Hi,
The F-Droid Autostarts - Block apps from starting automaticall application needs root rights to make changes (like disabling autostart).
The F-Droid Battery Tool | Hibernate Unused Apps application also needs root rights.
Is it possible on /e/OS to prevent application autostart without having to root the smartphone ?
There were a feature in phone/system settings -->apps in older android (nougat-pie based), but i canāt find it in my R based
pm disable is not what is needed here because the disabled applications must be re-enabled before being able to launch them.
Is there another way to prevent the apps I install from auto-starting ?
Regain your privacy! Adopt /e/ the unGoogled mobile OS and online services
Which apps have you installed that do autostart?
Any app installed by the user on Android autostarts when the system boots. Isnāt it the case for /e/OS ?
Not that I had been aware of in /e/; here your issue is described How do I stop apps from auto-starting on Android
I donāt believe that is the case. What evidence do you have for this statement?
@petefoth I donāt have any. On my Android 8.1.0, the apps I installed start when the smartphone boots. Preparing to buy a /e/OS compatible smartphone, I just wanted to know how to prevent auto-start for the apps I install without having to root the smartphone. But if you say /e/OS does not have this pb., then itās fine with me.
@aibd Thanks for your procedure for Android to stop the apps from auto-starting. If /e/OS does not have this pb., I suppose they use a mechanism. Do you know of it ?
Thank you; so that is a starter; now you have to finish the assertion with some evidence - just what seems to you is happening is ok. 
@aibd The āFORCE STOPā button, in the āApp infoā, is clickable which mean the app is running although I did NOT launch it. This happens for any app I pick at random to check in the āApp infoā on my Android 8.1.0 smartphone. Letās hope /e/OS is not concerned by this problem.
Thanks @sebm I hear the logic. If something can be stopped; then it must be going.
I cannot possibly write an answer to that, there are plenty of things I do worry about in Android, but I think you may find this a useful read. https://developer.android.com/guide/components/activities/activity-lifecycle
I believe it is false logic: the āForce stopā functionality is always available, even when an app is not running or has never been run.
This article explains why you donāt need to force stop or close apps
https://www.makeuseof.com/why-you-shouldnt-close-apps-android/
Not starting apps at boot you ādonātā need for me is still a goal from a ressource / speed perspective but also privacy wise. Especially on devices with ālowā memory e.g. <= 2GB
So what apps are actually running when you boot your phone? The place to look is in Settings | System | Developer options | Running services. (Donāt be fooled by what is appearing in the āRecentsā view - i.e when you tap the square button. Those apps arenāt actually running when you boot up.
When I look at what is running immediately after boot, up all I see is my Launcher, and apps that are listening out for notifications or push messages. If there are any apps waiting for notifications that you donāt want, then you could try removing the Notifications permission (Settings | Apps and notifications | Notifications) though some apps may not work properly without notifications enabled.
If thereās anything else in the list of running services, then how to stop it will depend on the app. In my list there is nothing that I can see that isnāt doing something I want it to do.
If you are really keen, you can enable the local terminal app in Developer options, fire it up and use the ps command to look at all the processes that are running. Running ps --help will give you some information on how to use it.
I hope that is some use, but I still think that leaving Android to manage which apps are running is the easiest and the most effective option.
Thank you for detailed considerations! E.g. I used Amazon Alexa to install some Echos on a spare phone for an āoutpostā. But I use it seldom and I donāt want it to hover around on my phone active when I donāt need it. Please no advice regarding Amazon, their Echos or installation of their app ;- )
A ps | grep amazon gives me four hits, not checked for the memory footprint nor if there are more processes or related processes with other names.
This is only one example, same for some games etc. which nerves me sometimes with reminders that I should play more & pay more ;- )
ps: ps --help wonāt get you help ;- ) at least not on my phone
@petefoth On my Android 8.1.0 device, once I click on the āFORCE STOPā button, the app stops, and then the button is greyed out and is not clickable anymore.
Good morning @sebm Did you read the second article? Having read the second article, does not the first (concerning this urban myth) sound more spurious?
Having read the article, you will recognise that @petefoth described logic we develpped around āstoppedā and āgoingā!
Did you read going as one of the 4+ states of an Android application?
