Bloatware has always been a problem on our devices, and everyone knows that it’s quite a challenge to get rid of it and bring a PC in tip-top shape.

More recently, this junkware assault has also expanded to mobile phones, and many models launched in the past few years come with unwanted apps that cannot be removed without turning to more advanced methods such as rooting or jailbreaking.

Fortunately, tech companies are finally taking a stance against bloatware, and both Microsoft and Apple have made updates to their latest platforms to prevent unwanted apps from reaching our devices.

Microsoft

First of all, it’s Microsoft. Since it’s installed by OEMs on so many devices around the world, Windows comes with a wide variety of unwanted programs, and removing them is a serious challenge for everyone with average computer skills. Pretty much because removing all of them could leave behind files that slow down the PC or can even affect system stability in a significant way. So the best solution in most of the cases is a clean install.

And this is where Microsoft comes into play. A recently launched solution developed by Microsoft allows users to perform a clean install of Windows 10 and remove all bloatware at once, without spending too much time uninstalling all apps one by one.

Currently available in preview stage, the app will go live for everyone next month, when the Windows 10 Anniversary Update launches. It’s built as a wizard, so you only have to follow a few simple steps, and it can even keep your personal files when clean-installing Windows 10. But bloatware can be removed anyway.

Apple

Also in development, iOS 10 is one major step in the fight against unwanted apps, as it allows users to hide items they do not want to see on their home screen.

In case you’re wondering why we said “hide” and not “remove,” it’s because that’s exactly what iOS allows you to do. Although everyone originally believed that iOS 10 would make it possible to remove default apps, it does not, and the only thing that it brings new is an option to actually hide the app icon from the home screen.

So when you click the X button on an iOS icon, it removes the home screen icon, the user data stored on the device, and other associated files, but the core app remains on the iPhone.

Should you want to install it again at a later time, you just have to click “Get” in the App Store, and it instantly shows up on the home screen. Furthermore, if you attempt to perform a task that was previously associated with a removed app, you are prompted to restore it, and that’s why the core files are still needed.

Overall, we can only be pleased with tech giants finally fighting against bloatware on our devices, but efforts in this regard need to be continued, not only by Apple and Microsoft, but by all companies involved in the industry. Including Google, that is, as Android is the paradise of crap apps.