What Is App Selector on Android? Is It Safe?

If you have a T-Mobile smartphone, you may have come across an app named App Selector. At first sight, the purpose of App Selector is not clear. So, you may wonder whether it is safe to have the App Selector app. You may also want to remove App Selector to save storage space and other resources.

In this guide, I have covered everything you should know about App Selector on Android.

What is an App Selector?

App Selector on Android is a T-Mobile app that automatically downloads and installs suitable apps for your smartphone. You can use the service or uninstall the application by going to Settings > Apps > App Selector.

App Selector is a pre-installed application found on devices provided by T-Mobile. However, you cannot find App Selector in high-end smartphones. Instead, it finds a place in mid-range and budget-range smartphones like Samsung Galaxy A21.

Availability

T-Mobile does not provide a complete list of smartphones that ship with App Selector and App Manager. It, however, mentions that most T-Mobile and Metro devices with Android 8.1 or later will have the App Selector utility on them. If you do not see the effects of the app, it probably means you skipped its activation.

By the way, the additional utility called App Manager is available only on LG K51 and Samsung A11 and A21.

Definition

App Selector in the context of T-Mobile is a utility app. According to T-Mobile, App Selector will analyze your smartphone behavior and select the best apps to download. So, if you have set up App Selector on your T-Mobile smartphone, it will automatically install suitable apps on your device.

Another utility, App Manager, is a part of the App Selector package. T-Mobile says that App Manager is very effective in removing applications from your device. App Manager also has access to device usage data, thus allowing it to recommend which apps to remove.

Importance of App Selector in Mobile Devices

From a usability point of view, App Selector is a helpful feature for smartphone users. As you know, one can find thousands of apps on the Play Store, and choosing the right options can be difficult. Most times, people do not understand whether they need specific applications. App Selector aims to solve this problem.

According to T-Mobile, App Selector will study your smartphone behavior and automatically download the necessary applications from the Play Store and other sources. You can find all these apps in your library. But the question is whether you need all these apps.

Initial Setup

Here’s how you go about setting up App Selector on your smartphone.

If your smartphone has App Selector installed, it will pop up during the initial setup. You have three options here:

• Delay the setup
• Skip the notification
• Proceed with the setup

During the setup, you can set up your preferences for installing applications. In the end, you can also decide whether you want to install the pre-selected applications.

After the setup, App Selector will not bother you with notifications. Instead, it will silently install some of the best apps for your device and proceed.

Notification Settings

If you have delayed the setup, you may receive constant notifications from the App Selector. It will ask you to set up App Selector and download the necessary apps.

To remove this situation, you can go to Settings > Apps > App Selector > Disable all notifications. This way, you do not have to worry about those annoying notifications from App Selector.

Is App Selector Safe?

In terms of security and privacy, App Selector is completely safe to use. As I said, T-Mobile develops and maintains this app. However, the problem is that its recommendations are not always great. As a result, you may end up having too many unwanted applications on your smartphone.

I have also seen reports that App Selector downloads applications that take up a lot of storage space. So, if you have a smartphone with low storage space, having the App Selector app could be a bigger problem. Therefore, you may want to disable or uninstall App Selector on your Android device.

How to Remove/Uninstall App Selector?

As you can guess, removing the App Selector app is not straightforward. Because it is a system-level app, you cannot simply drag it into the trash. Instead, you have two options.

1. You can go to Settings > Apps > App Selector > Uninstall the app. This will remove the application from your device for the time being. But T-Mobile will reinstall this application whenever there is a new software update.
2. The second option is to go to Settings > Apps > App Selector > Disable the app. You may have to do it after every time you restart your device. However, on the bright side, you can stay away from those annoying notifications and pop-ups.

Fortunately, both methods will prevent App Selector from installing additional applications on Android. The easiest option is to skip the setup when you start the device. Since there is no way to launch the App Selector app manually, your device will not be impacted.

Will I Lose Other Apps if I Uninstall App Selector?

No, you will not lose other apps when uninstalling App Selector.

Even though App Selector may have recommended it, your device installs all the apps from the Play Store. Updates and maintenance of these apps are also through the Play Store. So, all these additional apps will stay on your device until you manually uninstall them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Concluding Thoughts

I believe I have covered almost everything about App Selector on Android.

In my opinion, the best idea is to avoid the notification when you set up your T-Mobile device. But, if you did forget it, you can always uninstall the app.