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I currently use a Droid 2. One of the issues I face is a number of pre-installed apps which I don't want, yet keep sending me alerts a few times per week looking to update them. Of course, to update them, I must sign up for services that I don't want or need.
I would like to upgrade to the Droid Maxx. However, since this issue is really bugging me, I think it would be fair to ask what apps come pre-installed on the phone. And among those apps, which cannot be deleted if I wish to? Can someone tell me which apps are pre-installed yet cannot be deleted? Especially those that will continually bother me about adding unwanted services?
I figure that if I am going to upgrade, it be to a phone that doesn't nag me all the time.
Bryan
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The MAXX came with many pre-installed apps, but not the ones you have mentioned. Cloud is on mine, but I never use it, and it's never bothered me to do anything with it. The pre-installed apps on the MAXX are:
1. Amazon.com
2. Amazon Kindle
3. Amazon MP3
4. Amazon Apps
5. Motorola Assist
6. Audible
7. Calculator
8. Calendar
9. Caller Name and ID (useless app which you can opt out of)
10. Camera
11. Chrome
12. Clock
13. Double Twist (media player)
14. Downloads
15. Email
16. Emergency Alerts
17. G+ Photos
18. Gallery
19. Google
20. Google Settings
21. Google+
22. Hangouts
23. Help
24. IMDb
25. Ingress
26. Local
27. Google Maps
28. Messaging
29. Migrate
30. Mobile Hotspot
31. Movie Studio
32. My Verizon Mobile
33. Navigation
34. NFL Mobile
35. People
36. Phone
37. Play Books
38. Play Magazines
39. Play Movies & TV
40. Play Music (you get All Access free for 6 months for buying a phone from the new Droid lineup)
41. Play Store
42. Setup Wizard
43. Google Translate
44. Verizon Tones
45. Viewdini
46. Voice Search
47. Voicemail
48. VZ Navigator
49. VZ Security
50. YouTube
Out of these 50 pre-installed apps, not one has bugged me yet. You can always "Disable" pre-installed apps by going to Settings / Apps / (choose app) / Disable.
Better than that, if you want to keep the app, but never be updated, Go to Settings / Active Notifications / Manage Notification Types. You can manually select which apps you would like to notify you, and which ones you would rather just sit there and look pretty. You can also hide notification details when using PIN or password lock. You can also select to have the phone sleep at night (silence notifications) so nothing will bother you while you sleep.
If you're worried about your location access, you're kinda out of luck in today's world. All smartphones are GPS-equipped. If you are downloading an app which requires "Full Network Access", decide whether or not this app really DOES need full network access. Say it's Weatherbug, for instance...Weatherbug's developers are trustworthy, and the app uses your location information to give you accurate weather forecasts. Now say you're downloading an app that provides wallpapers. This type of app seriously doesn't need full network access to function, so it would be up to you at that point whether or not you trust the developer.
Hope this helped!
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Pre-installed apps can't be deleted, but they can be disabled and they then don't show up in your app drawer. You also can turn off automatic updates in the Play Store.
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I own a Droid MAXX and have yet to receive one single notice of an update alert for any previously-installed stock app for the phone. Most pre-installed apps have automatic updating anyway, so whenever you connect to a WiFi signal, it'll update by itself without asking you. It WILL, however, let you know in the banner that such-and-such app was successfully updated. This alert is hardly noticeable, and goes away before you really even have time to read it. Basically, it's not a nuisance at all.
You can always go into the Play Store and select "My Apps" in the menu section and choose "Automatic Updating" on your downloaded apps. It'll give you the option also to only update over WiFi to avoid any incurred data charges. The Android system is pretty darn helpful in letting you customize exactly how you want your phone to behave. If you're currently receiving notices every time it wants to update something, then you probably have the automatic updating permission turned off.
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It is helpful to know that on the Droid MAXX can allow the update alerts to be turned off. I have not found that feature on my current Droid 2 and was hoping that was a new feature.
However, the point is that I do not want certain apps to auto-update or remind me to do it manually. There are currently 3 apps on my current phone that I really don't want on there. One is Verizon Cloud, which appears that if I do let the app (which it refers to as a "replacement" for something else) I will also be purchasing an unwanted service and allowing the phone to track me in certain ways that I really don't want. Another is "Hangouts-which-replaces-Talk" which (according to the permissions) would allow others to see where I am. The third is Blockbuster Movie Viewer, which I will never use. That one simply bothers me that is always asks to be updated. I can't seem to turn off the updated on my current phone.
I'm trying not to be paranoid or anything, and I do use a lot of technology (and apps) where the phone knows where I am. I was just a bit worried about the wide swath of permissions that these apps require, and the fact that there is no option to just not have the app.
So I guess my question is more like this: Will the MAXX have non-critical apps that cannot be removed and will not require me to update them?
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Thank you.
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The MAXX came with many pre-installed apps, but not the ones you have mentioned. Cloud is on mine, but I never use it, and it's never bothered me to do anything with it. The pre-installed apps on the MAXX are:
1. Amazon.com
2. Amazon Kindle
3. Amazon MP3
4. Amazon Apps
5. Motorola Assist
6. Audible
7. Calculator
8. Calendar
9. Caller Name and ID (useless app which you can opt out of)
10. Camera
11. Chrome
12. Clock
13. Double Twist (media player)
14. Downloads
15. Email
16. Emergency Alerts
17. G+ Photos
18. Gallery
19. Google
20. Google Settings
21. Google+
22. Hangouts
23. Help
24. IMDb
25. Ingress
26. Local
27. Google Maps
28. Messaging
29. Migrate
30. Mobile Hotspot
31. Movie Studio
32. My Verizon Mobile
33. Navigation
34. NFL Mobile
35. People
36. Phone
37. Play Books
38. Play Magazines
39. Play Movies & TV
40. Play Music (you get All Access free for 6 months for buying a phone from the new Droid lineup)
41. Play Store
42. Setup Wizard
43. Google Translate
44. Verizon Tones
45. Viewdini
46. Voice Search
47. Voicemail
48. VZ Navigator
49. VZ Security
50. YouTube
Out of these 50 pre-installed apps, not one has bugged me yet. You can always "Disable" pre-installed apps by going to Settings / Apps / (choose app) / Disable.
Better than that, if you want to keep the app, but never be updated, Go to Settings / Active Notifications / Manage Notification Types. You can manually select which apps you would like to notify you, and which ones you would rather just sit there and look pretty. You can also hide notification details when using PIN or password lock. You can also select to have the phone sleep at night (silence notifications) so nothing will bother you while you sleep.
If you're worried about your location access, you're kinda out of luck in today's world. All smartphones are GPS-equipped. If you are downloading an app which requires "Full Network Access", decide whether or not this app really DOES need full network access. Say it's Weatherbug, for instance...Weatherbug's developers are trustworthy, and the app uses your location information to give you accurate weather forecasts. Now say you're downloading an app that provides wallpapers. This type of app seriously doesn't need full network access to function, so it would be up to you at that point whether or not you trust the developer.
Hope this helped!
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Thank you so very much! I appreciate that.
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Of course!
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I have disabled some of the pre-installed apps on my Droid Max but Google+ and Hangouts worry me, I think they are probably connected to every thing else. Can Google+ and Hangouts be disabled without causing problems?
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Reply to my own question. Google+, Hangouts and almost all the others can be disabled with no real problems. But leave the existing up-dates in place when you disable a pre-installed app; if the up-dates are deleted prior to disabling and you later re-enable the first thing that happens is a massive up-date. And there goes your data plan. Up-dates to apps you can not delete should not count as "data" but it does.