What happens if Google Play services are disabled or uninstalled ?


👤 Diwas Poudel    🕒 13 Sep 2023    📁 TECH

Google Play Services is a free application provided by Google LLC that comes preinstalled on Android-based smartphones. Google Play Services runs in the background on your Android device at all times, managing various core activities such as providing Google Services such as Google SignIn and authentication, Google Maps to other applications, synchronized contacts, and lower-powered location-based services and minor activities such as push notifications, as well as optimizing on-device resources such as storage and memory.

It quietly downloads/updates the data required by the application using Google API services. They are useful in every aspect of making Android OS better, more reliable, secure, and easier to use, resulting in better overall experiences.

Google Play Services verifies apps by scanning them for malicious code before users install them, and if they are found to be harmful, they will remove or disable the application without user confirmation.

Google Play Services is automatically updated on a regular basis, and its updates are independent of OS, OEM, or app updates. As a result, if any improvements or bug fixes are required, users will receive them as soon as possible.

You can only disable and force-stop Google Play Services in the current version of Android. There is no option to uninstall the Google Play Services. However, if you want to uninstall Google Play Services, you must first root your Android device, and then you will be the superuser of your phone. After that, you can uninstall it. It is not recommended to root the device or uninstall Google Play Services.

What happens if you disable or uninstall the Google Play Services?

If you uninstall or disable Google Play Services then you might experience the following things.

1 If Google Play Services is uninstalled or disabled, any application that uses Google SignIn Service will no longer be able to use Google SignIn and Authentication. It's possible that you won't be able to use a single Google username and password to access multiple accounts across multiple apps.

2 If Google Play Services is uninstalled or disabled, any application that uses the Google Maps API will be unable to access Google Maps.

3 If Google Play Services is uninstalled while any application that uses Location API is running, those applications will be unable to access Location Services. 

4 The Google Play Game Service is used by the Games to provide an immersive experience in multiplayer gaming sessions via leaderboards and achievements. Google Play Game Service will be stopped if Google Play Service is stopped and uninstalled. You may also lose your progress in the game if you use it to sync and save your game data. 

Also Read: How to Check Phone Processor [Android, iOS] ?

5 Your Android system may not verify apps and check for malicious code before the user installs it. Your Android might be vulnerable to security attacks.

6 Google Play service updates apps through the Google Play store. So this might not happen if you uninstalled and disable Google Play Service.

7 You may encounter issues with SMS and MMS. You may encounter issues with SMS-based verification.

8 You might get network-related issues.

Also Read: Difference between System Apps and User Apps?

9 App crashing because the various applications might be using Google Play Services API. And if these are not available then the application may crash. Defaults Apps like YouTube Music, Google Calendar, Gmail, Youtube, Google TV, Device Health Services, Drive, etc stop working if you are disabled or uninstall the Google Play Services. Also, other thirty-party applications using Google Play Service API might also stop working.

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Fig. Alert Notification After Google Play Services is disabled

10 If used Google Pay services then it might stop working. Also, you may not be able to install or update apps from Google PlayStore.

11 Also you may not be able to get push notifications on your mobile from apps.

12 Your phone may become unstable and sometimes you will notice a crash while using it.

Overall, it degrades the overall functionality of the Android application. It degrades the application's performance.

If you do not want to uninstall it then you can try following and these can also solve the problem you are facing.

  • Just restart your phone.
  • Clear data as well as a cache of Google Play Services.
  • If an update is available then update Google Play Services.
Also Read:

FAQ:

Difference between Google Play vs Google Play Services?

Google Play Store is an online digital store where you can download all of your apps.
Google Play Service is a proprietary background service that allows apps and other services to communicate with one another.