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Samsung Phone Users Perturbed To Find They Can't Delete Facebook (bloomberg.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the worst-nightmares dept.

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.

8 of 315 comments (clear)

  1. Don't sugarcoat the turd by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.
    1. Re:Don't sugarcoat the turd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is wrong at multiple levels. If it transmits anything back to FB then that is a violation.
      Its stealing space/memory and the OS must be crippled in some way to prevent file by file deletion. Any services running in the background?

      It cant update if it does not know the revision or language settings
      Lets hope the EU stomps on yet another secret agreement where no anti-compeditive documentation has been lodged. FB shareholders should be upset too. Number of disabled images needs to go into the annual report.

    2. Re:Don't sugarcoat the turd by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If a company mentions "best experience", run like hell from their products. Little known fact: "best experience" is Mandarin for "your data is ours".

      I wish these companies would behave like in the old days, when manufacturing consumer electronics meant just that: creating the best device in a certain price range, and making your money by selling it to consumers on its own merits. Sure, even back then companies tried to create silos, and some built tech into their devices to protect their other interests in the content business, but that's nothing like today. The other day I read an article on LinkedIn about data being the new gold, and boy they weren't kidding: everyone seems to want to get in on the game these days. And if FB has to pay Samsung to make their data harvesting apps preinstalled and indelible, then you can be sure that Samsung do not have your best interests in mind by allowing this.

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    3. Re:Don't sugarcoat the turd by drinkypoo · · Score: 5, Informative

      Of course this is all bogus -- it takes up "zero" user space since it's kept in ROM space,

      No, it is NOT. It is kept in Flash. Part of the flash is desigated as belonging to the system, and it is kept there. But that flash partition is like any other partition, it can be of arbitrary size. And it has to be bigger to accommodate additional apps, and that means there's less space available in the user partition.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    4. Re:Don't sugarcoat the turd by Z00L00K · · Score: 5, Insightful

      No, the OS isn't "enhanced", it's "bloated" with unnecessary software that may even be a security hazard.

      --
      If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
  2. Re:Not even close to a new issue by Iwastheone · · Score: 5, Interesting

    My MotoE4 came preloaded with FB App Installer, FB App Manager, Messenger, Snapchat, Amazon, Amazon Prime, Amazon Music & NativeDropboxAgent. All get disabled/Force Stopped, then after a reboot or a few months go by and they all become magically enabled again

  3. Not really shocking by LubosD · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This isn't really shocking. If the app is part of the system image, then the app cannot be normally deleted, because the system image is read-only and only touched during system updates. Disabling the app DOES have the same effect as deleting it, except it doesn't free up any storage space.

  4. Er? by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.