Study Finds iPhone Permits Removal of More Pre-Installed Apps Than Samsung and Google Devices

Android has long carried a reputation for openness compared to Apple's tightly guarded iOS ecosystem, but new research suggests that dynamic reverses when it comes to managing stock applications. According to a study by cybersecurity company Surfshark, first reported by Mashable Tech (https://mashable.com/tech/iphone-vs-android-bloatware-pre-installed-app-privacy-study), iPhone owners can delete a substantially higher percentage of pre-installed apps than owners of flagship Android devices from Samsung and Google.

The analysis found that iPhones come configured with up to 50 pre-installed applications. In the European Union, Apple permits users to delete 48 of those apps, or 96 percent, leaving only the native Phone and Settings applications locked to the operating system. In the United States, iPhone users are able to delete 44 pre-installed apps, or 88 percent.

By contrast, leading Android hardware makers impose tighter restrictions on removing bundled software. Samsung devices analyzed in the study shipped with 88 pre-installed applications, with only 50 (57 percent) designated as safe to remove. Google's own Android hardware shipped with 71 pre-installed applications, but only 27 (38 percent) were classified as safe for removal.

The volume of unremovable software carries practical consequences for device storage and user privacy. The report notes that typical smartphone users maintain between 60 and 90 apps on their devices, but interact with only roughly 10 daily and about 30 monthly. Unused stock applications can continue operating in the background, harvesting telemetry and personal data.

Data collection disclosures examined in the study also varied by platform. Apple's pre-installed apps collected an average of 8 data types per app, such as location and behavioral records. The Apple Store app and Apple Music were Apple's most telemetry-heavy native offerings, tracking 18 and 17 data types, respectively, out of 35 evaluated categories.

Pre-installed software analyzed on Google and Samsung devices collected an average of 13 data types per app. On Google hardware, the Google app and conversational assistant Google Gemini each disclosed 29 out of 38 tracked data types. On Samsung devices, bundled third-party apps Facebook and Instagram were identified as the heaviest collectors in the dataset, disclosing 37 out of 38 data types.

Tomas Stamulis, Chief Security Officer at Surfshark, noted that data collection across popular applications and AI chatbots raises significant privacy concerns. Stamulis stated that while certain telemetry points are required for basic operations, companies can harvest user information for targeted advertising or share it with undisclosed third parties, even from apps that users never actively open.