OnePlus faces flak from users over Facebook bloatware in Nord, OP 8: Report

The OnePlus 8, 8 Pro and Nord have left several users annoyed as these devices come pre-installed with Facebook family of apps and services that cannot be uninstalled

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The three popular OnePlus devices (OnePlus 8, 8 Pro and Nord) have left several users annoyed as these devices come pre-installed with Facebook family of apps and services that cannot be uninstalled.

The bloatware includes not only regular Facebook, Messenger and Instagram apps but also Facebook App Installer, Facebook App Manager and Facebook Services that run in the background, according to multiple media reports.

This issue was raised by Max Weinbach from XDA Developers, when he tweeted some screenshots of the Instagram app updating via the Facebook App Manager service and not the Google Play Store.

"Basically if you're on an old version of Instagram and the device has Facebook services and Facebook App Installer preinstalled, it automatically updated it using Facebook stuff instead of the Play Store,'' Weinbach tweeted.

According to the company, pre-installing these apps ensures higher battery efficiency. As for Netflix, OnePlus claimed that pre-installing the app enables HD playback.

Meanwhile, OnePlus confirmed to Android Police that it would continue to install these Facebook apps and services on phones sold in Europe, India and North America.

However, older phones (OnePlus 7T and before) won't have these apps as part of an OS update.

The new policy has left several users in a fix who purposely avoid Facebook apps and services for various security reasons.