South Korean conglomerate faces tough competition from Chinese rivals. PHOTO: AFP
Users using Samsung phones have complained that it is difficult to uninstall Facebook – which comes as a pre-installed application in the company's phones since 2017.
Reportedly, a photographer in the Pacific Northwest bought his new Samsung Galaxy S8, an Android-based smartphone that comes with Facebook as an in-built app. He tried removing the app from his phone but it only gave the option of disabling it instead of deleting it completely.
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Following the Cambridge Analytica scandal which heightened scrutiny of online data collection, consumers are now more cautious of their rights.
Some people deleted the app in protest while many Android users lamented as the app seemed more permanent.
According to Bloomberg, a Facebook spokesperson has said that the disabling the app stops collecting any further data or sending information to social media giant as well. But all of this is not communicated to the users of the app.
California-based company, The Menlo Park, has said that whether the app can be deleted or not depends on pre-install deals Facebook has made with phone manufacturing companies, operating systems and even mobile operators from around the world as it wants to give its users “the best” experience possible.
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While Facebook has refused to provide the list of deals the company has made with other partners, Samsung has said that in some devices the app does come as a pre-installed version which can be disabled.
Some users did take to Twitter to discuss and complain about the persisting problem.
yeh i cant delete it off my phone...it sucks. Should be illegal to be forced to carry an app. Especially one as invasive as FB.
— ES_F Trader a.k.a "Patrick Bateman" (@ES_F_Trader) January 9, 2019
just checked it on my j7+ and it cant be deleted.
— 🐿💙 (@anapudding32) January 9, 2019
You can't delete the app from Android at all. You can only DISABLE it, but you cannot DELETE the app entirely; nor can you delete the many underlying data tracking and logging files you can easily find for yourself by looking in File Manager. Facebook is greedy and dishonest.
— Stephanie Carlotti (@SCarlottiTweet) January 9, 2019
Ain’t buying no samphone
— dlroberts (@dlr_rrx) January 9, 2019
pic.twitter.com/hClm9s68y7
— Global Clues (@Living3Dream) January 9, 2019
Facebook Strikes Back
— Planet Korriban (@PlanetKorriban) January 9, 2019
Can’t you deactivate or something like that?
— James (@who_evenare_you) January 9, 2019
How? This has been the case since the S6.
— Daniel James @TheHaloClassic (@DSTattika) January 9, 2019
This article originally appeared on Bloomberg.
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