 |title=The Thirty Million Line Problem |url=https://youtu.be/kZRE7HIO3vk |url-status=live |access-date=2026-03-15 |website=Molly Rocket |via=YouTube}}</ref>

===Ecosystem damage===

If non-sustainable energy sources are used to power these devices with bloatware, bloat can contribute to [[wikipedia:Climate_change|climate change]]. This is true for any excessive processing (CPU, GPU, etc.) and network abuse (such as [[Artificial_intelligence/training|AI training]]). Hardware bloat can increase [[wikipedia:Electronic_waste|e-waste]].

~~There's ethical~~ concerns~~, as well.~~ Bloated software can be prohibitively expensive to use on [[wikipedia:Developing_country|developing countries]], which marginalizes poor people.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Luu |first=Dan |title=How web bloat impacts users with slow connections |url=https://danluu.com/web-bloat/ |url-status=live |access-date=2026-03-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Luu |first=Dan |title=How web bloat impacts users with slow devices |url=https://danluu.com/slow-device/ |url-status=live |access-date=2026-03-24}}</ref> Bloated software and hardware can have such a low performance (or have high instability) that it can't effectively help the user achieve the task that the product was designed for, such as scheduling a session with a therapist.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bailey |first=Eric |date=2023-02-01 |title=Modern Health, frameworks, performance, and harm |url=https://ericwbailey.website/published/modern-health-frameworks-performance-and-harm/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260208052928/https://ericwbailey.website/published/modern-health-frameworks-performance-and-harm/ |archive-date=2026-02-08 |access-date=2026-03-24}}</ref>

===Ethical and moral concerns===

Bloated software can be prohibitively expensive to use on [[wikipedia:Developing_country|developing countries]], which marginalizes poor people.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Luu |first=Dan |title=How web bloat impacts users with slow connections |url=https://danluu.com/web-bloat/ |url-status=live |access-date=2026-03-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Luu |first=Dan |title=How web bloat impacts users with slow devices |url=https://danluu.com/slow-device/ |url-status=live |access-date=2026-03-24}}</ref> Bloated software and hardware can have such a low performance (or have high instability) that it can't effectively help the user achieve the task that the product was designed for, such as scheduling a session with a therapist.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bailey |first=Eric |date=2023-02-01 |title=Modern Health, frameworks, performance, and harm |url=https://ericwbailey.website/published/modern-health-frameworks-performance-and-harm/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260208052928/https://ericwbailey.website/published/modern-health-frameworks-performance-and-harm/ |archive-date=2026-02-08 |access-date=2026-03-24}}</ref>

==Examples==

*The most popular example on Windows is Candy Crush, which is either preinstalled or pseudo-installed (only the icon is shown, but the app must be downloaded). MS also allows OEMs to bundle extra apps.

*On Android, while many users use the main [[Facebook]] app, most devices come with several hidden "stubs" such as "Facebook App Installer", "Facebook Services", "Facebook App Manager", etc... Some of those run in the background regardless of whether the user is logged-in or has the main app enabled.<ref>https://github.com/Universal-Debloater-Alliance/universal-android-debloater-next-generation/blob/644b30ae73c0f86fb5b99173c88132fc4bb1e1b8/resources/assets/uad_lists.json#L13903-L13942</ref>

*Many Samsung devices have 3rd-party integration with GIF and "sticker" providers in the Keyboard app, such as Bitmoji and Giphy.<ref>https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-breathes-new-life-into-emojis-with-the-galaxy-s9-and-s9-plus</ref>

==Tools to deal with bloat==

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-{{StubNotice}}
 There are multiple definitions of bloatware within the context of software. They include:
@@ Line 12: / Line 10: @@
 Bloat can be a symptom of a decline in quality of devices and services, colloquially referred to as [[enshittification]].
-==Why it is a problem<!-- There should be information added regarding the users' lack of ability to remove bloatware as well; this is a particularly relevant topic for consumer rights because it means that a person does not have the power to determine what programs and apps are on their devices. -->==
+==How it works==
-Bloatware often arises as pre-installed software and applications because the device manufacturer (OEM) has a contract or partnership with another corporation. The terms and processes leading to these partnerships, however, lack transparency. One study determined that personal data collection and user tracking was prevalent in pre-installed apps, with the data collection including [[wikipedia:Personal_data|personally identifying info]] (PII) and geo-location data, personal email and phone call metadata, contacts, behavioral and usage statistics as well as isolated malware samples.<ref>''J. Gamba, M. Rashed, A. Razaghpanah, J. Tapiador and N. Vallina-Rodriguez, "An Analysis of Pre-installed Android Software," 2020 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (SP), San Francisco, CA, USA, 2020, pp. 1039-1055, doi: 10.1109/SP40000.2020.00013.'' https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9152633 Accessed 2''6 Feb 2026.'' ([http://web.archive.org/web/20251130162318/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332932516_An_Analysis_of_Pre-installed_Android_Software Archived])</ref>
+Bloatware often arises as pre-installed software and applications because the device manufacturer (OEM) has a contract or partnership with another corporation. The terms and processes leading to these partnerships, however, lack transparency.
+==Why it is a problem==
+===Non-removable===
+All major [[wikipedia:Operating_system|OSes]] ([[iOS]], [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[Android]], etc...) don't allow removing, uninstalling, or disabling, bloatware; they only allow disabling a very narrow set of apps.
+Many Android device manufactures have taken extreme measures to prevent users from disabling trivial apps, even via [[wikipedia:Android_Debug_Bridge|ADB]] (a tool designed for developers and power-users). Some OEMs, such as [[Samsung]], are known to artificially introduce bogus dependencies between apps, so that if a user disables an undesired app it also breaks basic features of the system.{{Citation needed|reason=unfounded accusation}}
+[[Microsoft|MS]] Windows is well-known for preventing the disabling of apps such as [[wikipedia:Internet_Explorer|Internet Explorer]] and [[Microsoft Edge|Edge]], even when the user already has an alternative browser installed.
+===Tracking and advertising===
+One study determined that personal data collection and user tracking was prevalent in pre-installed apps, with the data collection including [[wikipedia:Personal_data|personally identifying info]] (PII) and geo-location data, personal email and phone call metadata, contacts, behavioral and usage statistics as well as isolated malware samples.<ref>''J. Gamba, M. Rashed, A. Razaghpanah, J. Tapiador and N. Vallina-Rodriguez, "An Analysis of Pre-installed Android Software," 2020 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (SP), San Francisco, CA, USA, 2020, pp. 1039-1055, doi: 10.1109/SP40000.2020.00013.'' https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9152633 Accessed 2''6 Feb 2026.'' ([http://web.archive.org/web/20251130162318/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332932516_An_Analysis_of_Pre-installed_Android_Software Archived])</ref>
-Bloat, in any of its forms, raises privacy and security concerns<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hubert |first=Bert |date=2024-02-08 |title=Why Bloat Is Still Software’s Biggest Vulnerability |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/lean-software-development |access-date=2025-11-21 |website=IEEE Spectrum |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260131190126/https://spectrum.ieee.org/lean-software-development |archive-date=31 Jan 2026}}</ref>.<!-- These privacy and security concerns should be detailed and explained. It would be the core point of this article. --> As a rule of thumb, every added branch of code can make a program exponentially harder to prove for correctness<ref>{{Cite web |last=Howard |first=Gavin |date=2024-03-26 |title=What Computers Cannot Do: The Consequences of Turing-Completeness |url=https://gavinhoward.com/2024/03/what-computers-cannot-do-the-consequences-of-turing-completeness#infinite-state |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251214082939/https://gavinhoward.com/2024/03/what-computers-cannot-do-the-consequences-of-turing-completeness#infinite-state |archive-date=2025-12-14 |access-date=2026-01-06 |website=Gavin D. Howard}}</ref>, making it impractical or impossible to verify that a program is not malicious (such as [[spyware]]) or has an exploitable [[wikipedia:Software_vulnerabilities|vulnerability]]. The problem is exacerbated if the source-code of the app is not [[wikipedia:Source-available_software|available]], since [[wikipedia:Reverse_engineering|reverse engineering]] is difficult and (in some cases) illegal. This means that user is unable to control or ensure the safety of their devices.
+===Unsafety===
+Bloat, in any of its forms, raises privacy and security concerns<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hubert |first=Bert |date=2024-02-08 |title=Why Bloat Is Still Software’s Biggest Vulnerability |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/lean-software-development |access-date=2025-11-21 |website=IEEE Spectrum |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260131190126/https://spectrum.ieee.org/lean-software-development |archive-date=31 Jan 2026}}</ref>.<!-- These concerns should be detailed and explained --> As a rule of thumb, every added branch of code can make a program exponentially harder to prove for correctness<ref>{{Cite web |last=Howard |first=Gavin |date=2024-03-26 |title=What Computers Cannot Do: The Consequences of Turing-Completeness |url=https://gavinhoward.com/2024/03/what-computers-cannot-do-the-consequences-of-turing-completeness#infinite-state |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251214082939/https://gavinhoward.com/2024/03/what-computers-cannot-do-the-consequences-of-turing-completeness#infinite-state |archive-date=2025-12-14 |access-date=2026-01-06 |website=Gavin D. Howard}}</ref>, making it impractical or impossible to verify that a program is not malicious (such as [[spyware]]) or has an exploitable [[wikipedia:Software_vulnerabilities|vulnerability]]. The problem is exacerbated if the source-code of the app is not [[wikipedia:Source-available_software|available]], since [[wikipedia:Reverse_engineering|reverse engineering]] is difficult and (in some cases) illegal. This means that user is unable to control or ensure the safety of their devices.
+===Poor performance===
 Bloat is known for causing sub-par [[wikipedia:User_experience|user experience]] (UX):
@@ Line 25: / Line 37: @@
 *Instability issues due to difficulty in testing and verifying big code-bases<ref>{{Cite web |last=Muratori |first=Casey |date=2018-05-12 |title=The Thirty Million Line Problem |url=https://youtu.be/kZRE7HIO3vk |url-status=live |access-date=2026-03-15 |website=Molly Rocket |via=YouTube}}</ref>
+===Ecosystem damage===
 If non-sustainable energy sources are used to power these devices with bloatware, bloat can contribute to [[wikipedia:Climate_change|climate change]]. This is true for any excessive processing (CPU, GPU, etc.) and network abuse (such as [[Artificial_intelligence/training|AI training]]). Hardware bloat can increase [[wikipedia:Electronic_waste|e-waste]].
-There's ethical concerns, as well. Bloated software can be prohibitively expensive to use on [[wikipedia:Developing_country|developing countries]], which marginalizes poor people.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Luu |first=Dan |title=How web bloat impacts users with slow connections |url=https://danluu.com/web-bloat/ |url-status=live |access-date=2026-03-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Luu |first=Dan |title=How web bloat impacts users with slow devices |url=https://danluu.com/slow-device/ |url-status=live |access-date=2026-03-24}}</ref> Bloated software and hardware can have such a low performance (or have high instability) that it can't effectively help the user achieve the task that the product was designed for, such as scheduling a session with a therapist.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bailey |first=Eric |date=2023-02-01 |title=Modern Health, frameworks, performance, and harm |url=https://ericwbailey.website/published/modern-health-frameworks-performance-and-harm/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260208052928/https://ericwbailey.website/published/modern-health-frameworks-performance-and-harm/ |archive-date=2026-02-08 |access-date=2026-03-24}}</ref>
+===Ethical and moral concerns===
+Bloated software can be prohibitively expensive to use on [[wikipedia:Developing_country|developing countries]], which marginalizes poor people.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Luu |first=Dan |title=How web bloat impacts users with slow connections |url=https://danluu.com/web-bloat/ |url-status=live |access-date=2026-03-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Luu |first=Dan |title=How web bloat impacts users with slow devices |url=https://danluu.com/slow-device/ |url-status=live |access-date=2026-03-24}}</ref> Bloated software and hardware can have such a low performance (or have high instability) that it can't effectively help the user achieve the task that the product was designed for, such as scheduling a session with a therapist.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bailey |first=Eric |date=2023-02-01 |title=Modern Health, frameworks, performance, and harm |url=https://ericwbailey.website/published/modern-health-frameworks-performance-and-harm/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260208052928/https://ericwbailey.website/published/modern-health-frameworks-performance-and-harm/ |archive-date=2026-02-08 |access-date=2026-03-24}}</ref>
+==Examples==
+*The most popular example on Windows is Candy Crush, which is either preinstalled or pseudo-installed (only the icon is shown, but the app must be downloaded). MS also allows OEMs to bundle extra apps.
+*On Android, while many users use the main [[Facebook]] app, most devices come with several hidden "stubs" such as "Facebook App Installer", "Facebook Services", "Facebook App Manager", etc... Some of those run in the background regardless of whether the user is logged-in or has the main app enabled.<ref>https://github.com/Universal-Debloater-Alliance/universal-android-debloater-next-generation/blob/644b30ae73c0f86fb5b99173c88132fc4bb1e1b8/resources/assets/uad_lists.json#L13903-L13942</ref>
+*Many Samsung devices have 3rd-party integration with GIF and "sticker" providers in the Keyboard app, such as Bitmoji and Giphy.<ref>https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-breathes-new-life-into-emojis-with-the-galaxy-s9-and-s9-plus</ref>
 ==Tools to deal with bloat==