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Samsung Phone Users Perturbed To Find They Can't Delete Facebook (bloomberg.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Nick Winke, a photographer in the Pacific northwest, was perusing internet forums when he came across a complaint that alarmed him: On certain Samsung Electronics Co. smartphones, users aren't allowed to delete the Facebook app. Winke bought his Samsung Galaxy S8, an Android-based device that comes with Facebook's social network already installed, when it was introduced in 2017. He has used the Facebook app to connect with old friends and to share pictures of natural landscapes and his Siamese cat -- but he didn't want to be stuck with it. He tried to remove the program from his phone, but the chatter proved true -- it was undeletable. He found only an option to "disable," and he wasn't sure what that meant.
A Facebook spokesperson said the disabled version of the app acts like it's been deleted, so it doesn't continue collecting data or sending information back to Facebook. But there's rarely communication with the consumer about the process. The Menlo Park, California-based company said whether the app is deletable or not depends on various pre-install deals Facebook has made with phone manufacturers, operating systems and mobile operators around the world over the years, including Samsung. Facebook, the world's largest social network, wouldn't disclose the financial nature of the agreements, but said they're meant to give the consumer "the best" phone experience right after opening the box.
A Facebook spokesperson said the disabled version of the app acts like it's been deleted, so it doesn't continue collecting data or sending information back to Facebook. But there's rarely communication with the consumer about the process. The Menlo Park, California-based company said whether the app is deletable or not depends on various pre-install deals Facebook has made with phone manufacturers, operating systems and mobile operators around the world over the years, including Samsung. Facebook, the world's largest social network, wouldn't disclose the financial nature of the agreements, but said they're meant to give the consumer "the best" phone experience right after opening the box.
The best user experience is by definition that which is what the user wants to do. And this is obviously not it.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Very well, no phone for you. You realize that the market caters for the majority, and you're not even a real minority, do you? You aren't even a blip on their radar. You say "I'll take my business elsewhere", they will chuckle and say "sure, the desert is that way". In the end, you can adapt and accept you cannot change anything and move witj your life, or you can shut yourself out of the world.
They've just now discovered preinstalled non-removable apps??
Yes, they suck. They are also why your phone is a little cheaper (at least theoretically) than it otherwise would be.
Given that FB has been accused of making shadow profiles of people not on FB, does deleting the App from a phone really achieve anything?
No .. I am not saying the outrage is not justified, just that is misdirected.
http://theconversation.com/sha...
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
It is only "news" now because there is an active movement to "delete Facebook" and some normal users who don't know about Android system partition vs, user partition and don't understand how Samsung craps up the system partition with undeletable apps have now discovered that they cannot participate in the "delete Facebook" movement.
My feelings exactly. I have had a Galaxy S6 since it was first released (nearly 4 years ago) and have never been able to delete the Facebook app (or some other apps, for that matter). Not sure why this is somehow news now.
I see. The old" I have seen this, so it must never ever be reported ever again!" The geeks version of "Stay off my Lawn!"
Sorry Anonymous Coward, it's pretty obvious from the posts in this thread that a lot of people didn't know, and it is a good thing for them to know.
In the been there, done that category, this is not unusual on PCs either. A simple program uninstall usually leaves a hellava lot of debris behind. Uninstalling say, Microsoft Office seems just like removing the icons.
Try using a product like Revo, uninstall some program, and select deep scan for leftovers. (don't restart after the program's uninstaller finishes) then look at what the deep scan shows you. Some programs just leave registry items, some pretty much everything.
I do not know if there is a comparable product for phones. There should be.
And since you already know everything, this is not for you. It is for people who might not know yet.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
why does Ford get fuckall to say in my business in the first place
If I owe them money, fine. If I own something outright, guess who has say? Guess who can modify, mutate, and even destroy it as he pleases?