One of the most annoying things about Android phones is that they come with a boatload of pre-installed apps that may not be useful to the end user. We can’t freeze or uninstall system apps on Android without root, there is no way to completely uninstall them. Uninstalling these apps by rooting the device can also be challenging to individuals with no knowledge about how this works, or lack access to a computer. In this tutorial, we will see how to uninstall system apps without ever leaving your phone (No Root). However, this only works on devices with Android 11 and above.

Step One: Enable Developer Options in Your Phone

Developer options are a hidden menu within your phone's settings that provides access to advanced features and settings usually meant for app developers, allowing you to tweak system behaviors, debug apps, and customize your device further; to enable them, go to your phone's "Settings", then navigate to "About phone" or "About device", find the "Build number" and tap on it repeatedly until a message indicates that developer options are now enabled.

For more information on how to enable developer options, watch this video.

Step Two: Enable USB and Wireless Debugging

USB debugging is a feature on Android devices that allows a computer to access and interact with the phone's system files and data through a USB connection, primarily used for development purposes; to enable it, go to your phone's "Settings" > "About phone" > tap "Build number" repeatedly until "Developer options" appear, then navigate to "Developer options" and toggle "USB debugging" on.

Wireless debugging allows you to connect an Android device to your computer for debugging purposes without using a USB cable, instead relying on a Wi-Fi connection between the two devices; to enable it, navigate to your phone's Developer Options, find "Wireless debugging" and toggle it on, ensuring both devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi network and then pair them using a QR code or pairing code displayed on your phone screen.

Step 3: Install Shizuku and Canta App

The most important step is to install two Apps: Shizuku and Canta App. Shizuku is an Android app that allows users to access certain system APIs with elevated privileges, essentially giving them more control over their device without needing to root it, meaning they can perform actions that typically require root access without actually rooting their phone; it functions by utilizing the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) capabilities to achieve this level of access.

You can download the Shizuku App from the playstore. Click here to download.

The "Canta" app is an Android application that allows users to uninstall any app on their device, even without root access, by utilizing a tool called Shizuku to bypass system restrictions; essentially enabling users to "debloat" their phone by removing unwanted pre-installed apps without needing root privileges on their device.

Canta app is not present in the playstore but can be downloaded here: Github Repository | Download from FDroid.

Step 4: Pair Shizuku App With Your Device

For the Shizuku app to work, it needs to be paired with the device using wireless debugging. Remember in the second step we enabled wireless debugging. To pair the app, follow these steps:

1. Open the Shizuku app and click pair. 
2. A notification will appear with a that shows searching. 
3. On your phone, go to the Wireless Debugging settings and tap "Pair device with pairing code". 
4. Enter the pairing code to the Shizuku notification popup and head back to Shizuku. 

See more setup guide here.

Step 5: Open Canta App and Uninstall any Unnecessary Apps

After ensuring Shizuku is running, now open the Canta App and grant it access as requested. The app shows a list of all the installed apps on the phone with some security warnings. You might need to counter-check before uninstalling important apps that might cause your phone to have problems. However, Canta also allows you to reinstall the apps you have uninstalled to avoid these challenges.

Canta also offers helpful information about each app, telling you what it does and whether it is recommended or unsafe to remove. Just tap the app name to see all the info. I’d suggest only removing the apps you know are pure bloatware and do not affect your phone’s regular functioning, such as the Dictionary app.

A quick web search on “Is <app name> safe to remove on <phone name>” will also give you plenty of insights from users on the web. Just remember, it’s better to remove fewer apps than to break things on your phone. But then again, you can always recover the app in one click, so that’s fine too.