Bloatware, the mobile problem everyone should know about

It is normal that with the advancement of time and technology, certain terms are carried over from the past to the present day, slightly changing their meaning. As it happens bloatware, A concept that originated in computing to refer to programs designed to take up extra space and weigh down the system.

It was adapted a little differently Mobile phone marketTo explain practices implemented by mobile phone manufacturers that can cause various problems to users.

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What does bloatware mean?

It is derived from a combination of blot, which means inflated, and a product related to an article or element. This term was used to describe programs that were bloated with features, took up a lot of space, and were often slow to run. computer.

In the case of mobile phones, it was adapted to describe applications that came from the factory, developed by brands, third parties or in some cases by mobile operators, and which also took up storage space and offered features that were rarely used. .

So, in a few words, bloatware refers to applications that appear to be installed on a mobile phone at the time of purchase, but in the end, the user does not find them useful.

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A characteristic of these platforms is that they are usually difficult or virtually impossible to remove. Although this is a practice that has declined, at least in the West, and we are seeing fewer and fewer new phones with these types of apps.

Applications that usually come from the factory are those related to brands, such as video games, health, optimization and other services, but third-party references such as e-commerce, social networks or games will also appear.

What are the problems with bloatware?

There are two points in this regard: storage and security. The first one is the most obvious to the user.

For example, when buying a phone that has 128 GB of memory, part of it will go to the resources that the mobile phone needs to run the operating system and basic functions, which can be 20 to 25 GB. Another part will be taken by these filler apps, which will take up between 5 and 10 GB on average when there are more than 15 apps.

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This leaves the user with 100GB of storage despite paying for 128GB, which will be a problem over time due to the number of files stored. Especially since some of the bloatware can’t be removed, it’s just stuck, and that means wasting space on something that will never be used.

But the bigger issue is security. Recent investigation University of Edinburgh And those Trinity College of Ireland found that in mobile phones Xiaomi, OnePlus and Realme User data is obtained through these pre-installed applications.

According to the report, thanks to the permissions, the platform had access to data that was transferred to device manufacturers and app owners, because they were running in the background and did not ask a person. their use.

This opens the door for other companies to do the same, ignoring some users and making it impossible for them to uninstall these apps. For this reason, Google It is developed for that Android 14 Options that allow for easier removal of bloatware.