{"slug": "universal-android-debloater", "name": "Universal Android Debloater", "category": "terminal", "category_name": "Terminal and shell", "description": "", "recommenders": 5, "commenters": 5, "warners": 0, "score": 4.706, "rising": 2.35, "first": "2026-05-17", "latest": "2026-09-02", "why": "I liked using this software last time I was doing that to my ancient phone and have had zero issues using the preset lists to disable stuff.", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 5, "neutral": 0, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 2, 1, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "I liked using this software last time I was doing that to my ancient phone and have had zero issues using the preset lists to disable stuff.", "kind": "", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": "github.com/universal-debloater-alliance/universal-android-debloater-next-generation", "official_url": "https://github.com/Universal-Debloater-Alliance/universal-android-debloater-next-generation", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Universal Android Debloater", "Universal Android Debloater Next Generation"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 790291856, "item_id": 49393241, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49393241", "by": "hnburnsy", "date": "2026-08-21", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Suggestion: Use the Universal Android Debloater", "excerpt": ">\"for the debloating i used xda forums. they have a lot of forum posts about what is safe to remove from any device but as always be careful. don't try to remove gpu drivers or something\" Suggestion: Use the Universal Android Debloater https://github.com/Universal-Debloater-Alliance/universal-android-debloater-next-generation/wiki/FAQ", "context": "", "use_case": "debloating Android", "switched_from": "", "story": "Using an old Android phone as a music player"}, {"id": 787090560, "item_id": 49193160, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49193160", "by": "microtonal", "date": "2026-08-05", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I recommend people to use UAD-ng, since it explains what each package is and they are separated in safety-based categories.", "excerpt": "That is what I was alluding to, though I recommend people to use UAD-ng, since it explains what each package is and they are separated in safety-based categories. One note though: removal of system apps with adb is blocked in Android 17. You can only disable system apps on Android 17: https://github.com/Universal-Debloater-Alliance/universal-android-debloater-next-generation/issues/1426#issuecomment-4899337274", "context": "", "use_case": "debloating Android", "switched_from": "", "story": "\"Gravity is worth asking about.\""}, {"id": 784891472, "item_id": 49055717, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49055717", "by": "rdmuser", "date": "2026-07-26", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I liked using this software last time I was doing that to my ancient phone and have had zero issues using the preset lists to disable stuff.", "excerpt": "In my experience the best way to improve budget/old android phone performance is to disable as much random preinstalled crap as possible. Some stuff you can't disable directly through phone settings so you need adb. My phone is a budget phone from over a decade ago now and still going strong. I liked using this software last time I was doing that to my ancient phone and have had zero issues using the preset lists to ", "context": "", "use_case": "debloating old Android phone", "switched_from": "", "story": "Vision 50 Years Phone \u2013 Keeping old Android phones fast without root"}, {"id": 770797136, "item_id": 48174821, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48174821", "by": "d3Xt3r", "date": "2026-05-17", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "There used to be an app called Universal Android Debloater[1] that did the same thing, but that was unfortunately abandoned three years ago.", "excerpt": "There used to be an app called Universal Android Debloater[1] that did the same thing, but that was unfortunately abandoned three years ago. Glad to see someone else take up the mantle, although, I find it a bit ironic that someone who cares about bloat is using Javascript to build a desktop app... [1] https://github.com/0x192/universal-android-debloater", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "ZeroBloat: Open-source desktop app for removing Android bloatware"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["debloating android", "debloating android without root", "debloating old android phone"], "compared": [], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49538745", "title": "How to debloat your Xiaomi 15 Ultra without root access", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49332812", "title": "Using an old Android phone as a music player", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49105978", "title": "\"Gravity is worth asking about.\"", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49055339", "title": "Vision 50 Years Phone \u2013 Keeping old Android phones fast without root", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48174153", "title": "ZeroBloat: Open-source desktop app for removing Android bloatware", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-08": {"recommend": 2}, "2026-09": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-10": {}}, "versions": [], "version_unnamed": 0, "family_ref": null, "runs_on": null, "lines": [], "quotes": [{"id": 792667296, "item_id": 49541706, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49541706", "by": "nobody42", "date": "2026-09-02", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "", "excerpt": "https://github.com/Universal-Debloater-Alliance/universal-android-debloater-next-generation", "context": "", "use_case": "debloating Android without root", "switched_from": "", "story": "How to debloat your Xiaomi 15 Ultra without root access"}, {"id": 790291856, "item_id": 49393241, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49393241", "by": "hnburnsy", "date": "2026-08-21", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Suggestion: Use the Universal Android Debloater", "excerpt": ">\"for the debloating i used xda forums. they have a lot of forum posts about what is safe to remove from any device but as always be careful. don't try to remove gpu drivers or something\" Suggestion: Use the Universal Android Debloater https://github.com/Universal-Debloater-Alliance/universal-android-debloater-next-generation/wiki/FAQ", "context": "", "use_case": "debloating Android", "switched_from": "", "story": "Using an old Android phone as a music player"}, {"id": 787090560, "item_id": 49193160, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49193160", "by": "microtonal", "date": "2026-08-05", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I recommend people to use UAD-ng, since it explains what each package is and they are separated in safety-based categories.", "excerpt": "That is what I was alluding to, though I recommend people to use UAD-ng, since it explains what each package is and they are separated in safety-based categories. One note though: removal of system apps with adb is blocked in Android 17. You can only disable system apps on Android 17: https://github.com/Universal-Debloater-Alliance/universal-android-debloater-next-generation/issues/1426#issuecomment-4899337274", "context": "", "use_case": "debloating Android", "switched_from": "", "story": "\"Gravity is worth asking about.\""}, {"id": 784891472, "item_id": 49055717, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49055717", "by": "rdmuser", "date": "2026-07-26", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I liked using this software last time I was doing that to my ancient phone and have had zero issues using the preset lists to disable stuff.", "excerpt": "In my experience the best way to improve budget/old android phone performance is to disable as much random preinstalled crap as possible. Some stuff you can't disable directly through phone settings so you need adb. My phone is a budget phone from over a decade ago now and still going strong. I liked using this software last time I was doing that to my ancient phone and have had zero issues using the preset lists to ", "context": "", "use_case": "debloating old Android phone", "switched_from": "", "story": "Vision 50 Years Phone \u2013 Keeping old Android phones fast without root"}, {"id": 770797136, "item_id": 48174821, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48174821", "by": "d3Xt3r", "date": "2026-05-17", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "There used to be an app called Universal Android Debloater[1] that did the same thing, but that was unfortunately abandoned three years ago.", "excerpt": "There used to be an app called Universal Android Debloater[1] that did the same thing, but that was unfortunately abandoned three years ago. Glad to see someone else take up the mantle, although, I find it a bit ironic that someone who cares about bloat is using Javascript to build a desktop app... [1] https://github.com/0x192/universal-android-debloater", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "ZeroBloat: Open-source desktop app for removing Android bloatware"}]}