If you have an Android, you may have heard of so-called pre-installed “bloatware.”
Simply put, these are apps and services that are pre-installed on smartphone and tablet devices by carriers, mobile operators, and their partners, along with the core Google app suite and Android itself.
Of course, many of these applications are useful, but the fact that many of them do not allow them to be removed from the device forces users to have applications on their devices that they never use and that consume valuable space.
According to a new study by researchers at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid in Spain and Stony Brook University in the US, which analyzed data from 1,742 devices from 214 providers, bloatware can also be dangerous for the security of the device and users' personal data.
They initially discovered a large number of files, amounting to 424,584, of which only 9% corresponded to APKs of applications found on Google Play.
What was the purpose of these files?
As the researchers found, the main purpose of these files is to track users through social networks, advertising and analytics.
Many big names regularly appeared in the survey, including Spotify, Facebook, TripAdvisor, and AccuWeather.
Activities ranged from gathering location data to collecting metadata of phone calls, contacts, and of course valuable activity data.
The analysis covered 144 countries, with the team also identifying a small number of known malicious apps.
What's important for Android device users to understand is that the data they generate while using their device is very lucrative for companies. And the sheer volume of pre-installed apps and privileges increases the chances of software flaws that could be maliciously exploited by third parties.
The researchers propose reforms, including requiring phone manufacturers to list installed software, stating the developer and its purpose, and any data collection it carries out.
They also propose reforming user consent – although this may not be easy to implement on a device with a dozen or more of these pre-installed apps, each of which may require a separate agreement.
So perhaps it would be easier to allow users to uninstall all incomplete apps. This wouldn't solve the bloatware problem, but it would at least give users some control over the issue.
