Device admin

Device admin is an Android right that lets an app control your phone, such as lock it or block removal, and bad apps use it to resist uninstalling.

Device admin: Device admin is a high-level Android permission that lets an app manage parts of the phone, such as setting password rules, locking the screen or wiping data. Offices use it for work phones. Malware and spy apps use it to make themselves hard to uninstall.

If an app is a device administrator, Android usually refuses to uninstall it until you first remove that status. This is why some unwanted apps seem impossible to delete. Find My Device and genuine security tools may use the right too, so seeing an entry is not always bad, but every name there should be one you know. Parents and offices may also set it knowingly, so ask before removing something that belongs to someone else.

To check, open Settings, then Security or Passwords and security, then Device admin apps. Switch off any unknown app and then uninstall it. If the button is greyed or keeps turning on again, restart in safe mode and try again. For stubborn cases, back up your photos and reset the phone. Do not trust an app only because its name sounds like a system tool; check who made it.

Tips

• Open Settings, Security, Device admin apps and review every name on the list.
• Remove admin rights first, then uninstall any app you do not recognise.
• If an app resists removal, restart in safe mode and try again.

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