Most times, Samsung devices tend to download bloatware apps automatically, without permission from users. This problem is more common in the company’s budget and mid-range devices than high-end devices.
Unfortunately, there’s no button you can just click on to make Galaxy Store stop downloading these apps on your Android phone.
Nevertheless, there are some things you can do to fix this problem (not in a single click, however). Check out these five ways to stop your Samsung phone from installing apps automatically.
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In This Article
Disallow Galaxy Store App Permissions
The first thing you have to do to make the Galaxy Store stop downloading apps automatically is to disallow its app permissions. To do this, navigate to Settings > Apps > Galaxy Store > Permissions.
Here, choose permission under Allowed and choose Don’t allow. A warning will show up after this; just click on Don’t allow anyway and continue. Repeat this process for all other permissions under Allowed.
With this, the Galaxy Store app won’t be able to easily use the resources on your phone and download files without your permission.
After removing the permissions and launching the app, it’ll ask you again to grant it permissions. Ensure you don’t Allow it. Instead, click on Don’t allow from the pop-up to deny them.
Turn Off Galaxy Store App Settings
After disabling permissions, you can also disable the Galaxy Store app settings. To do this, you have to go back to the app info page (Settings > Apps > Galaxy Store). Here, simply turn off the following settings:
- Turn off Remove permissions if the app is unused.
- Click on Set as default and turn off Open supported links.
- Click on Mobile data and turn off Allow background data usage and Allow data usage while Data saver is on.
- Click on Change system settings and turn off Allow permission.
- Click on Install unknown apps and turn off Allow from this source.
- Click on App details in store, hit the three dots menu at the upper part of the app page that opens, and unselect Auto update.
Unselect Recommended Apps When Setting Up the Galaxy Store
In case it’s your first time launching the Galaxy Store app, there’s an apps recommendation page with the description “Popular apps to get started”. Don’t rush through the setup process; if you’re not careful, you may end up downloading lots of unnecessary apps on your phone.
Here’s what you should do:
- Under Your Startup Apps, you’ll see a list of app groups. Each app group will have one or more apps auto-selected. Tap Edit next to an app group and manually deselect all selected apps. Do the same for all the app groups. Once done, tap Continue.
- On the following Customize Profile page, tap Skip.
- Upon start-up, you might see a pop-up asking you to select your regional language. At the bottom, unselect Receive notifications about new and exclusive content from Galaxy Apps and tap Done.
- You might also receive a pop-up titled “Marketing Choice”. If so, tap Cancel.
Toggle Off the Galaxy Store In-App Settings
The next method to stop your Samsung phone from downloading apps automatically is by disabling settings inside the Galaxy Store app.
Launch the app, click on the hamburger menu (the three horizontal lines), then click on the Settings menu (the gear icon) to navigate to Galaxy Store settings.
Now, follow the outlined steps below:
- Click on Auto-update apps and choose Never.
- Turn off Get news and special offers.
- Tap About Galaxy Store > Auto update Galaxy Store and choose Using Wi-Fi only.
- In case you’re already signed in, click on Customization Service; it’ll take you to the Customized apps page. Here, you have to unselect all selected apps. You may receive a warning for some apps; just click on Stop to continue.
- Next, click on the back icon on the screen to go to the Customization Service page. Carefully go through this step; if you go back with swipe gestures or on-device navigation buttons,
it’ll go back to the main settings page. You have to click on the back arrow icon at the top. When you’re on the Customization Service page, turn off Customize this phone, Use mobile data, and Customized ads and direct marketing.
- On that same page, click on Erase your data, click on Erase again, enter your Samsung account password, and hit OK.
- Click on Stop customizing all devices, click on Stop all customization again, and hit Turn off to confirm.
Stop Using the Galaxy Store
If apps are still being downloaded automatically on your device, then the last option is to simply stop using the Galaxy Store.
However, before you take this big step, remember that many Samsung apps are not available on the Play Store.
So, if you’d like to keep your Samsung apps updated, you’ll need to keep the Galaxy Store app up and running.
Also, if you use Edge panels on your Samsung device, you won’t be able to download third-party edge panels without them. However, if none of these won’t be a problem for you, then get rid of the store.
Just one tiny problem left; you can’t uninstall or disable the Galaxy Store app like some other pre-installed Samsung apps because it’s an important part of One UI.
However, there are some other ways to stop it from running in the background. To do this, head to the Galaxy Store app info page, and follow these steps:
- Click on Force stop > OK.
- Head to Storage > Clear data > OK.
- Also, you can select the three dots menu at the upper part of the page and click on Uninstall updates > OK. It will downgrade the app back to its factory version (the initial version of the app before receiving any updates.
This is a bit risky as the app may interrupt some Samsung services which need to be updated regularly.
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Stop Your Samsung Phone From Downloading Apps Automatically
Nobody wants to see so many unwanted apps showing up on their screen out of nowhere, especially on a device from a popular company like Samsung.
It exhausts your device storage, slows down the processing power, and drains your battery life.
It’s really below users’ expectations to see Samsung resorting to such methods simply to earn some commission from third-party developers.
Until recently, Samsung started removing ads from One UI, so users would believe the company will stop this annoying practice of auto-downloading bloatware on users’ devices in the future. As for now, the easiest way to get rid of the bloatware is to follow the steps in this guide.