The Clean Install

How to complete The Clean Install

When setting up a new device, you resist the one-click 'restore from old phone' and instead install only the apps you actually open. It's a rare chance to shed years of accumulated bloat, dormant logins, and notification noise in one clean break.

1. Skip the automatic transfer or full backup restore during setup and start from the bare OS
2. List the apps you've used in the last month; that list, not your old home screen, is what you install
3. Install each one deliberately from the store and sign in only as you genuinely need it
4. Set up notifications and permissions per app as you go, defaulting to off
5. Sync your data (photos, files, contacts) from the cloud rather than dragging over old app caches and settings

Tips

• If you miss an app within a week, install it then: the friction is the filter
• Photos, messages, and password managers restore cleanly from cloud accounts, so you lose nothing real by skipping a device clone
• Leave the home screen sparse for a few days and only add apps you actually reach for

What counts as done

The new device runs with a deliberately chosen, short app list and none of the unused clutter that lived on the old one.