According to today’s report on Bloomberg, Samsung won’t let users uninstall the Facebook app from some smartphones. The report explained that the app came pre-installed in various Samsung smartphones and users cannot delete it from the phones. However, they can disable the app. You will see the icon on your phone, but it will be deactivated. If you want to use the app, you must enable and update it.
And no, Facebook cannot collect any data if the app is disabled. It looks like Samsung chose the pre-installed “Facebook app” as a placeholder, prompting users to update it if they want to use and log in to the app.
The app is a stub – very different from the main app, and it actually is the Facebook App Manager/Installer. The app researcher Jane Wong confirmed it on Twitter, explaining that it is a non-functional shell:
The version of Facebook (i.e. stub) that comes with Samsung phones won’t be capable to do anything useful until it’s been updated to the real Facebook apps
As long as the app has been disabled, no need to worry, Facebook app won’t somehow escape the disabled app jail.
According to the Bloomberg report, a Facebook spokesperson stated that the disabled version of the app is like the app is deleted and it won’t be able to collect data or send anything to Facebook.
Testing the disabled app on a Samsung Galaxy A9 shows that it indeed does nothing more than asking the user to update it to use Facebook.
The only annoying thing is seeing the icon in your phone and not being able to erase it.
As you can see, there’s nothing you should worry about when it comes to data and information being sent to Facebook, but Samsung should have mentioned this fact, considering many users doubt Facebook these days.
Robert J. Smith is still early into his career as tech reporter but has already had his work published in many major publications including JoyStiq and Android Authority. In regards to academics, Robert earned a degree in business from Fordham University. Robert has passion for emerging technology and covers upcoming products and breakthroughs in science and tech.
