What is the biggest enemy of your phone or laptop's speed? Learn about bloatware that's damaging your device.

Bloatware: Sometimes your phone or laptop is brand new, but within a few months, its speed begins to slow down. Apps take time to open, battery consumption increases, and the device begins to overheat.

Bloatware: Sometimes your phone or laptop is brand new, but within a few months, its speed begins to slow down. Apps take time to open, battery consumption increases, and the device begins to overheat. Often, people assume the hardware is damaged, but the real cause is something else: bloatware. It's a web of apps that needlessly drain your system.

What is bloatware, and how does it get in?

Bloatware is pre-installed apps that you can't delete. These apps are pre-loaded into the device by phone companies, laptop brands, or OS developers. Sometimes these include third-party apps that companies add for advertising or partnerships. These apps run automatically in the background and consume RAM, storage, internet data, and battery.

How do they ruin your device's speed?

The biggest problem with bloatware is that it continues to occupy system resources, whether you use it or not. As soon as the phone is turned on, it attempts to connect to its servers, sending notifications, and constantly requesting updates. This slows down the phone's processing speed, depriving essential apps of RAM. In laptops, it can sometimes overload the CPU to the point where the fan starts running too fast and the system hangs.

Is bloatware a security threat?

Besides speed issues, it can also pose a risk to your data. Many bloatware requests access to your location, browsing patterns, device activity, and even contacts. Even if you never open them, they can still collect data in the background, which is dangerous for your privacy in the long run.

How to protect your device from the effects of bloatware?

First, disable unnecessary pre-installed apps. On Android, you can disable them from App Info, while on Windows laptops, you can uninstall them from Apps & Features. If your device allows, you can use features like Debloat or Clean OS. When purchasing a new device, also consider how much bloatware the brand includes in its UI.

Bloatware may seem like simple apps, but they significantly impact the speed of your phone or laptop. If you identify and control them early, your device can perform like new for years.