How to Remove Bloatware on an Android

I believe that most Android users have been subjected to this "attracting" problem for quite some time. Nearly all Android phones come with useless software pre-installed by manufacturers or carriers that onlu use up disk space. Even Nexus devices are preloaded with many Google-created apps. According to recently leaked confidential documents, "Google has been adding requirements for dozens of manufacturers like Samsung Electronics, Huawei Technologies and HTC that want to build devices powered by Android. Among the new requirements for many partners: increasing the number of Google apps that must be pre-installed on the device to as many as 20, placing more Google apps on the home screen or in a prominent icon folder and making Google Search more prominent".  If this proved to be true, removing bloatware could be the most wanted things of Android users.
Here in this tutorial, I shall be talking about how to Identify and remove them.

Bloatware are unwanted applications that come pre-installed (by the manufacturer) on an Android phone. In other words, any pre-installed application which the phone doesn’t need to function (might also consume excessive disk space / memory)  can be classified as Bloatware.
Are bloatware harmful?
No they’re not, although they might consume valuable resources like disk space or memory, resulting in a reduced performance. Any pre-installed application that is harmful to the phone or user can be classified as Malware.
How do I identify bloatware?
There’s no definite answer to that because. Any pre-installed application which you feel you (personally) don’t need can be tagged as bloatware.
Why are Bloatware so difficult to remove?
Their location. You can’t uninstall most bloatware like you would a regular application because they’re system applications. You will need root permissions to edit the system partition (see how-to-root-android-easily-without-pc/ for more information on Android rooting).
Where (on the phone) are Bloatware located?
They’re often located in the system/app folder. On some phones, they could be in vendor/operator/app , system/priv-app, system/preloadapp or other folders. You’ll need a root browser to access these directories.
How do I remove bloatware?
* Go to Settings > Apps > Downloaded and uninstall any bloatware you find there
* Ensure the phone is rooted and backed up (how-to-root-android-easily-without-pc/ to know more about rooting in Android)* Be careful what you delete from the /system folder else you’ll end up bricking the phone (see how-to-unbrick-fix-a-bricked-android-device to know more about bricking)
We’ll consider two methods:
1. Using a system application uninstaller
2. Manually deleting the bloatware apk
A. How to remove bloatware using a system application uninstaller
1. Install System App Remover (ROOT)  and launch it (authorize if prompted for root permissions)

2. Tick the system app(s) you wish to uninstall and click the red uninstall button at the bottom

3. Tap Yes to confirm

4. Wait while the app(s) get uninstalled

5. You should get a confirmation that the uninstallation was successful


B. How to remove bloatware using a root browser
This method is ideal for removing bloatware stored in locations outside system/app
1. Install ROM Toolbox Lite  and launch it (authorize if prompted for root permissions)

2. Scroll down and select Root browser (tap No if prompted to download additional utilities)

3. Depending on your phone type, navigate to the location of the bloatware (they could be in vendor/operator/app , system/priv-app, system/preloadapp or other folders )

4. Tap Multi-Sel at the bottom

5. Select the apks and odex files you wish to delete then tap Delete

6. Select Yes to confirm

7. Wait while the files get deleted

All done!