Okay, so I've finally joined the 21st century, and bought myself a smartphone.
Specifically, an HTC Vivid. Not the latest and greatest, I know, but just right for me, I think.
Anyway, I'm looking at all of these apps that came pre-loaded on the phone. What do they all do? And how do I find out? There is one app in particular that makes me nervous, just because I can't find any information about it. Surely, if it were just some little benign thing, there would be all sorts of info about it, right? It's just called, "Smith" yeah, try googling "Smith" and see how many results come up... Anyway, I thought I saw somewhere that there was a pre-installed app that tracked everything you did on your phone for research purposes - sort of, we want to know how you use it, so we can perfect our systems, but the concern was that this data is too easy for malicious software or hackers to access. Naturally, I haven't found that reference again. Is that what this is, and can I delete it?
I'm kind of a private person, and if I'm sharing information, I want to know exactly what I'm sharing.
On that note, does anyone know about "Footprints" or "Latitude?" Can I delete this without regret, or is it going to be super important later? (I'm not interested in anything like "Foursquare" or checking in on facebook or anything - AKA the "Please rob my house, since I'm obviously not home" functions...)
I'm mostly okay with HOW to delete them - I've purposely downloaded a couple of (free) apps that it turns out I didn't like, and uninstalled them. But, just in case, is there a trick to deleting factory installs? Where do I go to find this stuff out!
I just put all my unused apps into a folder, name it "Stuff I don't use", and leave it at that. lol.
As far as I know, there are certain factory installs that just can't be deleted. I have a Sprint HTC Evo 4G. It was all the rage when it was released almost 2 years ago on my birthday (first week in june 2010). I love this phone and have had almost no issues with it compared to every other phone and smartphone I have had in the last bunch of years.
But it has a few apps..like this Nascar one comes to mind. There is no way to uninstall it. Stupid things like that. I have a few apps I have put on there, none I have paid for. I have a calorie tracking app I love. I have a few free games. A weather app.Movie phone. That's about it. I also use the navigation app it came with occasionally.
My hubby is fairly techie and has not found a way to delete these factory installs . They drive him nuts. He is actually shopping for new phones. He wants a windows based phone. Its his new pet project so he hopes Sprint comes out with one this year. Ugh. I am just happy mine works!
I would go to the phone store where I bought my phone and have them explain the apps to you. They are there for a reason. No one goes into their phone and starts removing stuff, it might be something that you must have to work you phone.
It could break it beyond repair then you are out the cost of a new phone plus the cost of this one.
If you don't want to use it don't open it....
I can't help you with the Smith app, but Latitude and Footprints are networking apps. I wouldn't want Footprints. It sort of labels a photo you take with the GPS location of where you took the photo. And it would allow you to potentially connect with other people taking photos at that same location. I think teens at a concert or party might like that kind of thing. Latitude could come in handy, though. It allows you to locate someone's phone. The example I found online was something about suppose your loved one is driving home in bad weather, and now they're an hour late. If you each have Latitude, you can pinpoint their location and get help if needed. Or you can install Latitude on a child's phone and know where their phone is. But many social networking people use Latitude to locate friends, like to find out who's at what party tonight.
I have a Verizon phone and I have taken my phone into a physical store and asked a rep to explain something and they always do, very politely.
