I found that when I removed facebook's app, which was pre-installed on
my phone, it came back again. I did this a few times then gave up. But I
found that there are hidden apps only viewable in the settings. They
cannot be removed but they can be disabled. I disabled them and got a
warning that things might not work. I went ahead fearlessly.

Now I wonder, what information was facebook collecting, and how do I ask
them to delete it if I don't have an account?

According to facebook they don't collect anything unless you agree to
their T&Cs, but there might be something in the Android T&Cs, or
somewhere which I didn't notice.

I'll be monitoring things from now on, and may use the adb to delete or
sabotage these apps.

https://www.theregister.com/2018/05/22/facebook_data_leak_no_account/

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/gadgets-news/facebook-has-3-hidden-apps-in-most-android-phones-sold-in-india-but-should-you-worry/articleshow/78742140.cms

https://mashable.com/article/facebook-pre-installed-app-samsung

On 20-05-2023 01:23 Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:

> I found that when I removed facebook's app, which was pre-installed

What phone has Facebook pre installed?

On 19/05/2023 20:23, mike wrote:
> On 20-05-2023 01:23 Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:
>
>> I found that when I removed facebook's app, which was pre-installed
>
> What phone has Facebook pre installed?

My Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G had it preinstalled (I uninstalled it). The
Facebook App Installer, Facebook App Manager, and Facebook Services are
not uninstallable.

--

Jeff

On 20-05-2023 01:38 Jeff Layman <Jeff@invalid.invalid> wrote:

>>> I found that when I removed facebook's app, which was pre-installed
>>
>> What phone has Facebook pre installed?
>
> My Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G had it preinstalled (I uninstalled it). The
> Facebook App Installer, Facebook App Manager, and Facebook Services are
> not uninstallable.

What's wrong with this (copied from a recent thread on the same question)?

adb shell pm list packages | findstr 'facebook'
com.facebook.appmanager
com.facebook.katana
com.facebook.orca
com.facebook.services
com.facebook.system

Disable without root
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.facebook.appmanager

Uninstall without root
adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.facebook.appmanager

Wipe it out with root
adb shell
su
mount -o rw,remount /system
rm -rf /system/app/[I]unwanted.apk[/I]
rm -rf /data/data/[I]package[/I]
mount -o ro,remount /system
exit

https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/248911/how-to-disable-com-facebook-appmanager

On 20/05/2023 04:14, mike wrote:
> On 20-05-2023 01:38 Jeff Layman <Jeff@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>
>>>> I found that when I removed facebook's app, which was pre-installed
>>>
>>> What phone has Facebook pre installed?
>>
>> My Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G had it preinstalled (I uninstalled it). The
>> Facebook App Installer, Facebook App Manager, and Facebook Services are
>> not uninstallable.
>
> What's wrong with this (copied from a recent thread on the same question)?

Nothing. I was merely answering your question and confirming what the OP
had said.

> adb shell pm list packages | findstr 'facebook'
> com.facebook.appmanager
> com.facebook.katana
> com.facebook.orca
> com.facebook.services
> com.facebook.system
>
> Disable without root
> adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.facebook.appmanager
>
> Uninstall without root
> adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.facebook.appmanager
>
> Wipe it out with root
> adb shell
> su
> mount -o rw,remount /system
> rm -rf /system/app/[I]unwanted.apk[/I]
> rm -rf /data/data/[I]package[/I]
> mount -o ro,remount /system
> exit
>
> https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/248911/how-to-disable-com-facebook-appmanager

The interesting question is why would Facebook be uninstallable, but
Facebook App Installer, Facebook App Manager, and Facebook Services not
be uninstallable? I don't use Facebook, Instagram, or any social media.

--

Jeff

On 2023-05-19 21:23, mike wrote:
> On 20-05-2023 01:23 Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:
>
>> I found that when I removed facebook's app, which was pre-installed
>
> What phone has Facebook pre installed?

One of my Motorola phones has it.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

On 2023-05-19 19:23, Richmond wrote:
> I found that when I removed facebook's app, which was pre-installed on
> my phone, it came back again. I did this a few times then gave up. But I
> found that there are hidden apps only viewable in the settings. They
> cannot be removed but they can be disabled. I disabled them and got a
> warning that things might not work. I went ahead fearlessly.

The warning is generic, it will be displayed for anything you uninstall
or disable.

Maybe you were uninstalling/disabling services, not apps.

If an app comes preinstalled and you remove it, it will come back with
system updates from the manufacturer, so you have to be attentive and
review the list of apps after such an update.

You can also complain to the manufacturer. I did. Now the recent models
do not carry facebook, outlook, or linkedlin. If they don't listen,
change brand.

> Now I wonder, what information was facebook collecting, and how do I ask
> them to delete it if I don't have an account?

The facebook app in your phone, as it was not configured and you didn't
give it any permission (I hope), could not collect any information.

However, facebook central may collect information of you that they get
from other resources. Depends on regulation.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

"Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> writes:

> On 2023-05-19 19:23, Richmond wrote:
>> I found that when I removed facebook's app, which was pre-installed on
>> my phone, it came back again. I did this a few times then gave up. But I
>> found that there are hidden apps only viewable in the settings. They
>> cannot be removed but they can be disabled. I disabled them and got a
>> warning that things might not work. I went ahead fearlessly.
>
> The warning is generic, it will be displayed for anything you
> uninstall or disable.
>
> Maybe you were uninstalling/disabling services, not apps.
>
> If an app comes preinstalled and you remove it, it will come back with
> system updates from the manufacturer, so you have to be attentive and
> review the list of apps after such an update.
>
> You can also complain to the manufacturer. I did. Now the recent
> models do not carry facebook, outlook, or linkedlin. If they don't
> listen, change brand.
>
>
>> Now I wonder, what information was facebook collecting, and how do I ask
>> them to delete it if I don't have an account?
>
> The facebook app in your phone, as it was not configured and you
> didn't give it any permission (I hope), could not collect any
> information.
>
> However, facebook central may collect information of you that they get
> from other resources. Depends on regulation.

I don't know how to tell the difference between a service and an app. I
guess the facebook apps service is a service because it is called that.

I don't think I am going to get any more updates as the phone is getting
old.

If the facebook app is installed by something which is part of the
system, presumably it could have permissions
pre-configured. Unfortunately as it is now gone again I cannot check
what the permissions were. I think it had access to the phone number
maybe.

I have sent an email to facebook about this, and if they don't reply,
which they probably won't, then I can go to the ICO perhaps, citing
GDPR. I should be able to delete data, but if the data is stored under
an anonymous id I can't really point at it.

Cheap android phones don't last very long before updates
cease. Expensive ones are too expensive. I am not sure whether it is
worth buying another.

I forgot to mention this:

https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/guide-how-to-remove-facebook-services-and-other-bloatware-without-root.4143489/

Note that it doesn't require root, but not all phones have fastboot.

On 20-05-2023 14:52 Jeff Layman <Jeff@invalid.invalid> wrote:

> The interesting question is why would Facebook be uninstallable, but
> Facebook App Installer, Facebook App Manager, and Facebook Services not
> be uninstallable? I don't use Facebook, Instagram, or any social media.

To my knowledge, nothing is uninstallable in the user partition.
Whether from Facebook. Or Google. Or the carrier. Or anyone else.
The user has full permission with adb to disable or uninstall anything.

mike <this@address.is.invalid> writes:

> On 20-05-2023 14:52 Jeff Layman <Jeff@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>
>> The interesting question is why would Facebook be uninstallable, but
>> Facebook App Installer, Facebook App Manager, and Facebook Services
>> not be uninstallable? I don't use Facebook, Instagram, or any social
>> media.
>
> To my knowledge, nothing is uninstallable in the user partition.
> Whether from Facebook. Or Google. Or the carrier. Or anyone else.
> The user has full permission with adb to disable or uninstall anything.

What I meant was the uninstall option wasn't available through the user
interface. So normally if I press and hold an icon, a menu comes up, I
select info, then I get "open" "uninstall" "force stop" on usual apps,
but for example "YouTube" I see "open" "disable" "force stop".

I mention that I may try adb, and I am going to do so now.

On 20-05-2023 16:03 Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:

> What I meant was the uninstall option wasn't available through the user
> interface. So normally if I press and hold an icon, a menu comes up, I
> select info, then I get "open" "uninstall" "force stop" on usual apps,
> but for example "YouTube" I see "open" "disable" "force stop".

The Android interface is made for little old ladies & young children.
This is an Android newsgroup. Not safe for old ladies & young children.

There's a joke somewhere in that above about real men don't each quiche.
> I mention that I may try adb, and I am going to do so now.

Real men use adb. :->

mike <this@address.is.invalid> writes:

> On 20-05-2023 16:03 Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:
>
>> What I meant was the uninstall option wasn't available through the user
>> interface. So normally if I press and hold an icon, a menu comes up, I
>> select info, then I get "open" "uninstall" "force stop" on usual apps,
>> but for example "YouTube" I see "open" "disable" "force stop".
>
> The Android interface is made for little old ladies & young children.
> This is an Android newsgroup. Not safe for old ladies & young children.
>
> There's a joke somewhere in that above about real men don't each quiche.
>
>> I mention that I may try adb, and I am going to do so now.
>
> Real men use adb. :->

Yes, I carry a laptop around with me so I can use adb to make phone
calls.

On 20-05-2023 20:55 Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:

> Yes, I carry a laptop around with me so I can use adb to make phone
> calls.

You may be new to this newsgroup but you don't need anything but the
Android phone to run a local adb on the Android phone itself you know.

The Android interface is made for little boys and girls to use.
Real men use adb. :-)

mike <this@address.is.invalid> writes:

> On 20-05-2023 20:55 Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:
>
>> Yes, I carry a laptop around with me so I can use adb to make phone
>> calls.
>
> You may be new to this newsgroup but you don't need anything but the
> Android phone to run a local adb on the Android phone itself you know.
>

Even on Android 10?

> The Android interface is made for little boys and girls to use.
> Real men use adb. :-)

:(

On 20-05-2023 18:04 Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:

>> You may be new to this newsgroup but you don't need anything but the
>> Android phone to run a local adb on the Android phone itself you know.
>>
>
> Even on Android 10?

Again, you may be new to this newsgroup but a search would have shown you
that it "Requires Android 8.0 and up" (I found that by doing your search).

mike <this@address.is.invalid> writes:

> On 20-05-2023 18:04 Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:
>
>>> You may be new to this newsgroup but you don't need anything but the
>>> Android phone to run a local adb on the Android phone itself you know.
>>>
>> Even on Android 10?
>
> Again, you may be new to this newsgroup but a search would have shown you
> that it "Requires Android 8.0 and up" (I found that by doing your search).

I did a search and found this website which says make sure you are on
android 11.

https://www.makeuseof.com/run-adb-android-without-computer/

Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> writes:

> mike <this@address.is.invalid> writes:
>
>> On 20-05-2023 18:04 Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:
>>
>>>> You may be new to this newsgroup but you don't need anything but the
>>>> Android phone to run a local adb on the Android phone itself you know.
>>>>
>>> Even on Android 10?
>>
>> Again, you may be new to this newsgroup but a search would have shown you
>> that it "Requires Android 8.0 and up" (I found that by doing your search).
>
> I did a search and found this website which says make sure you are on
> android 11.
>
> https://www.makeuseof.com/run-adb-android-without-computer/

Also I asked ChatGPT and it said this:

"While there are some ADB-like apps available on the Google Play Store
that claim to provide similar functionality directly on an Android
device, they are typically limited in their capabilities and may not
offer the full functionality of ADB."

On 20-05-2023 20:05 Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:

>>> Again, you may be new to this newsgroup but a search would have shown you
>>> that it "Requires Android 8.0 and up" (I found that by doing your search).
>>
>> I did a search and found this website which says make sure you are on
>> android 11.
>>
>> https://www.makeuseof.com/run-adb-android-without-computer/
>
> Also I asked ChatGPT and it said this:
>
> "While there are some ADB-like apps available on the Google Play Store
> that claim to provide similar functionality directly on an Android
> device, they are typically limited in their capabilities and may not
> offer the full functionality of ADB."

Did you run a usenet search of this specific newsgroup for local adb yet?
That's how I found out the free ladb app works in Android 8 and above.

I'm going to let you do your own searches since I'm not adding anything by
doing the searches for you as I'm just repeating what threads already said.

Good luck.