More than 70 percent of respondents to two surveys say their smartphones have preinstalled apps that can't be removed, which they consider a violation of their consumer rights. (File photo/Chinanews.com)
(ECNS) -- More than 70 percent of respondents to two surveys say their smartphones have preinstalled apps that can't be removed, which they consider a violation of their consumer rights.
A survey by China News Service (CNS) finds that 96.2 percent of respondents have many apps that cannot be deleted. Only 3.8 percent have not encountered the issue when buying new phones.
In another survey by Data 100, a market research firm, more than 75 percent of those polled say they have to put up with apps already installed on their phones.
The CNS survey shows that 98.7 percent believe preinstalled apps infringe on their consumer right to make free choices, while 85.7 percent polled by the Data 100 survey have the same opinion.
The Consumer Committee of Shenzhen says it will file lawsuits against unremovable apps as a public interest litigation. The plan has a majority of support (85.7 percent in the CNS survey and 69.5 percent in the Data 100 survey).
In both surveys, Samsung smartphones top the list for built-in apps that cannot be uninstalled.
The Data Center of China Internet says nearly 86 percent of phone owners attempt to remove apps from their phones, and that 33 percent never use them despite their availability.
