How to Remove Palmpay Security Plugin and Watermark on Android Phones

Palmpay is a popular mobile payment and financial services app available for Android devices. It offers features like mobile money transfer, airtime purchases, bill payments, etc. The app comes preinstalled with a security plugin and watermark feature that many users find intrusive and want to remove.

In this detailed guide, you will learn how to safely remove the Palmpay security plugin and watermark from any Android device.

Understanding the Palmpay Security Features

When you install Palmpay app on your Android phone, it comes bundled with the following security features:

Palmpay Security Plugin: This is a background service that monitors your device activities to detect root access, app installs/uninstalls, incoming SMS, etc. Removing this plugin disables these security features.

Palmpay Watermark: This feature overlays a light Palmpay logo watermark on your screen. It serves as an anti-theft visual deterrent.

These pre-enabled security features are well-intentioned to safeguard user accounts. However, some users consider them too intrusive or resource-heavy for their liking.

The good news is you can fully uninstall these components without affecting Palmpay app functionality. The payment services will continue to work normally.

Prerequisites

Before you proceed, ensure your device meets these conditions:

• Runs Android 5.0+
• Has Palmpay version 3.2.18+ installed
• Is not rooted
• Has USB debugging enabled
• Has at least 30% battery charge

I’ll provide instructions to enable USB debugging and charge the battery level later. For now, ensure your Android version and Palmpay app meet the minimum requirements.

Step 1 – Enable USB Debugging

USB debugging allows privileged communication between your device and a computer. We will need it to run uninstall commands on your phone from a Windows PC.

To enable USB debugging:

1. Open Settings and tap About phone. Note down the Build number.

2. Now go back and tap Developer options. Toggle the switch ON to unlock developer settings.

3. Scroll down and toggle ON the USB debugging option.

4. Connect your phone to a Windows PC using a USB data cable. You may get an authentication prompt on your phone. Check Always Allow…and tap OK to confirm access.

This grants elevated ADB access rights to your PC whenever you connect your phone via USB.

Step 2 – Install ADB on the PC

ADB or Android Debug Bridge is a CLI tool that handles communications between a computer and a connected Android device. We will use it to send uninstall commands.

Follow these steps to install ADB on your Windows PC:

1. Download the ADB binary ZIP folder from developer.android.com/studio website. Extract the ZIP folder to a permanent location like C:\adb

2. Press Win + R keys, type cmd to open a command prompt

3. Enter the commands:

cd C:\adb

adb devices

This should show your connected Android phone’s serial number after you accept the authentication dialog.

You now have a working ADB setup to interface with your Android device.

Step 3 – Disable Palmpay Auto-start

Before we can uninstall its components, we need to stop Palmpay services from auto-starting after every reboot. This prevents the plugin and watermark from re-enabling themselves.

Follow these instructions:

1. Go to phone Settings -> Apps -> Palmpay

2. Tap the Gear icon and disable both Auto-start and Secondary launch options.

3. Force close the Palmpay app completely. This stops it from running in the background.

With auto-start disabled, Palmpay can now be uninstalled cleanly via ADB on your Windows PC.

Step 4 – Uninstall Plugin via ADB

Connect your phone to your PC via USB and verify ADB detects it with the ADB devices command.

Then run this ADB command string to uninstall the Palmpay security plugin:

adb shell pm uninstall –user 0 com.palmpay.security.plugin

The –user 0 parameter ensures the command runs with elevated rights to remove system apps.

Reboot your phone after the uninstall operation for the changes to apply. The plugin should now be gone.

Step 5 – Remove Watermark with ADB

Similarly, you can use another specialized ADB command to get rid of the Palmpay watermark:

adb shell settings delete global policy_control

This resets the policy_control flag which triggers the watermark overlay. Reboot your device again after running the command.

The irritating Palmpay branding should no longer plaque your display!

Confirming the Changes

You can validate both the plugin and watermark are gone by:

• Checking Apps list for com.palmpay.security.plugin entry
• Monitoring resource usage for anomalies
• Using your phone for a while to ensure the watermark doesn’t reappear

As long as you disabled auto-start for Palmpay app, the uninstalls will persist across reboots.

Restoring the Security Features

If you wish to re-enable the Palmpay security capabilities later, simply uninstall updates to the app from Play Store. This reinstalls the bundled plugin and watermark components.

Or toggle Auto-start back ON in app settings to restore normal functionality.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will removing the plugin or watermark affect how Palmpay functions?

No, removing the Palmpay security plugin and watermark only disables those additional security features. All payment services and core app functionality will continue unaffected.

Is the uninstall process reversible?

Yes, you can always reinstall app updates from the Play Store to restore the Palmpay plugin and watermark if needed later. Or re-enable the auto-start permission.

Does my phone need to be rooted to uninstall these components?

Root access is not necessary. The ADB uninstall commands work equally well on non-rooted Android devices.

What happens if I don’t disable Palmpay’s auto-start first?

Without disabling auto-start, the security plugin and watermark could reinstall or reappear after every device reboot.

Is it compulsory to reboot my phone after the uninstall commands?

Yes, a reboot ensures all app changes correctly apply and persist after removing those components.

How do I download and install ADB on my Windows PC?

Simply grab the ADB binary tools ZIP folder from developer.android.com and extract it to a permanent location like C:\adb.

What can I do if my PC won’t detect my Android phone via USB?

First, ensure USB debugging is enabled in the Developer options on your phone. Then try another USB cable, or different USB port, or install the correct OEM drivers.

What is the –user 0 parameter used for in the ADB uninstall command?

It grants elevated rights to remove system-level apps usually inaccessible to users.

Will I stop receiving Palmpay security alerts after removing the plugin?

Yes, all notifications related to the security plugin will cease once it’s been uninstalled.

Can I delete other preloaded apps as well using ADB commands?

Certainly, ADB allows uninstalling any bloatware apps bundled with your Android OS or mobile vendor.

Conclusion

Removing preloaded apps and services in Android requires privileged access that only ADB tools can provide. With a few precise terminal commands, you can easily get rid of intrusive Palmpay security features.

Just ensure to disable auto-start for the app first and reboot after running the uninstall instructions. This prevents the components from persisting or re-enabling themselves.