How Can I Delete Facebook App From My Samsung S9
Nick Winke, a photographer in the Pacific Northwest, was browsing online forums when he came across a disturbing complaint: users on certain Samsung Electronics Co. cellphones are unable to uninstall the Facebook app.
Winke purchased his Samsung Galaxy S9, an Android-based smartphone that comes pre-installed with Facebook’s social network, when it was released in 2017. He’d used the Facebook app to reconnect with old acquaintances and exchange photos of beautiful landscapes and his Siamese cat, but he didn’t want to be tied to it. He attempted to delete the application from his phone, but the gossip was correct – it was unremovable. He only discovered the option to “disable,” and he had no idea what that meant.
“It simply puzzles me because if I wanted to totally get rid of Facebook, it would basically still be on my phone, which raises additional questions,” Winke said in an interview. “Can they still monitor your data, location, or whatever else they do? We, as customers, should have a voice in what we want and don’t want on our products.”
Following disclosures about Facebook’s information-sharing practices and authorities’ increased scrutiny of online data gathering, consumers have grown more aware of their digital rights and more cautious about privacy in the last year. Some individuals have canceled their Facebook accounts in protest of the company’s shortcomings, while others just want to be sure they have the choice. Many Android phone owners have started to doubt Samsung’s agreement to offer phones with a permanent version of Facebook — and some have taken to social media to express their displeasure.
According to a Facebook representative, the deactivated version of the app behaves as if it has been removed, so it does not continue to gather data or transmit information back to Facebook. However, there is very little contact with the customer regarding the process. The Menlo Park, California-based firm said that whether or not the app may be deleted is determined by different pre-install agreements Facebook has struck with phone makers, operating systems, and mobile carriers across the globe over the years, including Samsung. Facebook, the world’s biggest social network, refused to reveal the financial terms of the deals, but said that they are intended to provide consumers with “the greatest” phone experience immediately after opening the box.
Balwinder Singh’s experience was not what he would call ideal. Singh, who lives in the eastern United States’ Susquehanna Valley and works in transportation, purchased his Samsung phone seven months ago. When he was initially setting up the smartphone, he attempted to remove the Facebook app.
“My news stream was full of negativity, people going wild on social media,” he said. “It was having an emotional and mental impact on me.” He was concerned by the fact that the app remained on his phone even after he had disabled it.
Samsung, the world’s biggest smartphone manufacturer, said that it includes a pre-installed Facebook software on certain models with the option to deactivate it, and that once removed, the app no longer runs. Facebook refused to give a list of the partners with whom it has agreements for permanent applications, stating that such agreements differ by area and kind. There is no comprehensive list accessible online, and customers may not know if Facebook is pre-loaded unless they explicitly ask a customer service person when purchasing a phone.
According to Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, consumer advocacy organizations have been suspicious of such agreements for years.
“It’s only lately that people have realized that these applications really power the spy in your pocket,” he said. “Companies should file public records on these transactions, and Facebook should give over public documents demonstrating that no data is collected when the app is disabled.”
Facebook isn’t the only business whose applications appear by default on cellphones. T-Mobile US Inc., for example, includes the social network as well as Amazon.com Inc. on its list of applications integrated into its version of the Samsung Galaxy S9. The phone also has a slew of Google applications, including YouTube, Google Play Music, and Gmail; Google created the Android platform that runs the phone. Other phone manufacturers and service providers, including as LG Electronics Inc., Sony Corp., Verizon Communications Inc., and AT&T Inc., have struck similar agreements with app developers. When Twitter’s app is installed by default on a new phone, it does not collect any data until a user has an account or creates a new one, opens the app, and logs in, according to the firm.
However, Facebook, which has spent the last year apologizing for security breaches and data privacy issues, is the one receiving criticism for its indelible presence on Samsung’s phones. “Very slimy,” tweeted Gopinath Pandalai of Bangalore, who goes by the handle @gopibella, in October. “I’ve been a Samsung client for the last ten years. It’s time to move on.”
Justin McMurry, whose Twitter handle is @BoutSebm, said in December that he saw Facebook as a privacy danger. “If I can’t remove it, this will be my last Samsung product.”
Apple Inc., whose iPhone is the most popular smartphone in the United States, does not pre-install Facebook or any other third-party applications on its new phones.
José Cortés, a Spaniard residing in Sweden, has been using Facebook on his phone less often and posting less because he dislikes how it exposes his activities to his friends. If there’s an event coming up on Facebook, he never indicates that he’ll be there or that he’s interested, even if he is, since he doesn’t want his presence to publicize the event to his other friends.
Final Words
“I realize that Samsung is attempting to make things easier for the user, but I don’t like that it does not enable me to uninstall,” he stated. He said that for his future phone, he would consider purchasing something else.
