- Nothing announced that it would allow users to completely uninstall Meta apps in Nothing OS 4.0
- The move follows backlash after the Nothing Phone 3a Lite shipped with unremovable Meta Services features.
- The fix will be deployed towards the end of November
Nothing, the UK-based phone maker run by OnePlus founder Carl Pei, found itself facing controversy this week after users spoke out against pre-installed bloatware on the brand’s Phone 3a series of mid-range and budget smartphones.
As Android Authority reports, Nothing recently released the Android 16-based Nothing OS 4.0 update for its current lineup of smartphones, and while the entire lineup received new features and fixes with the update, Nothing also made it impossible to remove pre-installed apps on the new Phone 3a Lite, including apps like Meta Services and Meta’s Facebook app.
Naturally, this caused a stir among Nothing’s passionate fans. As a small phone brand, Nothing values privacy and simplicity – and whatever you think of Meta, it’s clear that the tech giant doesn’t exactly share that reputation.
Worse yet, there’s no way to completely remove Meta Services, Meta App Installer, and Meta App Manager from a phone running Nothing OS 4.0 – however, as 9to5Google explains, users can completely uninstall Facebook and Instagram.
Fortunately, Nothing has reversed course on this issue and released a fix. In an update to an earlier statement on the Nothing Community forum, Nothing co-founder Akis Evangelidis announced that users will be able to completely uninstall Meta Apps, Meta App Installer, Meta App Manager, and Meta Services with an upcoming update.
There is no target date for the end of November to start rolling out the patch.
In the updated post, Evangelidis wrote: “Previously, these [apps] could only be disabled. While we recommend keeping them active for better stability of pre-installed apps like Instagram or Facebook, we understand that some users prefer full control over what remains on their device.
Fix a preventable problem
To be frank, it’s disappointing that Nothing is pushing pre-installed apps after such a good year in hardware.
We were impressed by the Nothing Phone 3, Phone 3a and Phone 3a Pro (which rank among the best cheap phones), so this issue flattened the Phone 3a Lite’s launch in comparison.
That’s why I’m hesitant to give Nothing much credit for this latest fix – it’s a solution to a problem that should never have existed.
I understand that economic pressures may lead phone makers to accept payment from big tech companies to pre-install apps, but not allowing users to completely uninstall said software is the real mistake here. This takes bloatware from a day-one annoyance to a real problem that you might want to deliberate about before purchasing a phone.
Regardless, I’m glad Nothing has corrected course on this – if you’ve been affected by this Nothing issue, let us know in the comments below.
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