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How to disable bloatware on your Samsung Galaxy S III: apps safe to remove

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How to disable bloatware on your Samsung Galaxy S III: apps safe to remove
Those of you who don't care about rooting and installing debloated custom ROMs on your brand spanking new Samsung Galaxy S III, can still get apps and processes they never use out of sight and out of mind.

There are two ways to get at disabling those system, carrier and manufacturer apps that annoy you, or you think you'd never use, but are crowding out your app drawer: 

1. Long-press on the app icon in the drawer, and slide it down to the App Info label that appears at the bottom of the screen, then hit the Disable button that appears next to the "Force Close" one.

2. Pull the notification bar down, and tap on the cog there to go into Settings->Apps, then choose the one you want and hit the "Disable" button again

These steps above will disable the app, and will remove its icon from the app drawer, cleaning space for the useful stuff. If you don't see the "Disable" button on the right, but have "Uninstall Updates" instead at its place, you first have to hit this button, which will roll back the app to its original state, and then the "Disable" option will appear.

This is the closest you can get to removing things like carrier and manufacturer bloatware (sorry, Verizon/AT&T Navigator apps), short of rooting/installing custom ROMs, or using things like Titanium Backup Pro. Some of those apps have even the "Disable" option greyed-out, so for those you need these options, but most can be ditched with the process described above.

Is it safe? Well, some apps and processes should never be touched, others you can get rid of with no side effects, that's why we are embedding the following spreadsheet what's what, with big thanks to the XDA-Devs forum member who went through the trouble to create it for our Galaxy S IIIs.


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1. PapaSmurf posted on 27 Jul 2012, 08:27

This was he first thing I did when I got my phone. I can't stand to have bloatware on my phone, especially when its useless...

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3. illegaltoast posted on 28 Jul 2012, 11:53 1

Not exactly sure which ones to disable, I know which ones are secure from the list but idk if I want to disable some for fear I use them. What're the must apps for disabling that really slow the phone down?

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4. PotDragon posted on 01 Aug 2012, 20:27 3

None. Bloatware is myth. It is merely a few extra app icons.

If the author knew how to use a phone, he would know about stacking folders and hiding icons. Since he knows nothing about phones he pens an article like this one.

To be clear, there is a difference between ROM and RAM. If a processes is not running, therefore using no RAM, it does not slow the phone down. Or make it heavier. Or thicker.

Only a phonearena author would write an article like this in 2012. Only phonearena would publish one. Can't they find anyone who knows how to use a phone?

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5. jbjr43 posted on 24 Aug 2012, 14:57

Wish I could find out how to disable that annoying pop up asking if I want to connect to wi-fi whenever I open certian apps, (email, Facebook, etc). I don't have anything enabled as far as wi-fi is concerned...

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