Does all data get deleted when uninstaling an app?

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Master One

Senior Member
Jan 31, 2011
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I am just wondering if it makes a difference to first use Force Stop + Clear storage before uninstalling an app, or if Uninstall alone will remove all data an app has stored on the device.

Just checking for the right procedure for an app to not leave anything behind in the non-user accessible device storage (/data) to avoid clutter and fill-up when installing and uninstalling a lot of apps.
 
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Clear storage: Permanently deletes all app data.
Uninstall: Simply hides app to user, it doesn't get physically removed from storage memory.

When you clear data or storage of an app, it deletes the data associated with that app. And when that happens, your app will behave like a freshly installed one
 
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Amatyi1

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Aug 31, 2012
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Birmingham
RUNNING OUT OF SPACE ON MY PHONE FROM JUST UNINSTALLING APPS INSTEAD OF CLEARING DATA AND UNINSTALLING THEM. PLEASE HELP.
I know this thread is a year old but I'm wondering the same thing. I've been backing up my phone for as long as I can remember, to cloud storage, and getting a new one and signing in and it downloads all the apps that I had previously. I've noticed I still have system apps, that 15 years ago you had to download to make your phone easier or better that now comes preinstalled. For some reason Android doesn't figure out that I no longer need these types of apps. I install apps and uninstall them all the time as needed or when I run out of space but. I only uninstall the app; I usually don't go in and clear data before uninstalling it. Is there a way to clear this data after uninstalling the app? I've got a note 20 ultra 5g that has 128GB internal storage and when I go into analyze my storage in my files app that comes with Samsung phones it's saying I've used 88% of my storage. I save all my pictures to my SD card and have moved all the pictures and videos that got saved by accident to my SD card. The majority of my used storage is 71.15 GB of System storage, that I can't click on to change and 42.08 GB of apps storage. The amount of storage used for system seems excessive to say the least. I'm thinking that some of it is those apps I discussed previously, like fonts and voice to text apps, that you used to have to install manually if you wanted to use the feature and all this app data that got left behind and just gets synced to the new phone each time. How can you clear all this bloat wear that I no longer need where I'm not spending a fortune just so I don't run out of space on my phone? I'm tired of always having to buy a new phone to get more internal storage when my Note 20 Ultra 5g is still a good phone. Can anyone help me out on this?
 

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Amatyi1

Member
Aug 31, 2012
7
0
Birmingham
When the Analyze Storage feature in the Samsung Files app says "Apps", it refers to all of the apps that are installed on your phone, including both system apps and user-installed apps. System apps are apps that come pre-installed on your phone, and they are essential for the operation of your device. User-installed apps are apps that you have downloaded and installed from the Google Play Store or other app stores.

The "Apps" category in the Analyze Storage feature also includes the data associated with apps, such as app settings, preferences, and saved files.

To see a more detailed breakdown of the apps that are using storage space on your phone, you can tap on the "Apps" category in the Analyze Storage feature. This will show you a list of all of the apps on your phone, sorted by size. You can then tap on an individual app to see more information about its storage usage.

The "System" category in the Analyze Storage feature in the Samsung Files app refers to all of the files that are required for the operation of your phone. This includes the operating system itself, as well as pre-installed apps, system fonts, and other system data.
Thank you so much for your detailed description of apps and system apps. However, system apps are not always essential for the operation of your phone. How do I know this, because when I first got my phone and signed in and downloaded all my apps I didn't have that much space used by system apps. I'm not sure if it's Samsung pushing us to buy the next best phone with more storage, probably but I still think that much space for system apps is excessive when they give you a phone with 128GB. I wish I knew of a way to find out how much of that storage space I really needed without clicking on apps and selecting to see system apps along with it and going into each system app. Or maybe they have a list of preinstalled apps for the Note 20 Ultra 5g that I can compare with mine. I don't know what I'm saying, I just hoped there was someone out there that would be able to give me a tip that I haven't thought about yet. Thanks for trying to help though and responding. I appreciate your input.