With over a billion active users, Facebook is without doubt the most popular social media platform in the world. Despite its popularity, Facebook’s image has been tainted over the years, as it has found itself mired in controversies regarding unethical practices when it comes to handling user data. For a lot of users, these privacy concerns are enough to give up using Facebook. But for Android users, deleting the Facebook app from their smartphone is not a real option. Facebook comes as a system app on most Android devices, meaning it cannot be uninstalled. At best, you can disable the app and it will be removed from the app drawer. In this article, we show you how to remove preinstalled Facebook apps on your Android smartphone.
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Disable the Facebook app from Settings
Step 1: Go to Settings and select Apps.
Step 2: Scroll down and select Facebook.
Step 3: Tap on ‘Disable’. The app will be removed from the app drawer and deactivated until you enable it from Settings.
Repeat the above process for Messenger and Facebook Lite.
Disable Facebook using Package Disabler apps
Apps like Package Disabler Pro excel at removing all the bloatware that comes preinstalled on your smartphone. With one tap you can remove all apps from the Facebook package, which includes Facebook, Facebook Lite, Messenger, and Messenger Lite. Package Disabler Pro costs Rs 130 on the Play Store, but it is a quick way of removing an entire app package at once. It also provides some parental controls for your device.
Disable Facebook package apps using ADB
If you do not want to pay for a package disabler app, you can achieve the same result using ADB. Granted, ADB can be complex to use, but it removes all package apps at once without having to root your phone. Firstly, you’ll need to install ADB on your computer. Next, you need to install your smartphone’s drivers on your PC. You can look up the drivers for your smartphone online, and download them on your PC. Once the drivers and ADB have been installed on your PC, connect your smartphone using a USB cable. After that, install App Inspector on your smartphone and select the Facebook app. Find the Facebook package name and write it down on a piece of paper. Once you’ve done this, enable USB debugging on your PC and input the following command in the command prompt, replacing ** at the end with the package name you wrote down.
adb shell pm uninstall -k –user 0 **
Once the Facebook package has been disabled, you will see a ‘Success’ message on the screen.
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These are the 3 ways you can remove preinstalled Facebook apps from your Android smartphone. Removing the Facebook app will not delete your Facebook account. You can read our comprehensive guide to deleting your Facebook account here. Facebook deletes your account 30 days after you’ve initiated the deletion process.
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