Manage system apps on company-owned Android devices

System apps are those apps that come preinstalled on Android devices, like Clock and Calculator. Many of these apps can’t be uninstalled and aren’t available in the Play Store for management. We want to give G Suite admins greater control over these system apps, so we’re introducing settings in the Admin console to:
  • enable all system apps,
  • disable all system apps,
  • enable select system apps, or
  • disable select system apps.

These settings will only apply to system apps on company-owned Android devices (i.e. Android devices in Device Owner mode). At launch, by default, all system apps will be enabled.


For more details on how to use these features, check out the Help Center.

IMPORTANT: These settings launched in the Admin console on October 31st, but they will not take effect for end users and devices until November 14th. If you’d prefer to disable some or all system apps, we recommend doing so before the settings take effect.

Launch Details
Release track:
  • Admin console settings launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release on October 31st, 2017
  • End user impact launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled release on November 14, 2017

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:
  • Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) for Admin console settings
  • Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) for end user impact

Impact:
Admins and end users

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Set up mobile device management
Help Center: Manage apps on mobile devices


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