Uninstalling an app

A user can uninstall an app from the MaaS360® App Catalog for the Android Enterprise enrollments. Configure your MDM Policy with the allowUninstallFromAppCatalog attribute to enable Uninstall for your device.

Prerequisites

  • You must enroll the device in any one of the Android Enterprise modes - Device Owner, Profile Owner, Work Profile on the company-owned devices.
  • You must enable the uninstallation of apps in MDM Policy > Android Enterprise Settings > Security > App Security > Allow uninstallation of Apps.
  • You must install MaaS360 Android Agent version 8.65 or later on the target devices.

Configuring policy control

To enable the uninstall feature, add the allowUninstallFromAppCatalog attribute under Additional Attributes in the MDM Policy.

Set the value as true and publish as shown in the following screen.
Figure 1. Allow uninstallation of Apps
Allow uninstallation of Apps

Feature usage

After the new policy setting is applied to the device, the MaaS360 App Catalog displays Uninstall in the following screens.
  • As a button in the Details page for each app.

  • Inside the overflow menu, for each app in the Apps list screen.

  • Inside the overflow menu, for each app in the App Catalog Home screen as shown in the following image.

Figure 2. Uninstall in different screens
Uninstall in different screens
Note: These options are available for Play Apps, Enterprise Apps, and Play Private Apps (Private Apps for Android Enterprise).

In the Device Owner mode, the app uninstallation is automatically triggered by pressing Uninstall. In the Profile Owner modes, a pop-up window appears to prompt the user for a confirmation of the action.

Important:
  • If the MaaS360 App Catalog is enabled inside the Kiosk or COSU modes and a policy with the allowUninstallFromAppCatalog attribute is applied, then Uninstall is available in the Kiosk or COSU modes. IT admins must exercise caution when they enable Uninstall for the users or on their devices.
  • Create separate MDM policies if you want to selectively enable this feature - one for Kiosk or COSU devices, and another for Device Owner or Profile Owner devices.

Exemptions for Uninstall option

You cannot uninstall the apps that fall under the following criteria.

System apps

System apps are apps that are available by default on the device. For example, Gmail, Google Chrome, and any other OEM-specific app. These apps are distributed on Google Play Store.
Note: If the user tries to uninstall the system apps, an error message appears.

Required apps

The apps that are marked as Required by IT admins in the policy settings cannot be uninstalled. The policy is found under MDM Policy > Android Enterprise Settings > App Compliance > Configure Required Apps.
Note: If the user tries to uninstall the apps that are marked as Required, an error message appears.

MaaS360 agent

The MaaS360 agent cannot be uninstalled by the user.