How I removed Digital Wellbeing (and other bloatware) from my android using my Ubuntu PC without rooting my phone

Environment:

Phone: Samsung M13
Android Version: 14
Laptop OS: Ubuntu 24.04

Why remove it:
Digital Wellbeing along with other bloatware apps are extra apps preinstalled into the device by the vendor. These apps take up space, drain battery and slow down performance. Many such apps even collect data behind the scenes such as user behaviour, location, personal data, etc. without taking explicit consent.

Apps such as digital wellbeing are built into the operating system itself, and can't be removed directly. Some bloat apps like ARZone, Samsung TV plus, etc can be disabled, but not uninstalled.

The below guide will help you uninstall these apps.

Steps

Step 1: Enable USB Debugging on the phone

  1. Enable Developer Options in the phone
    Settings app > About Phone > Click on Build Number 5 times
  2. Inside Developer Options --> Debugging Section --> Enable USB Debugging

Step 2: Install ADB

ADB (Android Debugging Bridge) is a command line tool that comes with Android SDK that helps users to install/remove/debug apps, access android shell, transfer files, etc. 

sudo apt install android-tools-adb

Step 3: Connect Phone
When you connect your phone to a computer via USB, a prompt will ask you to "Allow USB debugging" for that computer; tap Always allow and OK for a seamless connection.

Check if device was connected successfully in terminal-

adb devices

You should see a unique serial number of your phone next to "devices" listed below if it's connected.

Step 4: Enter ADB shell

adb shell

Step 5: Check for package names using the shell

You can check for all the apps installed in device using this command

pm list packages

Tip: To find a specific app (e.g., Facebook), use: pm list packages | grep facebook

List of Apps I removed and their respective package names:
📖 Note: These names are relevant to samsung phones only.. for other apps, please refer to

App Package
Digital Wellbeing com.samsung.android.forest
AppCloud com.aura.oobe.samsung
My Galaxy com.mygalaxy
Microsoft OneDrive com.microsoft.skydrive
Samsung FM Radio com.sec.android.app.fm
Samsung Max (Opera Max) com.opera.max.oem
Samsung E-commerce com.samsung.ecomm.global.in

Step 6: Uninstall the package
📖 These won't remove the app from the device since they were rooted in the OS, but they will remove these apps for your current user.

⚠️ WARNING : Look carefully for the package name before uninstalling it, removing a wrong package may be dangerous and may result in bootloops. Absolutely DO NOT remove these critical system packages

  • com.android.systemui
  • com.android.providers.settings
  • com.android.providers.telephony
  • com.android.phone
  • com.android.providers.contacts
  • com.android.providers.downloads
  • com.google.android.gms
  • com.google.android.gsf
  • com.android.vending
  • com.android.settings
  • android
  • com.android.packageinstaller
  • com.android.server.telecom
  • com.android.bluetooth
  • com.android.nfc
  • com.android.keychain

Removing any of these packages can cause severe system instability, loss of essential functionality, or render your device unusable

Command to remove package:

pm uninstall --user 0 <package_name>

Step 7: Verification

pm list packages | grep -i <package name>

you can exit adb shell using the command exit

Restoring packages in case you want the app back
If you break something, you can bring the app back with: 

adb shell cmd package install-existing <package_name>

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