[LeslieAnn]

APK's, their purpose and safe or not to remove
This contains Froyo, Gingerbread, ICS, Cyanogenmod

Green = Safe to remove.
Orange = Remove with caution
Red = Do not remove

Note: The effects of removing certain apps can change depending on what version of Android and which rom you have. CM responds differently than stock, GB responds differently than Froyo.

A
AccountAndSyncSettings – Syncs settings to Google, especially important to Gmail. Do not delete.
Android_VirginUS-Chat – Virgin Mobile Chat forum app. Safe to remove.
AndroidUTSManager – Possibly Time sync system. Not recommended to delete.
ApplicationsProvider – Provides the list of installed apps to Market. Delete at your own peril.

B
BackupRestoreConfirmation - restores sync'd Google settings. Do not remove.
Bluetooth – Bluetooth connection system. Do not remove if you use Bluetooth.
BluetoothServices - Bluetooth connection system. Do not remove if you use Bluetooth.
Browser – Stock Android web browser. Semi-safe to remove, can break bookmarks, voice search and possibly market.

C
Calculator – Calculator. Safe to remove.
Calendar – Calendar app. Safe to remove.
CalendarGoogle - Calendar app. Safe to remove.
CalendarProvider -sync system for Calendar. Safe to remove.
Camera – Camera app. Do not remove if you use your camera.
CarHomeGoogle – Utilities to make using your phone safer while driving. Safe to remove.
CertInstaller – Wifi certificate installer. Do not remove.
ChromeBookmarksSyncAdapter – syncs Chrome bookmarks. Safe to remove.
ChromeToPhone – syncs Chrome bookmarks Safe to remove.
CMParts – Settings in Cyanogenmod roms will force close without this. Do not remove.
CMScreenshot – Screen capture application. Safe to remove.
com.google.android.marvin.kickback – Provides keyboard feedback through vibration. Safe to remove.
com.google.android.marvin.soundback – Provides keyboard feedback through clicks. Safe to remove.
com.google.android.marvin.talkback – Provides keyboard feedback through voice. Safe to remove.
Contacts – Your contact list. Do not remove.
ContactsProvider – Syncs contacts. Do not remove.
Cyanbread – Stock Cyanogenmod theme. Do note Remove unless you have an alternative installed.

D
DefaultContainerService – Needed for installing apps. Do not remove.
DeskClock – Clock and alarm system. Safe to remove
Development – Development app. Safe to remove.
DownloadProvider – Handles (all) web browser downloads. Do not remove.
DownloadProviderUi – Browser download interface. If removed, you won't see download status.
DrmProvider – Handles DRM for media that contains it. Do not remove or you will break said media.
DSPManager – Equalizer for tuning audio. Safe to remove.
DunServer – Possibly part of the VPN system. Delete at your own risk.

E
Email – Email app. Safe to remove, but will make it impossible to setup your phone/Market with Exchange – email transport system. Do not remove.
ExternalMemoryTest – Possibly part of over the air provisioning. Possibly safe to remove, but not recommended.

F
FM – FM radio player. Not functional on Optimus V. Safe to remove.
Fotakill – Disables over the air updates. Depending on rom and phone, may be safe to remove (safe to remove on the OV).

G
Galaxy4 – Live wallpapers. Safe to remove.
Gallery3D – Picture gallery utilty. Safe to remove
GalleryGoogle – Picture gallery utilty. Safe to remove
GenieWidget – Stock news and weather app. Safe to remove.
Gmail - Gmail app. Safe to remove, but can make it harder to setup your phone/Market with Gmail
GoogleBackupTransport – Handles backup of settings. Safe to remove.
GoogleCalendarSyncAdapter -sync system for Calendar. Safe to remove.
GoogleContactsSyncAdapter -sync system for Contacts. Safe to remove.
GoogleFeedback – Forceclose reporting for Gapps. Safe for the phone to remove, but could cause problems for Gapps.
GoogleLoginService - Google login system. Do not remove.
GooglePartnerSetup - In App purchases? Not recommended to remove.
GoogleQuickSearchBox – Search box widget. Safe to remove
GoogleServicesFramework – Google login system for Gapps. Do not remove.
GoogleTTS - Text to speech. Should be safe to remove, but is needed by Google Maps.

H
HiddenMenu – Hidden programming menus. Don't delete.
HTMLViewer – Filters html to be more compatible. Safe to remove, but not recommended.
HoloSpiralWallpaper – Live wallpapers. Safe to remove.

I
J
K
KeyChain – Possibly password tool similar to Ubuntu. Not recommended to be removed.

L
LatinIME – On screen keyboard. Safe to remove if you have an alternative installed.
Launcher2 – Stock Froyo launcher. Safe to remove, if you have an alternative installed.
LgHiddenMenu – Hidden menu settings/phone codes. Do not remove.
LGSetupWizard – Either part of initial setup, or account setup. Remove at your own risk.
LiveWallpapers – Live wallpapers. Safe to remove.
LiveWallpapersPicker – Live wallpaper Picker. Safe to remove if you don't use live wallpaper.

M
MagicSmokeWallpapers – Live wallpapers. Safe to remove.
Maps – Google Maps/Navigation. Safe to remove.
MarketUpdater – Starts with Market and checks for updates. Safe to remove.
MediaProvider - Handles ringtones and such, DO not remove.
Mms – MMS system. Do not remove.
Music – Music player. Safe to remove.

N
NetworkLocation – Provides location through towers instead of gps. Not recommended to remove.
NoiseField – Live wallpapers. Safe to remove.

O
OneTimeInitializer – Runs after first flashing of Gapps to allow you to chose which you want. Safe to remove.
OpenWnn – Chinese or Japanese keyboard. Safe to Remove

P
PackageInstaller – Installs apps. Do not remove.
Pacman – Package manager. (?) Do not remove.
PhaseBeam – Live wallpapers. Safe to remove.
Phone – Phone dialer. Do not Remove.
PicoTts – Text to speech. Should be safe to remove, but is needed by Google Maps.
PinyinIME – Chinese or Japanese keyboard. Safe to Remove
Poynt-Virgin – Poynt app. Safe to remove.
Protips – Tips widget. Safe to remove.
Provision – New phone setup wizard. Should be safe to remove.

Q
QuickSearchBox – Search box widget. Safe to remove, but may break the search button.

R
S
Scvngr – Scavenge App. Battery hog. Safe to Remove
SelfServiceAssistant - Virgin activation app. Safe, but not recommended to remove.
Settings – Settings system. Do not remove.
SettingsProvider – Part of the settings sync system. Do not remove.
SetupWizard – Wizard to setup email. Do not remove.
SharedStorageBackup - Possibly USB connection menu. Do not remove.
SoundRecorder – Sound recorder. Should be safe to remove.
SpareParts – Extra settings for Cyanogenmod. Safe to remove.
SpeechRecorder – Part of speech recognition setup. Do not remove if you use voice.
SPGMyAccount – Useless shortcut to web. Safe to Remove
Superuser – Handles root/SU permissions. Do not remove.
SystemUI – Part of the user interface. Do not remove.

T
Talk – Google Talk. Possibly safe to remove, but could break Market.
TelephonyProvider – Phone system. Do not remove.
ThemeChooser – Cyanogenmod theme system. Do not remove.
ThemeManager – Cyanogenmod theme system. Do not remove.
Trebuchet – Stock ICS launcher. Safe to remove, IF you have an alternative launcher installed.
TtsService. - Text to speech. Should be safe to remove, but is needed by Google Maps.
Twidroyd – Twitter. Battery hog. Safe to Remove.

U
Usbstorage – Usb storage. Do not remove if you access files on your phone from your computer.
UserDictionaryProvider – Dictionary for word prediction on keyboards. May be safe to remove.

V
Vending – Market App. Safe to remove, but you won't have Market.
Virgin_Mobile – Useless shortcut to web. Safe to Remove
VisualizationWallpapers – Live wallpapers. Safe to remove.
vmu_store_release_candidate – Virgin Mobile app. Should be safe to remove.
VoiceDialer – Voice dialing. Safe to remove.
VoiceSearch – Voice search,. Safe to remove.
VpnDialogs _ Part of the VPN system. Safe to remove if you aren't using it.
VpnServices – VPN adapter. Safe to remove.

W
WAPPushManager – Tethering connectivity. Safe to remove if you don't use tethering/access point mode.
WHERE – Where Application Battery hog. Safe to Remove. Battery Hog.

X
Y
YouTube – Youtube viewer. Safe to Remove.

Z

[flapjack.fiasco]

This is AMAZING! I was just about to go looking for a thread like this, and I stumbled upon the 2012 guide you just posted, which of course linked to this. This is such a great resource!

[JerryScript]

Great post, very useful info!

A couple of things to note:

CMParts, remove it, and you will have to install anywhere from 5 to 15 market apps to get the same functionality. This handles everything from lockscreen changes, to gui changes, to cpu overclocking., to how your phone's inputs function, over 50 different settings altogether. IMHO, necessary if you want to get the full use of your phone (without install other apps).

GMail, I never install it. I just use the default email app, and enter my gmail address and password, quick and easy.

[bdfull3r]

Its post like this that deserve front page attention

[flapjack.fiasco]

So if I put a .apk in the /system/app/ folder before I flash, will it install automatically? Or is there more to it than that? What I'm getting at with this question is this: I never use the stock music app, I've been using Google Music for a while now. So if I were to replace music.apk with whatever the Google Music .apk is, would that work?

[LeslieAnn]

It should, however, not everything is able to run from system/app. Some need to be in data/apps.

[flapjack.fiasco]

Ah! I see! And /data/apps is part of the installed file structure, and not part of the ROM zip, correct?
(This is gonna get real interesting, or get me into trouble, but either way it's going to be fun).

[tdm]

Ah! I see! And /data/apps is part of the installed file structure, and not part of the ROM zip, correct?
(This is gonna get real interesting, or get me into trouble, but either way it's going to be fun).

/system is installed from your ROM. So /system/app are apps that the ROM included.

/data is not installed from your ROM, this is your data. So /data/app are apps that you installed.

But note that /data/data holds the settings for all apps. It needs to because /system is normally read-only.

[flapjack.fiasco]

OK, I got it now. I guess I should have read up more on the Android file system structure before hand. If I find a good tutorial on the subject, I'll post a link.

Sent from my Optimus V on Harmonia 2.

[Paul627g]

+1 on this thread. This is an excellent guide for which apps can and can't be removed.

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

[flapjack.fiasco]

Yeah, I agree. This guide is useful for all sorts of different phones. If for nothing else, it should be sticky so that those with other phones who happen upon our forum might take notice and propagate it to other forums. Good work once again LeslieAnn!

[EarthnFire78]

Found out the AndroidTerm is not safe to remove as it can cause problem with flashing ROMs, and the Talk.apk doesn't effect Market but must likely well disable the Voice button.

Edit: Nope I have a dead button, guess that is the price one pays for buying a used phone.

[LeslieAnn]

Found out the AndroidTerm is not safe to remove as it can cause problem with flashing ROMs, and the Talk.apk doesn't effect Market but must likely well disable the Voice button.

The effects of removing certain apps can change depending on what version of Android and which rom you have. CM responds differently than stock, GB responds differently than Froyo.

[crickie]

Great post Leslie Ann! I've always held on to the theory that you shouldn't remove ANYTHING from your phone that you can't re-install from the Market or replace with an app of the same functionality from the Market. (except for your phone contacts apk which HAS to stay). I tried to remove that once and regretted it!
Thanks for all the guidance girlfriend!!!

[.psd]

Holy grail batman! Wow, I've been looking for this list for over a year!

[yeshuapoppy]

When do I remove the apks? Before install of the ROM or can I remove them safely with esfilemanager while running the phone ROM software?

[poweredge99]

Thank you.. .. I needed this badly and WHOOOOSH.. here it was ...

[lilrob1213]

I have a question... When removing apk's from the system/app section in es file explorer, do I need to delete the .odex file as well? I'm on stock for the HTC One V for virgin mobile.