How to check device admin apps on Android
Device admin apps on Android are apps you have given extra control over the phone. The biggest effect is that they cannot be uninstalled until you deactivate them. To see them, search Settings for Device admin apps. This guide explains what admin rights allow, which apps normally use them, and how to deactivate one carefully.
Before you change anything
What device admin allows
Device admin is an older Android feature that lets an app enforce rules on the phone. According to Android’s device administration overview, an admin app can ask for rights such as:
- requiring a screen lock and setting password rules
- locking the screen
- erasing the phone and restoring it to factory settings
- turning off the camera
- watching failed attempts to unlock the screen
An app gets only the rights it declared, and you see them on the activation screen. Every admin app, whatever its rights, has one thing in common: it cannot be uninstalled until it is deactivated in Settings. That is why some monitoring apps ask for it.
What device admin does not do on its own: it does not let an app read your messages, see the screen or track your location. Those need other permissions or accessibility access.
How to check device admin apps without Applore
Menu names differ between phone makers and Android versions. The quickest route on any phone is to search Settings for Device admin apps or Device administrators.
- Stock Android and many other phones: open Settings › Security and privacy › More security settings › Device admin apps. On older versions, look under Settings › Security › Device admin apps.
- Samsung phones: open Settings › Security and privacy › Other security settings › Device admin apps.
- Look at each entry. A switch or tick that is on means the app is active.
- Tap an app you do not recognise to see what rights it holds. Do not tap Deactivate yet.
- Find the same app in Settings › Apps › See all apps and look at when it was installed and where it came from.
Note any app you did not add, especially one with no icon in your app drawer or one that also has accessibility or notification access.
Legitimate uses
Many phones have one or more admin apps that you or your phone maker added:
- Find Hub (Google’s find-my-device service) and similar services from phone makers
- work or school management apps, which may manage a work profile or the whole phone
- app locks and security apps that make themselves harder to uninstall
About Applore. Applore Pro’s Advance Lock includes Protect from uninstall. When you turn it on, Applore becomes a device admin, so it must be deactivated in Settings before it can be uninstalled. While it is active, Android tells Applore about failed screen unlocks and Applore can show a notification. Applore does not ask for the right to wipe, lock or change your phone, and you can turn it off at any time. See protect App Lock from being uninstalled and the privacy policy.
How to check with Applore
- On Applore’s home screen, the card for apps with admin permission explains device admin and opens Android’s Device admin apps list. Applore’s app manager sits alongside it.
- In Safety Check, the Device admin apps item lists the other apps Applore finds with admin rights and opens the settings screen. If it opens general security settings, look for Device admin apps, sometimes under More security settings.
- In Needs your review, device admin is one of the signals Applore scores. An app from outside an app store that is a device admin and hides its icon is flagged High.
Known monitoring appHighWorth a lookNot flagged
How Applore’s check works explains each level.
Deactivating a device admin app
Read before you remove a suspicious app first. Deactivating is a change that can be noticed, and removing the app deletes evidence. When you have decided it is safe:
- Keep a record: the app name, the rights listed, and the date.
- Open Device admin apps (search Settings if needed) and tap the app.
- Tap Deactivate this device admin app and confirm.
- To uninstall it, open Settings › Apps, find the app and tap Uninstall.
If the option is greyed out, see the question below on admin apps that will not deactivate.
What Applore cannot do
Applore cannot deactivate or uninstall another app for you. Android always asks you to confirm in its own screens.
Get support
The Applore app includes support contacts for India, the United States and the United Kingdom, plus global options. If you live somewhere else, search for a domestic abuse helpline in your country. Support hotlines lists where to start. If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency number.
More guides are on the safety hub.
Questions
Can a device admin app wipe my phone?
It can if it asked for that right when it was activated. Android's device administration features let an app lock the screen, set password rules, disable the camera or erase the phone, but only the rights the app declared. The activation screen for each app lists what it can do. Applore's own admin only watches for failed screen unlocks; it cannot wipe or lock your phone.
Why does Applore ask for device admin?
Only for Protect from uninstall in Advance Lock, a Pro feature. When it is on, Applore must be deactivated as a device admin in Settings before it can be uninstalled, and Android tells Applore about failed screen unlocks. It cannot wipe, lock or change your phone, and you can turn it off at any time. Device admin in the privacy policy.
An admin app will not deactivate; what now?
If the switch is greyed out, the phone or a work profile may be managed by an organisation, such as an employer or school. Ask them, or remove the work profile in Settings. Some phones let you deactivate or uninstall apps from safe mode, where other apps are paused. If nothing works, talk to a support service before trying a factory reset, which also erases evidence.
Sources
- Device administration overview, Android Developers. Checked 2026-09-15.
- Spyware and Stalkerware: Phone Surveillance, Safety Net Project, NNEDV. Checked 2026-09-15.
- Information for survivors, Coalition Against Stalkerware. Checked 2026-09-15.
- Stalkerware indicators, Echap, CC BY 4.0. Checked 2026-09-15.
Next steps
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