Android disable app without uninstall (Explained tutorial)

I will guide you through on this very topic we have here, android disable app without uninstall. How you can easily disable an app on your android phone without uninstalling the mobile application.

But if i may ask;

Can you uninstall a system app?

Maybe the answer is yes if you have a rooted android phone, and by using a file explorer to remove system apps from your android phone.

Right now, I don’t fancy rooting my android phones anymore.

Why I’m saying this is because apps that can be disabled are majorly the system apps or apps that are pre-installed in the phone. Any other apps can easily be uninstalled without requiring a long process or method.

I’m going to explain to you how to disable apps without uninstall on android phone.

Now let’s proceed.

Android disable app without uninstall

To disable an app without uninstall on android phone, you will have to open the settings app on your android phone.

Scroll down to apps and open it, search for the app which you want to disable and tap to open. Look below your screen and you will see the disable button below your screen, tap on the disable button and you’re good to go.

Now let me explain android disable app without uninstall using some apps as an example cause there are apps you need to first uninstall updates before you can tap on the disable button.

Remember you can only disable system apps or preinstalled apps on an android phone. 

Android disable app without uninstall: Google play services

Let me use the Google play services to explain what I mean by this line or sentence; there are apps you need to first uninstall updates before you can tap on the disable button.

Kindly open the settings app and scroll down to apps. Tap to open and search for google play services, upon seeing it, tap as well to open the google play services settings.

Below your screen you will see the disable button, but if you tap on it, you will noticed that it won’t respond.

So what you have to do is to first uninstall updates from the app before you can go ahead to disable the app. So kindly tap on the hamburger menu and you will see uninstall updates just like on the picture below.

android disable app without uninstall

Tap on uninstall updates and it will remove updates from the Google play services app. Then look below your screen and finally tap on disable, you will see that it will respond to your touch.

Remember this is an example and I’m not advising you to go ahead and disable your Google play services cause your android phone needed it in order to work properly. 

Lear more on what happens if you disable google play services

This is android disable app without uninstall for google play services and apps that behave same way like the play services.

Now let me use the google play store as an example.

Just like above, open the settings app and scroll down to apps. Tap to open and search for google play store.

Upon seeing it, tap to open the play store settings app and below your screen you will find the disable button.

How to disable app without uninstall on android phone

Tap on the disable button and it display a warning notice on your screen stating disabling this app may cause other apps not function or work properly.

Go ahead and tap okay, you have successfully disabled the google play store from your android phone.

This is android disable app without uninstall for google play store and you will do the same for other system apps or pre-installed apps on your android phone.

Before you go ahead to disable the Google play store, first read What happens if i disable google play store.

If you have any system app on your android phone, this is how to disable an app without uninstall on android phone.

Let me repeat this once again, you cannot see a disable button if the app is not a system app or preinstalled on the Android phone.

This is why you will see some number of persons ask how they can remove facebook app from their phone because there’s no uninstall button.

The reason for this is because the Facebook app is preinstalled and can’t be uninstalled unless the android phone is rooted, and the user uses the file explorer to remove the preinstalled facebook app.

So all systems apps or preinstalled apps can only be disabled and you will see disable button on the setting, while apps downloaded from the play store or any other source will not have the disable button.

Let me show another method for android disable app without uninstall by using a mobile app called greenify.

How to disable app without uninstall on android by using greenify

This is the first and oldest app that does this type of job, and back then there’s no disable button on the app system settings.

We always use the greenify app to hibernate or disable an app on our android phone, and the app works perfectly fine. Right now there are lots of methods to hibernate apps without using any third party application.

You can learn more on how to hibernate an app by putting it to sleep.

To use the greenify apps for this tutorial on android disable app without uninstall, first you need to download and install the Greenify app on your android phone.

Open the app, select if your device is rooted or not rooted. Greenify app works best if your android phone is rooted though you can still use it if your phone is not rooted.

How do I temporarily disable apps on Android

Select your phone status and grant permission for the app. You don’t need to be afraid to grant a permission cause the app is legit and not a virus or a Spyware.

To use the app to hibernate or disable app on your android phone, tap on the plus ➕ button on your home screen.

Hibernate apps on android

Select the ap you want to hibernate or disable, tap on the app and select to hibernate the app. And that’s it, the app will be disabled from your android phone.

This is the second method on android disable app without uninstall.

Is it ok to disable built in apps

I is not entirely ok to disable an in built apps on your android phone especially the Google play services cause it will make other apps o the phone not work properly.

Before you can go ahead to uninstall a system app or built in apps, you will have to very sure that it won’t affect your phone or apps installed on your android phone.

For example, android apps requires the google play services in order to work properly. If you disable the Google play services on your android phone, some apps will not open or work properly on your android phone.

Will disabling apps free up memory?

Disabling apps does not free up memory in the phone, but rather when you uninstall the app from your mobile phone.

Disabling an app will only restrict the app from running in the phone background, but the app will still be available in the phone. To free up memory on your mobile phone, you have to remove apps and files and not disabling the apps.

You may want to read Best fix for phone memory full but no files.

This is where I wrap it up on android disable app without uninstall, and I do hope I properly explained everything to you.

About Kennedy

I'm Amaechi Uchenna by name, a mobile tech enthusiast who love writing articles about tips and tutorials especially relating to gadgets.

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