There has been a growing concern among Samsung users about a built-in system application called SilentLogging. Users are claiming that this app is used to spy, steal and sell your data to third parties. So, what is this SilentLogging app?
SilentLogging App is a built-in preinstalled system application on Samsung Android devices present in your phone’s modem settings that tracks all the Call logs and SMS logs from your phone and backs it up for easy transfer to a new device. The application package(APK) name of this app is com.sec.modem.settings.
The “sec” in the APK file stands for Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. so it is an app developed by Samsung and this app comes preinstalled on all modern Samsung devices that have VoLTE like Galaxy S7, S8, S9, S10, and others.
There has been confusion among users that this app is some kind of Spyware. We will address this issue in the next sections and also explain the purpose of the app.
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What is SilentLogging Used For?
SilentLogging.apk is a built-in system app on Samsung devices present in your phone’s modem settings that silently accesses your phone’s mobile data internet and backs up your Call and SMS logs from your phone with help of your device’s Kernel.
Android devices use the Linux Kernel which is the core program that manages all the processes including your system resources like CPU and RAM, your system memory, your file systems, and networking devices on your Android device. The Kernel version is a code loaded in a protected area that prevents overwriting of other harmful Kernel programs.
The Silent Logging app is present in modern Android devices that have the Voice Over Long Term Evolution(VoLTE) technology. VoLTE uses the IP Multimedia Subsystem(IMS) technology with the preinstalled IMS Service app to deliver packet voice services over an IP network using Long-Term Evolution(LTE) access.
Is SilentLogging a Virus or Spyware?
No, SilentLogging is not a Virus or Spyware. It doesn’t cause any intentional harm to your device and doesn’t spy on or sell your data to third parties.
A lot of users are complaining on forums that SilentLogging is a Spyware used to track your device usage but this is False.
People have gone so far that they think this app uses your heart rate monitor and proximity sensor to track when you sleep and then logs into your device using another account. A few people even think that this app can be used to access your phone and accounts and other people can sideload apps into your device to track your device and app usage.
Both the above accusations are totally false. Samsung won’t hurt its reputation by using preinstalled Spyware. They can track your app usage using your Samsung account and they don’t need applications to spy on your data.
Silent Logging is a safe application. It is used by Samsung to track your Call and SMS logs and back them up on their Servers so you can easily transfer these if you change your device.
SilentLogging Causes Battery Draining?
Yes, the SilentLogging app causes heavy battery draining issues. In fact, it is an app with the next highest battery usage in most Samsung devices after your device’s screen and the Android system.
The Silent Logging app uses your phone’s modem and consumes a lot of system resources including CPU and RAM. It also uses your mobile data to connect to the Internet. Due to all this, your device’s battery drains very quickly.
Clearing the app cache and Force Stopping the app can reduce battery usage for a short period but it won’t solve the problem for good. This is because the app restarts its process after some time and you’ll see a high battery usage again.
You can Force Stop the app by going to Settings > Apps > Tap on Ellipsis icon (three vertical dots) in top right corner > Show System Apps > SilentLogging > Force Stop.
You can clear the app cache by going to Settings > Apps > Tap on Ellipsis icon (three vertical dots) in top right corner > Show System Apps > SilentLogging > Storage > Clear Cache.
To reduce SilentLogging battery usage, you will have to either freeze the app or uninstall this app from your device. You will find both methods in the next sections.
Disable SilentLogging Using Titanium Backup
You can make this app inactive by disabling/freezing it using Titanium Backup but this requires you to first root your Android device. You can read our Android Rooting tutorial here.
After rooting your Android device from the guide mentioned above, follow the steps mentioned to freeze this app.
- Download and install the “Titanium Backup” app. This app allows you to backup, restore, and freeze your apps and data.
- Launch the app.
- Search for SilentLogging or com.sec.modem.settings and tap on it.
- Tap on the “Freeze” option.
This will freeze the Silent Logging app and stop all the background processes related to it.
Note – If you have the Superuser app installed on your device, you’ll need to grant permission to freeze the app. All you have to do is tap on the “Grant” option and the process will start by itself.
Can You Uninstall SilentLogging?
SilentLogging is a built-in preinstalled system application so you cannot uninstall it in the traditional way you uninstall other third-party apps. To uninstall this app, you’ll need to use either the Android Debug Bridge(ADB) or the System App Remover application which requires root access.
It is recommended that you don’t uninstall this system application because your Call and SMS logs might not be backed up on and it might also cause some issues with your phone’s modem.
If you still want to uninstall or disable this system application, check out the next section where we mention some methods to uninstall or disable this app.
How to Uninstall SilentLogging?
You can remove the SilentLogging app from your device by using ADB or System App Remover. Both the methods are mentioned below in detail.
1. Uninstall SilentLogging using ADB
ADB allows you to bring up a Unix shell so you can issue commands directly on the Android device. You can use it to install, uninstall, debug and disable apps. You’ll need a Windows PC to use ADB.
Here are the steps to uninstall this app using ADB.
Step 1 – Go to Settings > System > About phone.
Step 2 – Tap on the Build number 7 times to activate Developer Options.
Step 3 – Go back to the main Settings menu and tap on Developer Options to open it.
Step 4 – Enable USB debugging by tapping on it.
Step 5 – Download ADB on your PC.
Step 6 – Extract the ZIP file into a folder.
Step 7 – After extracting the ZIP file, open that folder.
Step 8 – Press and hold the shift button and right-click in a blank area.
Step 9 – Click on “Open Powershell window here.”
Step 10 – Enter the command adb devices
Step 11 – Connect your Android device to the PC using a USB data cable.
Step 12 – Type the command adb shell pm uninstall –user 0 com.sec.modem.settings and press Enter to run this command. Wait for a few seconds and you’ll notice the app has been uninstalled from your device.
To disable the Silentlogging app, replace “uninstall” with “disable” in Step 12 of the ADB command mentioned above.
2. Uninstall SilentLogging Using System App Remover
This method requires you to gain root access to your device. If you don’t know how to root your Android device then check our Android Rooting guide. After gaining root access follow the steps below to uninstall this system app.
Step 1 – Download and install the System App Remover application.
Step 2 – Launch the System App Remover application, search for the SilentLogging app, and select it by tapping on the checkbox next to it.
Step 3 – Tap on the Uninstall button to completely uninstall the app and delete its data.
Permissions Used By SilentLogging
The SilentLogging app uses the following four permissions:
- Phone Permission which allows the app to directly call phone numbers as well as read phone status and identity.
- Call Logs & SMS Permission which allows the app to access your phone contacts, edit your text messages, read your text messages, and send SMS messages.
- Camera Permission which allows the app to access your phone’s camera to take pictures and videos.
- Microphone Permission which allows the app to access your phone’s Microphone to record Audio.
You can check all the permissions used by this app by going to Settings > Apps > Tap on Ellipsis icon (three vertical dots) in top right corner > Show System Apps > SilentLogging > Permissions.
How To Stop SilentLog?
SilentLog is turned off by default but if you accidentally turned it on then don’t worry because we are to help you. To stop SilentLog follow the steps below.
- Dial *#9900# from your phone’s dialer.
- Go to Modem Settings.
- Go to SILENTLOG and turn it OFF.
- The setting will now show as SILENTLOG : Off
- Wait for a few minutes and you’ll find that SilentLog is turned off.
Is SilentLogging App Same As Silent Logger Software?
No, the Silentlogging app is not the same application as the Silent Logger Plus software. They are totally different applications.
Silent Logger Plus is a third-party Parental Control Software used by parents to monitor their children’s activities on the Internet. It can track what their children are doing on Social Media Networks, Instant Messaging apps and can even track web searches like Google Search, Bing Search, etc.
The SilentLogging app doesn’t track your internet activities. It is not a Spyware.
Conclusion
SilentLogging is a preinstalled system application on Samsung devices with VoLTE that is present in your phone’s modem settings and tracks your phone’s Call and SMS logs for backing up. It can be transferred when you switch devices.
This is a safe application and it is not some kind of Virus or Spyware. This app does cause battery draining issues which can be fixed temporarily by force stopping the app but to fix it permanently you have to freeze the app.
This is a system application so it cannot be uninstalled easily. You’ll require a PC software like ADB or you can also use the System App Remover application but this requires you to root your device.