Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone?

From	"Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid>
Newsgroups	comp.mobile.android
Subject	Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone?
Date	2026-10-06 20:53 +0200
Message-ID	<nikudcFglmU2@mid.individual.net> (permalink)
References	(1 earlier) <ci1qoj760l7u.dlg@v.nguard.lh> <119vkoi$3m2$1@nnrp.usenet.blueworldhosting.com> <nik08hFppsiU3@mid.individual.net> <11a2jj4$1rmhb$1@dont-email.me> <11a3ep5$303l$1@nnrp.usenet.blueworldhosting.com>

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On 2026-10-06 20:31, Maria Sophia wrote:
> Arno Welzel wrote:
>>> On 2026-10-05 09:48, Maria Sophia wrote:
>>>> VanguardLH wrote:
>>>>> There are a lot of disables in the Gemini app.  I cannot uninstall it,
>>>>> but I can disable it.  I'm not interested in reenabling it to see how
>>>>> the disables are configured.
>>>>
>>>> We can always uninstall any app, even a system app, even if not rooted.
>>>>    adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.apps.bard
>>>
>>> So, if there is a user 1, he still has the thing installed? Then the
>>> application is not truly erased, just somehow disabled.
>>
>> Exactly. This is why I explained, that this will not "uninstall" the app
>> but only disable it.
> 
> Hi Arno & Carlos,
> 
> Thanks Carlos, for asking how it works, because it's not obvious.
> 
> I've run ADB, oh, I don't know, thousands of times, and there are some
> nuanced details here because uninstalling just isn't the same as disabling.
> 
> Regarding what Arno Welzel wrote:
>    "This is why I explained, that this will not "uninstall"
>     the app but only disable it."
> 
> Arno, while close, is not quite technically accurate saying that.
> 
> Arno isn't allowing for the fact that Android's package manager has
> several different operations for dealing with system apps.
> 
> Despite what Arno said, the command adb shell pm uninstall --user 0
> does not disable a system app at all. It changes the package's
> installation state for that particular user.
> 
> Always looking at this from the perspective of an unrooted Android device,
> for a system APK that is part of the read-only system image, Android
> maintains several different pieces of package state for each user.
> 
> So my point to Arno is that "disable", "uninstall" & "delete" are not
> interchangeable terms.
> 
> Most people on this newsgroup can't comprehend these details below,
> but I invest the energy into you because I know you can (as can Andy).
> 
> For example:
>   1. adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.android.apps.bard
>      This changes the enabled/disabled state for user 0.
>      The APK remains in the system image, and the package remains
>      installed for that user.
> 
>   2. adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.apps.bard
>      This marks the package as uninstalled for user 0 and removes
>      the package from that user's installed packages.
>      It does not delete the APK from the read-only system image.
> 
> The system APK is therefore still present on the device.
> Therefore, it can be made installed for user 0 again with:
> 
>   3. adb shell cmd package install-existing --user 0 com.google.android.apps.bard
>      This does not download or copy an APK.
>      It makes an existing system package installed for that user again.
> 
> A package can also be suspended (what various tools call "freezing"
> an app), for example:
> 
>   4. adb shell cmd package suspend --user 0 com.google.android.apps.bard
>      Suspension is yet another package state.
>      The package remains installed and its APK remains in the system image,
>      but Android prevents the user from normally using it while suspended.
> 
> Note if there is a user 1, that user 1 can have a completely different
> package state from user 0. User 0 can have the system package uninstalled
> while user 1 still has it installed and enabled.
> 
> The point is the APK itself is shared but per-user package state is not.
> 
> Then there is the concept of actually deleting the system APK.
> 
> Without root, an ordinary ADB shell/Package Manager operation cannot
> delete an APK that is genuinely part of the read-only system image.
> [Note: Some may be "marked" as system apps, but they're not really.]
> [Note: Many system apps have user updates that can be uninstalled.]
> 
> While adb pm uninstall --user 0 changes the package state for that
> user, it does not erase /system, /product, /system_ext, etc.
> 
> This is also why install-existing works: it isn't reinstalling the APK.
> It is telling Package Manager to use the already-existing system APK for
> that user again.

Ok, so the package remains in the filesystem, it is not removed. To do 
so needs being root. It is just marked as uninstalled or disabled for 
user 0. Fine.

Then, what is the advantage of this system over the GUI method of 
disabling an app? The effects are the same, AFAIK.

Is there a difference with updates? A system update can activate 
disabled system apps. One has to remember to deactivate them once more. 
Is this the same with adb?


-- 
Cheers,
        Carlos E.R.
        ES🇪🇸, EU🇪🇺.

Thread

Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Mike Copeland <mrc2323@cox.net> - 2026-10-04 21:07 -0700
  Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? VanguardLH <V@nguard.LH> - 2026-10-04 23:50 -0500
    Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-05 04:48 -0300
      Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? VanguardLH <V@nguard.LH> - 2026-10-05 03:32 -0500
        Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-05 12:02 -0300
          Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? VanguardLH <V@nguard.LH> - 2026-10-05 22:10 -0500
            Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-06 14:30 -0300
      Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2026-10-05 13:45 +0200
        Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-05 12:01 -0300
          Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2026-10-06 10:59 +0200
            Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-06 14:38 -0300
              Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2026-10-08 17:57 +0200
                Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-08 15:48 -0700
      Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? "Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-10-06 12:18 +0200
        Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2026-10-06 12:47 +0200
          Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-06 15:31 -0300
            Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? "Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-10-06 20:53 +0200
              Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-06 16:28 -0300
                Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? "Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-10-06 21:51 +0200
                Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-07 02:41 -0300
  Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> - 2026-10-05 09:49 +0300
    Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? "s|b" <me@privacy.invalid> - 2026-10-05 14:53 +0200
      Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-05 12:23 -0300
        Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Old McDonald <eieio@patch.corn> - 2026-10-06 00:12 -0700
          Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-06 15:38 -0300
            Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Old McDonald <eieio@patch.corn> - 2026-10-06 12:59 -0700
        Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2026-10-06 11:00 +0200
          Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-06 15:43 -0300
            Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-06 15:49 -0300
            Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2026-10-08 18:03 +0200
              Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Philippe <p.naudin+nntp@free.fr> - 2026-10-08 20:34 +0200
              Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-08 15:41 -0700
      Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2026-10-06 23:02 +0100
        Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Old McDonald <eieio@patch.corn> - 2026-10-06 18:51 -0700
        Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2026-10-07 14:52 +0000
  Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2026-10-05 13:45 +0200
    Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-05 12:05 -0300
      Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2026-10-06 11:01 +0200
        Re: Eliminate Gemini from Android Phone? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-06 15:45 -0300

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