OnePlus Under Fire for Pre-Installing Facebook Services That Can't Be Removed

OnePlus is facing criticism for pre-installing Facebook apps on its newest smartphones—and apparently the bloatware can’t be fully removed.

The apps can be found on the new OnePlus 8, 8 Pro, and Nord models; all three come with the Facebook App Installer, Facebook App Manager, and Facebook Services as system apps, according to Android Police, which noticed the issue.

The bloatware paves the way for the social media company to install the Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram apps directly on your phone, without going through the Google Play Store. Users can choose to uninstall the apps. But according to OnePlus owners, the Facebook services can’t be removed; they can only be disabled.
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Disabling the three Facebook services on a OnePlus phone (Credit: JonnyJaap via OnePlus forum)

Doing so will prevent the services from working in the background. However, small amounts of data can still be sent to Facebook, reported one OnePlus 8 Pro owner who raised the issue in June.

OnePlus confirmed to PCMag the preinstallation is real. “The OnePlus 8 Series and Nord have these apps and services pre-installed. Older phones will not get these apps and services with later updates,” a company spokesperson said.

:story: PC Magazine