Regulation of Pre‑installed Apps on Chinese Smartphones and the Push for Removable Bloatware

For many years Chinese Android smartphones have been shipped with a large number of pre‑installed third‑party applications, many of which users cannot remove and which consume storage, slow performance, and even generate unwanted data traffic.

Early devices often required rooting the phone to force uninstall these apps, leading to consumer dissatisfaction.

In November 2015 the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued an interim regulation stating that, aside from basic functions such as calling, texting, and the app store, all pre‑installed applications must be uninstallable.

The underlying reason for the bloatware is commercial: manufacturers receive a fee of about 5–10 CNY for each pre‑installed third‑party app, providing a significant revenue stream, especially for high‑volume devices.

MIIT’s new draft notice reinforces the uninstallability requirement, defining four categories of core system functions (OS components, hardware‑supporting apps, basic communication apps, and app‑store channel) that may remain non‑removable, with at most one app per function allowed to be locked.

The notice also calls for manufacturers to improve permission management, enhance OS security, and prevent unauthorized OS replacement or app installation during distribution, and it invites public comments until 3 March 2022.

While flagship models now rarely include unnecessary pre‑installed apps, many mid‑range phones still do, meaning the issue persists for a large segment of consumers.

Once the final regulation is implemented, smartphones are expected to become much cleaner, with users able to uninstall all non‑essential applications.