Like all carrier purchased smartphones, the HTC Bolt comes with several apps preinstalled from Sprint, commonly referred to as bloatware. Bloatware is basically any preinstalled app that wouldn’t normally come on an unlocked, carrier free version of the device. The best solution to avoid bloatware is to just buy your device unlocked, but that usually requires paying for it in full, which many people don’t want to to. Most people will just buy the phone from their carrier so they can either get it at a cheaper price or be able to pay for it month by month. If you do this, you’ll have to make due with some added bloatware. Also because the HTC Bolt is exclusive to Sprint, what you see here is what you’re gonna get.

Sprint Apps

I don’t normally try out too many devices on Sprints network so I’m not sure if what comes on the HTC Bolt is normal for other Sprint devices. The HTC Bolt comes with quite a few Sprint branded apps. Some of these seem pretty necessary while others don’t.

• Caller ID
• Secure Wi-Fi
• Sprint Family Locator (can uninstall)
• Sprint Fun & Games
• Sprint Music Plus (can uninstall)
• Sprint TV & Movies (can uninstall)
• Sprint Zone
• Voicemail
• Wi-Fi Calling
• App checklist
• App Spotlight (can uninstall)

Third Party Apps

With the third party apps, it seems like Sprint has made a deal with Amazon because there are quite a lot of Amazon apps included here.

• Amazon Underground
• Amazon Assistant (can uninstall)
• Amazon Kindle (can uninstall)
• Amazon Music (can uninstall)
• Amazon Video
• Prime Photos (can uninstall)

Others

• Facebook (can uninstall)
• Facebook Messenger (can uninstall)
• Instagram (can uninstall)
• 1Weather
• AAA (can uninstall)
• Draftkings (can uninstall)
• Mocana KeyVPN
• Lookout
• Loot (can uninstall)
• Napster (can uninstall)
• UnderArmor Record (can uninstall)
• PlayPhone Game Store (can uninstall)
• Tech Expert (can uninstall)
• Texture (can uninstall)
• TouchPal
• Uber (can uninstall)
• House of Fun (can uninstall)
• Walgreens (can uninstall)
• Lifestyle (can uninstall)

Just looking at this list, there is a ton of bloatware installed, but luckily you can uninstall quite a few of them. I listed the ones you can uninstall above. The ones you can’t uninstall you can disable, though just be mindful of what you disable because it might affect other apps or system processes.