Hey everyone, I have got a question about app downloads. If users install apps when the “allow downloads” option is enabled, and then later we disable that setting, will those apps get removed automatically? Or does Hexnode only control future installations/uninstallations?
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Replies (5)
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Participant
14 hours ago
Feb 06, 2026
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From what I’ve seen, disabling the setting doesn’t clean up what’s already there. The apps users installed earlier stay on the device. It just stops them from adding new ones.
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Participant
13 hours ago
Feb 06, 2026
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Yeah, same here. We had a bunch of devices where users installed random apps before we locked it down. Those apps didn’t disappear automatically. We had to go in and uninstall them remotely.
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Hexnode Expert
11 hours ago
Feb 06, 2026
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Thanks for your valuable input, everyone.
Allowing users to download apps enables installations, but disabling this setting later does not remove previously installed user-downloaded apps. Hexnode controls future app installations and uninstallations, but it does not automatically remove past user-installed apps without specific policies.
If you want to remove those apps, IT admins will need to uninstall them remotely.
Alternatively, you can configure policies to remove apps on policy removal, but please note this applies only to apps deployed via policy, not the ones users installed themselves.
Regards,
Mary Romero
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Participant
7 hours ago
Feb 06, 2026
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That makes sense. I was hoping it would auto-clean, but I guess that’d be risky if someone had legit apps they needed. Remote uninstall works fine though.
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Participant
6 hours ago
Feb 06, 2026
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I usually just push a cleanup policy when I need to standardize devices. It’s a bit of extra work, but at least you know exactly what’s being removed.
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