Bloatware: Difference between revisions

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Bloat, in any of its forms, raises privacy and security concerns<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hubert |first=Bert |date=2024-02-08 |title=Why Bloat Is Still Software’s Biggest Vulnerability |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/lean-software-development |access-date=2025-11-21 |website=IEEE Spectrum |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260131190126/https://spectrum.ieee.org/lean-software-development |archive-date=31 Jan 2026}}</ref>. As a rule of thumb, every added branch of code can make a program exponentially harder to prove for correctness<ref>{{Cite web |last=Howard |first=Gavin |date=2024-03-26 |title=What Computers Cannot Do: The Consequences of Turing-Completeness |url=https://gavinhoward.com/2024/03/what-computers-cannot-do-the-consequences-of-turing-completeness#infinite-state |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251214082939/https://gavinhoward.com/2024/03/what-computers-cannot-do-the-consequences-of-turing-completeness#infinite-state |archive-date=2025-12-14 |access-date=2026-01-06 |website=Gavin D. Howard}}</ref>, making it impractical or impossible to verify that a program is not malicious (such as [[spyware]]) or has an exploitable [[wikipedia:Software_vulnerabilities|vulnerability]]. The problem is exacerbated if the [[wikipedia:Source-available_software|source-code of the app is not available]], since [[wikipedia:Reverse_engineering|reverse engineering]] is difficult and (in some cases) illegal. This means that user is unable to control or ensure the safety of their devices.

Bloat is known for causing sub-par [[wikipedia:User_experience|user experience]]:

Bloat is known for causing sub-par [[wikipedia:User_experience|user experience]] (UX):

*Increased latency, "slowness", when using programs and applications<ref>https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Performance ([http://web.archive.org/web/20260211103730/https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Performance Archived])</ref>

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If non-sustainable energy sources are used to power these devices with bloatware, bloat can contribute to [[wikipedia:Climate_change|climate change]]. This is true for any excessive processing (CPU, GPU, etc.) and network abuse (such as [[Artificial_intelligence/training|AI training]]).

==Tools to deal with bloat==

This is a list of tools that can be used (or are primarily used) to reduce bloat. This is not a guide, just a list of suggestions.

*[[wikipedia:UBlock_Origin|uBlock Origin]] (uBO). A general-purpose content blocker for web-browsers. It's worth noting that its "Cosmetic Filtering" (element hiding) can, in rare cases (such as animated elements), improve performance.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-02-03 |title=html - Does hiding an animated GIF with CSS conserve browser resources? |url=https://stackoverflow.com/questions/33762652/does-hiding-an-animated-gif-with-css-conserve-browser-resources/35169688#35169688 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251215062718/https://stackoverflow.com/questions/33762652/does-hiding-an-animated-gif-with-css-conserve-browser-resources/35169688#35169688 |archive-date=2025-12-15 |access-date=2026-03-15 |website=Stack Overflow}}</ref>

*[[wikipedia:Noscript|NoScript]]. Much more specialized than uBO, as it only deals with [[JavaScript]].

*[https://libredirect.github.io/ LibRedirect]. On-browser (client-side) redirector of popular websites to privacy-respecting alternatives (alts). Most of those alts are lightweight, so it can be used to ''avoid'' bloat rather than ''remove'' bloat.

*<code>[https://privacy.sexy/ privacy.sexy]</code>. A tool for improving security and privacy on popular operating-systems, it also serves as a "debloater".

*[[Android]] debloaters:

**[https://github.com/Universal-Debloater-Alliance/universal-android-debloater-next-generation Universal Android Debloater Next Generation] (UAD-NG). A [[wikipedia:Desktop_computer|desktop]] app that uses [[wikipedia:Android_Debug_Bridge|ADB]] to disable (or "freeze") and pseudo-uninstall almost (OEMs block some) any app (including system packages) without [[Jailbreak|root]]-access.

**[https://github.com/samolego/Canta Canta]. An Android app that uses UAD-NG's bloat-lists as its knowledge-base (KB), and [https://shizuku.rikka.app/ Shizuku] as ADB replacement.

**[https://github.com/MuntashirAkon/AppManager AppManager]. An "all-in-one"/general-purpose package manager that runs on Android. It uses a derivative of UAD's lists as its KB. It can show '''a lot''' of hidden info about apps, which can sometimes be used for reverse-engineering.

**[https://github.com/lavafroth/droidrunco Droidrunco], superseded by [https://github.com/lavafroth/zilch Zilch]

*[https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard NetGuard]. An app that uses [https://developer.android.com/develop/connectivity/vpn the local Android VPN API] to filter internet traffic (like a [[wikipedia:Firewall_(computing)|firewall]]). It can be used as an on-device [[Pi-hole]] to [[Ad block|block ads]] using [[wikipedia:Hosts_(file)|<code>hosts</code>-files]] as rules.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bokhorst |first=Marcel |date=2016-03-20 |title=Ad Blocking with NetGuard |url=https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/blob/7308869411ff87649bf3a46a9c7c08f1e5353801/ADBLOCKING.md |url-status=live |access-date=2026-03-15 |website=GitHub}}</ref>

*[https://github.com/celzero/rethink-app Rethink], [[wikipedia:Domain_Name_System|DNS]] + Firewall + [[wikipedia:Virtual_private_network|VPN]] for Android. Can use local and remote DNS.

*[[wikipedia:Youtube-dl|youtube-dl]] & [https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp YT-DLP]. Audio/Video downloaders or "[[wikipedia:Ripping|rippers]]". Similarly to LibRedirect, it can be used to avoid bloat, by simply downloading the main content of a page. There's also <code>--get-url</code>/<code>--print urls</code> options that can be used to open the URL of the media in a browser, effectively streaming it, without a customized player

==See also==

*[[JavaScript]]

*[[Electron]]

==External links==

*[https://thatshubham.com/blog/news-audit "The 49MB Web Page"]; a study on popular news/journalism sites. They also talk about cognitive-load and silent automated bidding, criticizing the degraded UX and privacy violations.

*[https://idlewords.com/talks/website_obesity.htm "Web Obesity Crisis"]

*[https://danluu.com/web-bloat/ How web bloat impacts users with slow connections]

*[https://httparchive.org/reports/page-weight HTTP Archive: Page Weight]

*[https://www.keycdn.com/support/the-growth-of-web-page-size The Growth of Web Page Size]

*[https://tonsky.me/blog/js-bloat Javascript bloat in 2024]

@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 Bloat, in any of its forms, raises privacy and security concerns<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hubert |first=Bert |date=2024-02-08 |title=Why Bloat Is Still Software’s Biggest Vulnerability |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/lean-software-development |access-date=2025-11-21 |website=IEEE Spectrum |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260131190126/https://spectrum.ieee.org/lean-software-development |archive-date=31 Jan 2026}}</ref>.<!-- These privacy and security concerns should be detailed and explained. It would be the core point of this article. --> As a rule of thumb, every added branch of code can make a program exponentially harder to prove for correctness<ref>{{Cite web |last=Howard |first=Gavin |date=2024-03-26 |title=What Computers Cannot Do: The Consequences of Turing-Completeness |url=https://gavinhoward.com/2024/03/what-computers-cannot-do-the-consequences-of-turing-completeness#infinite-state |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251214082939/https://gavinhoward.com/2024/03/what-computers-cannot-do-the-consequences-of-turing-completeness#infinite-state |archive-date=2025-12-14 |access-date=2026-01-06 |website=Gavin D. Howard}}</ref>, making it impractical or impossible to verify that a program is not malicious (such as [[spyware]]) or has an exploitable [[wikipedia:Software_vulnerabilities|vulnerability]]. The problem is exacerbated if the [[wikipedia:Source-available_software|source-code of the app is not available]], since [[wikipedia:Reverse_engineering|reverse engineering]] is difficult and (in some cases) illegal. This means that user is unable to control or ensure the safety of their devices.
-Bloat is known for causing sub-par [[wikipedia:User_experience|user experience]]:
+Bloat is known for causing sub-par [[wikipedia:User_experience|user experience]] (UX):
 *Increased latency, "slowness", when using programs and applications<ref>https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Performance ([http://web.archive.org/web/20260211103730/https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Performance Archived])</ref>
@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 If non-sustainable energy sources are used to power these devices with bloatware, bloat can contribute to [[wikipedia:Climate_change|climate change]]. This is true for any excessive processing (CPU, GPU, etc.) and network abuse (such as [[Artificial_intelligence/training|AI training]]).
-<!-- TO-DO: add section for how to deal with bloat. It should mention privacy.sexy, UADNG, Canta, AppManager, uBO, Libredirect, etc... -->
+==Tools to deal with bloat==
+This is a list of tools that can be used (or are primarily used) to reduce bloat. This is not a guide, just a list of suggestions.
+*[[wikipedia:UBlock_Origin|uBlock Origin]] (uBO). A general-purpose content blocker for web-browsers. It's worth noting that its "Cosmetic Filtering" (element hiding) can, in rare cases (such as animated elements), improve performance.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-02-03 |title=html - Does hiding an animated GIF with CSS conserve browser resources? |url=https://stackoverflow.com/questions/33762652/does-hiding-an-animated-gif-with-css-conserve-browser-resources/35169688#35169688 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251215062718/https://stackoverflow.com/questions/33762652/does-hiding-an-animated-gif-with-css-conserve-browser-resources/35169688#35169688 |archive-date=2025-12-15 |access-date=2026-03-15 |website=Stack Overflow}}</ref>
+*[[wikipedia:Noscript|NoScript]]. Much more specialized than uBO, as it only deals with [[JavaScript]].
+*[https://libredirect.github.io/ LibRedirect]. On-browser (client-side) redirector of popular websites to privacy-respecting alternatives (alts). Most of those alts are lightweight, so it can be used to ''avoid'' bloat rather than ''remove'' bloat.
+*<code>[https://privacy.sexy/ privacy.sexy]</code>. A tool for improving security and privacy on popular operating-systems, it also serves as a "debloater".
+*[[Android]] debloaters:
+**[https://github.com/Universal-Debloater-Alliance/universal-android-debloater-next-generation Universal Android Debloater Next Generation] (UAD-NG). A [[wikipedia:Desktop_computer|desktop]] app that uses [[wikipedia:Android_Debug_Bridge|ADB]] to disable (or "freeze") and pseudo-uninstall almost (OEMs block some) any app (including system packages) without [[Jailbreak|root]]-access.
+**[https://github.com/samolego/Canta Canta]. An Android app that uses UAD-NG's bloat-lists as its knowledge-base (KB), and [https://shizuku.rikka.app/ Shizuku] as ADB replacement.
+**[https://github.com/MuntashirAkon/AppManager AppManager]. An "all-in-one"/general-purpose package manager that runs on Android. It uses a derivative of UAD's lists as its KB. It can show '''a lot''' of hidden info about apps, which can sometimes be used for reverse-engineering.
+**[https://github.com/lavafroth/droidrunco Droidrunco], superseded by [https://github.com/lavafroth/zilch Zilch]
+*[https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard NetGuard]. An app that uses [https://developer.android.com/develop/connectivity/vpn the local Android VPN API] to filter internet traffic (like a [[wikipedia:Firewall_(computing)|firewall]]). It can be used as an on-device [[Pi-hole]] to [[Ad block|block ads]] using [[wikipedia:Hosts_(file)|<code>hosts</code>-files]] as rules.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bokhorst |first=Marcel |date=2016-03-20 |title=Ad Blocking with NetGuard |url=https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/blob/7308869411ff87649bf3a46a9c7c08f1e5353801/ADBLOCKING.md |url-status=live |access-date=2026-03-15 |website=GitHub}}</ref>
+*[https://github.com/celzero/rethink-app Rethink], [[wikipedia:Domain_Name_System|DNS]] + Firewall + [[wikipedia:Virtual_private_network|VPN]] for Android. Can use local and remote DNS.
+*[[wikipedia:Youtube-dl|youtube-dl]] & [https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp YT-DLP]. Audio/Video downloaders or "[[wikipedia:Ripping|rippers]]". Similarly to LibRedirect, it can be used to avoid bloat, by simply downloading the main content of a page. There's also <code>--get-url</code>/<code>--print urls</code> options that can be used to open the URL of the media in a browser, effectively streaming it, without a customized player
 ==See also==
-*[[JavaScript]]
 *[[Electron]]
 ==External links==
+*[https://thatshubham.com/blog/news-audit "The 49MB Web Page"]; a study on popular news/journalism sites. They also talk about cognitive-load and silent automated bidding, criticizing the degraded UX and privacy violations.
 *[https://idlewords.com/talks/website_obesity.htm "Web Obesity Crisis"]
 *[https://danluu.com/web-bloat/ How web bloat impacts users with slow connections]
+*[https://httparchive.org/reports/page-weight HTTP Archive: Page Weight]
 *[https://www.keycdn.com/support/the-growth-of-web-page-size The Growth of Web Page Size]
 *[https://tonsky.me/blog/js-bloat Javascript bloat in 2024]