Whether you're a longtime Samsung owner or just bought your first Galaxy, you know they're some of the best phones around.That said, they're also packed with bloatware and pre-installed apps that take up storage space, slow things down, and make the app tray a mess.Here are the apps I always uninstall within minutes of unboxing any new Galaxy phone.
Add How-To Geek on Google Add as Preferred Source Follow on Google Discover Don't get me wrong, many of Samsung's apps are pretty great, but there's a lot of unnecessary stuff that comes bundled with most phones.And no, I'm not talking about Samsung Global Goals or the Samsung Notes apps either, but about other, more frustrating apps littered across almost all phones.They're the ones that leave your brand-new Galaxy S26 Ultra with gigabytes of storage missing right out of the box.
So, clean up your phone and purge this junk today.Shop Samsung More ads than products worth buying Have you ever bought a new Samsung phone and instantly thought about buying more Samsung products, like a refrigerator or a washer and dryer? I didn't think so.I know people like to stick to certain brands, but I don't need the Shop Samsung e-commerce store pre-installed on my phone, showing me pop-up ads about appliances on sale.
The Shop Samsung app is essentially a web portal for all things Samsung.The company wants to highlight its other products, so it adds this app to phones and occasionally gives out small discount codes when you buy a phone or watch that you can put toward accessories, TVs, and other things.Sure, the Shop Samsung app might have a few benefits for a small subset of phone owners, but do yourself a favor and uninstall it today.
You can long-press the icon and tap Uninstall, or find it in Google Play and remove it that way.LinkedIn and other Microsoft bloat A bundle of apps you probably don't need Depending on your model and region, there's a good chance your shiny new Galaxy phone is preloaded with a bunch of Microsoft-owned apps like LinkedIn, Outlook, Phone Link, or Copilot.The two are in a partnership, and as a result, your phone has a slew of apps taking up space that you might never use.
Phone Link does have some benefits, such as allowing you to sync your Galaxy with a Windows PC, but not everyone needs that.The same goes for LinkedIn, Microsoft Office or 365, or OneDrive for storage backup.Samsung recently ditched OneDrive as a backup option, which is all the more reason to uninstall it all.
Samsung 'Tips' Mildly helpful, at best If you just bought a Galaxy phone for the first time, sure, the Samsung "Tips" app is sort of useful, as it'll share a few tips and suggestions to get the most out of your phone's features.However, if you've owned one, two, or dozens of Galaxy phones, like me, go ahead and uninstall this app too.This app is a hub for tips on phone hardware and software, usage instructions, and other helpful guides.
It's not that great, and it'll occasionally bother you with alerts about new features.I get enough notifications on my phone; I don't need more.And if you really want to learn how to use your phone, we have several guides for all the best hidden features.
Samsung TV Plus How many streaming services do you need? Close How many free or paid streaming services do you use for entertainment? Most of us rely on Netflix, Prime Video, Paramount, Hulu, Disney+, and the usual suspects.There are also countless excellent free streaming apps, but apparently Samsung wants to be one more.Samsung TV Plus is a completely free streaming service (with ads) that's been around for a while and comes preinstalled on many phones, tablets, and TVs.
It offers much of the same older content as other apps and services, and you probably already have one of them.But hey, if you use the Samsung TV Plus app on your smart TV for streaming old movies or series, you might want to use it on your phone, too.That's the beauty of Android: everything is a choice, including which apps you keep or delete.
I'll pass.Random games you never downloaded I didn't ask for Candy Crush Just like Samsung partners with Microsoft to preload your phone with apps, carriers like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile have their own partners, many of which throw huge games on our phones without asking.Have you ever received a new software update on your Galaxy phone and then noticed 3–4 mobile games randomly appearing in your app tray? That's by design.
This is considered carrier bloatware, rather than Samsung bloatware, but it's arguably even more frustrating because these games can waste several gigabytes of precious storage space.Related Why random games keep showing up on your Android phone (and how to stop it) If you keep finding apps on your phone that you never downloaded, there are a few culprits you might want to look for.Posts 3 By Timothy Jacob Hudson While the full game might not be on your phone yet, if you tap the game in your app tray, it'll either start downloading or take you to the Samsung Gaming Hub to get it.
Either way, it's extra junk in my drawer that I didn't ask for.Delete them all.A few years ago, an app called AT&T App Manager was adding games to people's phones every month.
It's very frustrating, and if you have a Galaxy phone on AT&T, uninstall those types of apps, too.Samsung Members If you need it, you'll know Last but certainly not least, I wanted to mention the Samsung Members app.For most regular people, it doesn't serve much purpose aside from sharing device tips or annoying us with notification pop-ups about app suggestions or Samsung Galaxy news.
If you're a tech enthusiast like me, or are someone willing to sign up for pre-release beta software (like testing One UI 9.5 early), then you'll want to keep Samsung Members.It's the app Samsung uses to let us join beta programs.That's literally the only reason I keep it on my phone, but if that's not something you're interested in, go ahead and uninstall this one too.
A good place to start The few bundled apps or services mentioned above are a good place to start, but those certainly aren't the only pre-installed apps you might want to uninstall from your Galaxy.I also uninstall or disable Samsung Health, Samsung Notes, Samsung Internet, and other redundant apps.Then I'll usually go through and uninstall most of the stuff from carriers, whether that's Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, or anyone else.
Carriers stuff our phones with so many unnecessary apps; it's ridiculous.
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