Android Users Can Disable 5 Default Settings to Cut Tracking and Clutter

6 articles · Updated · MUO - MakeUseOf · May 12

Five default Android features can be switched off to make phones feel cleaner and more private, including app suggestions, automatic home-screen icons, diagnostics sharing, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth scanning, and lock-screen notification previews.
Usage and diagnostics sends app performance, battery, system activity and crash data to Google by default, while Wi-Fi and Bluetooth scanning can keep looking for nearby signals even after users toggle those radios off.
Home-screen changes are immediate: disabling suggested apps stops Android from filling empty dock slots, and turning off automatic icon placement prevents new Play Store downloads from cluttering multiple pages.
Lock-screen notification settings can hide message text, sender names and email subjects until authentication, reducing the chance that anyone nearby can read sensitive alerts.
The changes do not alter core phone functions, though disabling background scanning may slightly slow location lock-ons in apps that rely on it.

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