Editing Software bloat (section)

==Examples==
{| class="wikitable" style="float: right"
|+ Comparison of [[Microsoft Windows]] minimum hardware requirements (for [[IA-32]] [until Windows 11])
|-
! Windows version
! Processor
! Memory
! Hard disk
|-
| [[Windows 95]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/138349/| title=Microsoft KB: Windows 95 Installation Requirements |access-date=22 July 2007 }}</ref> (1995)
| 25&nbsp;MHz
| 4 MB
| ~50 MB
|-
| [[Windows 98]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/182751/| title=Microsoft KB: Minimum Hardware Requirements for a Windows 98 Installation |access-date=22 July 2007}}</ref> (1998)
| 66&nbsp;MHz
| 16 MB
| ~200 MB
|-
| [[Windows 2000]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windows2000serv/proddocs/srvgs/sgsch03.mspx#EMD| title=Windows 2000 Server Getting Started: Chapter 3 - Planning Your Windows 2000 Server Installation | website=[[Microsoft]] |access-date=29 August 2007}}</ref> (1999)
| 133&nbsp;MHz
| 32 MB
| 650 MB
|-
| [[Windows XP]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314865/en-us| title=Microsoft KB: System requirements for Windows XP operating systems |access-date=22 July 2007}}</ref> (2001)
| 233&nbsp;MHz
| 64 MB
| 1.5 GB
|-
| [[Windows Vista]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919183/| title=Microsoft KB: System requirements for Windows Vista |access-date=22 July 2007}}</ref> (2006)
| 800&nbsp;MHz
| 512 MB
| 15 GB
|-
| [[Windows 7]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/system-requirements| title=Microsoft: System requirements for Windows 7 |access-date=9 October 2009}}</ref> (2009)
| 1&nbsp;GHz
| 1 GB
| 16 GB
|-
| [[Windows 8]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/download| title=Windows 8 Release Preview ISO images| quote="Windows 8 Release Preview works great on the same hardware that powers Windows 7"|access-date=12 August 2012}}</ref> (2012)
| 1&nbsp;GHz
| 1 GB
| 16 GB
|-
| [[Windows 10]]<ref>{{cite web |date= |title=Check Windows 10 System requirement & Specs |url=http://www.computerworld.com/article/2690817/7-things-to-remember-if-youre-trying-out-the-windows-10-preview.html |access-date=12 March 2025 |website=[[Microsoft]] |publisher=}}</ref> (2015)
| 1&nbsp;GHz
| 1 GB
| 32 GB
|-
| [[Windows 11]]<ref>{{cite news
| last         = Lawler
| first        = Richard
| date         = 2021-06-24
| title        = Microsoft is changing the Windows 11 minimum requirements
| url          = https://www.theverge.com/microsoft/22544171/microsoft-windows-11-system-requirements-hardware
| work         = [[The Verge]]
| access-date  = 2021-06-25
}}</ref> (2021)
| 1&nbsp;GHz<br>64-bit<br>Dual-Core
| 4 GB
| 64 GB
|}

[[Apple Inc.|Apple]]'s [[iTunes]] has been accused of being bloated by efforts to turn it from a simple media player to an e-commerce and advertising platform,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://stevestreza.com/2007/03/07/what-happened-to-itunes/ |title=What happened to iTunes? |first=Steve |last=Streza |date=7 March 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://gizmodo.com/5335754/itunes-9-will-be-a-bloated-social-monster | title = iTunes 9 Will Be a Bloated Social Monster | first = Matt | last = Buchanan |date=12 October 2009 | website = [[Gizmodo]] | access-date = 14 January 2010 }}</ref> with former ''[[PC World]]'' editor Ed Bott accusing the company of hypocrisy in its advertising attacks on Windows for similar practices.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.zdnet.com/article/slimming-down-the-bloated-itunes-installer/ | title = Slimming down the bloated iTunes installer | first = Ed | last = Bott |date=3 October 2008 | work = [[ZDNet]] | access-date = 14 January 2010 }}</ref> In 2019, Apple announced the impending closure of the program, a move described by a commentator from ''[[The Guardian]]'' as being "long overdue", stating that the program had "become baroquely bloated, a striking anomaly for a company that prides itself on elegant and functional design."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/09/farewell-itunes-thanks-for-saving-music-industry-from-itself|title=Farewell then, iTunes, and thanks for saving the music industry from itself|first=John|last=Naughton|date=9 March 2019|access-date=10 March 2019|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

[[Microsoft Windows]] has also been criticized as being bloated – with reference to [[Windows Vista]] and discussing the new, greatly slimmed down [[Windows 7]] core components, Microsoft engineer [[Eric Traut]] commented that  "This is the core of [[Windows 7]]. This is a collection of components that we've taken out. A lot of people think of Windows as this really large, bloated operating system, and that may be a fair characterization, I have to admit. It is large. It contains a lot of stuff in it. But at its core, the kernel and the components that make up the very core of the operating system actually is pretty streamlined."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205920302 |title=Software Tool Strips Windows Vista To Bare Bones|magazine=informationweek.com |first=Paul |last=McDougall |date=28 January 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/is-minwin-really-the-new-windows-7-kernel/ |title=Is MinWin really the new Windows 7 kernel? |first=Ed |last=Bott |website=[[ZDNet]] |date=31 March 2008}}</ref> Ed Bott also expressed skepticism, noting that nearly every operating system that Microsoft has ever sold has been criticized as "bloated" on first release, even those now regarded as the exact opposite, such as [[MS-DOS]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-bloat-its-always-been-that-way/ |title=Windows bloat? It's always been that way |first=Ed |last=Bott |website=[[ZDNet]] |date=13 March 2006}}</ref> Quoting Paul Thurrott, Bott agreed that the bloat stems from numerous enterprise-level features included in the operating system that were largely irrelevant to the average home user.

CD- and DVD-burning applications such as [[Nero Burning ROM]] have become criticized for being bloated.<ref name="theinquirer">{{cite news|url=http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=37873 |title='Nero Lite' and 'Nero Micro': smaller sometimes is better |first=Fernando |last=Cassia |date=27 February 2007 |publisher=[[The Inquirer]] |access-date=7 March 2007 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070302073052/http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=37873 |archive-date=2 March 2007 }}</ref> Superfluous features not specifically tailored to the end user are sometimes installed by default through express setups.

A number of technology blogs have also covered the issue of increased bloatware on cell phones. However, they refer to a different issue, specifically that of wireless carriers loading phones with software that, in many cases, cannot be easily, if at all, deleted. This has been most frequently cited with respect to [[Android (operating system)|Android]] devices, although this phenomenon exists on phones running many other operating systems.<ref name="Engadget2010-09-12" /><ref name="LATimes2010-09-21" />

Some of the most popular current [[messaging apps]], which were previously only focused on [[instant messaging]], have been criticized for being bloated due to feature creep.<ref name = "TIAWeChat">{{cite news
| last         = Bischoff
| first        = Paul
| date         = 12 February 2014
| title        = What WeChat needs to learn from Facebook
| url          = https://www.techinasia.com/wechat-learn-facebook
| work         = Tech in Asia
| access-date  = 16 February 2020
}}</ref><ref name = "SCMPWeChat">{{cite news
| last         = Chen
| first        = Laurie
| date         = 22 July 2018
| title        = Why China's tech-savvy millennials are quitting WeChat
| url          = https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2156297/how-growing-privacy-fears-china-are-driving-wechat-users-away
| work         = [[South China Morning Post]]
| location     = [[Hong Kong]]
| access-date  = 16 February 2020
}}</ref><ref name = "TCFBMessenger">{{cite news
| last         = Constine
| first        = Josh
| date         = 16 January 2018
| title        = Bloated Facebook Messenger promises to simplify in 2018
| url          = https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/16/messengrrrr/
| work         = [[TechCrunch]]
| access-date  = 16 February 2020
}}</ref><ref name = "BBCFB">{{cite news
| date         = 25 March 2015
| title        = Facebook opens up Messenger to third-party apps
| url          = https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-32036322
| work         = [[BBC]]
| access-date  = 16 February 2020
}}</ref> [[WeChat]] during its transformation into a [[super-app]] added additional features such as games, subscription services, [[WeChat Pay]] [[e-wallet]],<ref name = "TIAWeChat" /> a [[news aggregator]], an [[e-commerce]] hub, an [[e-government]]<ref name = "SCMPWeChat" /> feature, a cinema booking system, a restaurant finder and a [[ridesharing company]],<ref name = "BBCFB" /> which has increased the size of the app from 2 MB in 2011 to 58 MB in 2018.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} [[Facebook Messenger]], which has been separated from the [[Facebook]] app, is similarly criticized for adding additional features such as games, bots and features which copied from [[Snapchat]] such as Messenger Day (Stories), face filters, a camera with the ability to edit photos, doodle draw and added [[emojis]] and stickers.<ref>{{cite news
| last         = Brown
| first        = Aaron
| date         = 7 February 2017
| title        = Facebook almost ruined WhatsApp, and now it has ruined Messenger
| url          = https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/science-technology/763053/Facebook-Login-Messenger-vs-WhatsApp
| work         = [[Daily Express]]
| access-date  = 16 February 2020
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| last         = Welch
| first        = Chris
| date         = 18 May 2017
| title        = How to replace Facebook Messenger with a much simpler, lighter version
| url          = https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/18/15659414/facebook-messenger-lite-how-to-install
| work         = [[The Verge]]
| access-date  = 16 February 2020
}}</ref> In January 2018, the head of Facebook Messaging, [[David A. Marcus]], admitted that the app itself is extremely bloated and promised to redesign the whole app to remove unnecessary features and streamline it.<ref name = "TCFBMessenger" /> The redesigned and streamlined [[Facebook]] Messenger app was announced in October 2018, in which its features are reduced to messaging, stories, discover tab and camera.<ref>{{cite news
| last         = Price
| first        = Rob
| date         = 23 October 2018
| title        = Facebook is giving Messenger an overhaul to try and cut down on bloat – and adding a dark mode
| url          = https://www.businessinsider.my/facebook-redesigns-messenger-dark-mode-2018-10/?r=US&IR=T
| work         = [[Business Insider]]
| access-date  = 16 February 2020
}}</ref>