How To Disable Apps On Android

Every Android phone comes with (a smaller or larger) number of preinstalled apps. These are most often Google apps (like Gmail , Hangouts etc.,) but also very often useless apps provided by our network carrier.

In most cases we cannot uninstall these apps unless we root our Android phone, which we don’t always want to do (because it usually voids our warranty).

This is the situation where we can use yet another built-in feature offered by Android OS, i.e. the possibility of disabling  apps.

In this short guide I will show you how to disable apps in Android on the example of 3 different phones (and different Android OS versions).

Why Disable Apps In Android?

You are probably wondering why in the first place you should disable some apps (even if you are not using them) that come preinstalled with your Android device.

Most of these preinstalled apps (also referred to as bloatware) have a lot of features and require a lot of space and RAM to run. Not only do they slow down your device but also shorten its battery life.

There is only one rule here: if you don’t use some built-in app, disable it.

Once you disable the app, it will still be present on your device, but any sign of it will disappear (from, for example, app grid or panels) and you will be able to access it only via app settings.

How To Disable Apps On Android?

I will show you how to disable apps in different Android phones with different Android OS versions running.

How to Disable Apps on Android in Sony (Android Lollipop)

To disable apps in  Sony Xperia Z5 Compact running Android 5.1.1 you need to do the following:

• Go to Settings and choose Apps.

• You will now be able to swipe between different lists of apps (DOWNLOADED, ON SD CARD, RUNNING, ALL and DISABLED).

• Go to the list of all apps and navigate to the app you want to disable and click on it.
• All you need to do now is click DISABLE. Your phone will ask you if you really want to disable the app. Confirm your choice and when it asks if you want to replace it with the factory version, choose OK.

From now on this app will be on the list of DISABLED from where you can easily enable it if you change your mind.

How to Disable Apps on Android in HTC (Android KitKat)

To disable apps in  HTC running Android 4.4.3 you need to do the following:

• Go to Settings and choose Apps.
• You will now be able to swipe between different lists of apps (DOWNLOADED, ON SD CARD, RUNNING and ALL).

Go to the list of all apps and navigate to the app you want to disable and click on it. All you need to do now is click DISABLE.

How to Disable Apps on Android in Samsung (Jelly Bean)

To disable apps in  HTC running Android 4.2.2 you need to do the following:

• Go to Settings > More and choose Application manager.

• You will now be able to swipe between different lists of apps (DOWNLOADED, RUNNING and ALL).

• Go to the list of all apps and navigate to the app you want to disable and click on it.
• All you need to do now is click DISABLE. Your phone will ask you if you really want to disable the app and warn you that disabling built-in apps may cause errors in other apps. Confirm your choice by clicking OK.

From now the disabled apps will be at the bottom of tab ALL. If you want to enable the app again, just click on it and click ENABLE.