Samsung may be forced to let users remove bloatware in India

Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets come pre-installed with various apps and services by default. Usually, all pre-installed apps can’t be uninstalled due to limitations, however, Samsung may soon allow users to remove bloatware from their phones in India.

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According to Reuters, Govt. of India is planning to ramp up scrutiny around mobile operating systems and pre-installed apps from OEMs in the smartphone market. The administration is setting up new rules mandating smartphone vendors to allow the removal of pre-installed apps.

In addition, India’s IT Ministry is expected to introduce the screening of mobile software before the devices are brought into the market. This new rule will put vendors like Samsung in trouble and could cause a delay in the launch of upcoming devices.

The report says that these rules come in the wake of the government’s crackdown on data abuse and spying allegations using smartphones and other mobile devices. An official revealed that pre-installed apps can be a weak security point and we want to ensure no foreign nations, including China, are exploiting it.

Due to anti-China sentiments created after the 2020 border clash, the Govt of India banned whopping 300 Chinese apps in the country. Some of the developers tried to relaunch the banned apps with changes in functionality and policies, but the Govt. didn’t let them do the same.

Galaxy phones come packed with a lot of applications pre-installed. Third-party apps can be uninstalled easily, but there are two versions of various apps that reduce the usable storage of the device. Hopefully, the new bloatware removal rule would be beneficial in India as Samsung never compromises security.