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Does uninstalling apps from the Market work?

JohnJSal

Android Expert
Jun 17, 2010
952
72
Usually I go to my Applications option and uninstall from there, but today I tried using the Uninstall button in the Market. It asked me why I was doing it and then seemed to do whatever it does.

But then I checked my Applications list and the app was still there, with the uninstall option active. So I uninstalled it that way and it seemed to work.

So what does doing it in the Market accomplish? It didn't seem to actually uninstall it.

(Also, does uninstalling an app remove your rating and comments? Mine is still there for this app, even though it no longer says "Installed", but instead says "Free", meaning I haven't installed it yet.)

P.S. I'm pretty sure that I didn't just uninstall an update from the Market, thereby leaving the app itself still installed. The button I pressed in the Market simply said "Uninstall".
 
It was Zilch (free version). After "uninstalling" from the Market, my notifications tray said "Zilch free - successfully installed", which I found weird.

Then I went to my Applications menu and went to All, but it wasn't listed there. Then I went to On SD Card and it was still listed there, so I uninstalled it from there.

Perhaps what happened was that it uninstalled the app from the phone, but left whatever was still there on the SD card? Seems strange to do it that way, though. It seems to be fully gone now however.
 
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Yeah, some apps don't bother collecting the junk they put on your SD for app data.

Come to think of it, I don't think any do, or maybe it's that they can't.

Well, I actually had moved the whole app over to the SD card, so I don't think it was just storing data there, I think (I assume) the entire app was moved to the SD card, so I don't know why any of it would be left if the Market uninstalled it.
 
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Yeah, some apps don't bother collecting the junk they put on your SD for app data.

Come to think of it, I don't think any do, or maybe it's that they can't.


They can as of Android 2.2, but they have to put the data in a very specific place that isn't really very user friendly.

So if an app is saving data it wants the user to see, it would never put it in the folder that gets removed upon uninstall.
 
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Greetings, first post at this awesome android forums site.

Got an app from android market.... decided to uninstall it... worked but the icon is still hanging around. How do I get rid of it?

Oh... This is my first android phone... have had it for three days...

Thanks all!

As was said above, if the app is on your homescreen (or in some user defined area like a group you created) you have to delete it manually by long-pressing and dragging it down to "Remove". If it's still in the actual Apps list of icons, then we may need more information.
 
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