We’ve praised Samsung for the way it has approached its TouchWiz user interface on the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge – because this version of TouchWiz probably has the least amount of bloatware, that is, pre-installed apps that users don’t usually use. Sadly, this is not the case for Samsung Galaxy S7 units under Verizon, whose latest update just added a notorious bloatware-adding app to the phone.
We’ve talked about Digital Turbine’s Ignite software before, and it was not good at all. Verizon has added the DT Ignite app in a recent update it sent out to its Galaxy S7 users. The app is described as “a dynamic preload platform for mobile operators to seamlessly manage applications installed at first boot and over the life of the device.” That’s a load of rubbish, if we may say so. What it does is this – Ignite can download applications without asking the user first, and it can pick the applications it downloads based on how the user uses their smartphone.
The DT Ignite app can be used by carriers and manufacturers to install applications just after product activation, after a factory reset, or even a system update. In theory, carriers like this app because they can still push apps that they themselves earn from even if a customer wipes the product.
This update has been publicized in a Reddit thread, and hopefully more users pick up on this and make their feelings known to Verizon. It’s not an impossibility that enough pressure will get the carrier to withdraw this app from its ecosystem.
VIA: Extreme Tech
