My post from yesterday (https://mastodon.bsd.cafe/@stefano/113962852422322623) generated some very interesting comments. It seems that this behavior is confirmed and not just on Samsung devices, but also on devices from other manufacturers.
I knew that many Chinese manufacturers, in order to keep prices low, made deals with third-party companies to pre-install apps and games, but I didn’t think this would happen on high-end, expensive phones, and not only installing apps but also underlying services.
In my opinion, this behavior is unacceptable, and no, having to accept a document hundreds of pages long (otherwise it becomes impossible to use the device you bought and paid for) is not an excuse.
And it's not because the services are from Meta - they could be from anyone. I don't want third-party services installed on a device I buy, period. I can accept (though, I’m saying it lightly - personally, I don’t want any useless background services) manufacturer services, for the purpose of making the device (more) usable, but I certainly don't want shady processes that collect (and, I assume, send) personal data to other companies.
I’m more and more glad I installed #GrapheneOS on my Pixel.