What Is DT Ignite & Why Should You Delete It?

Have you been surprised one morning to wake up with a new app or game installed on your smartphone? Well, if your answer is yes, then your phone most likely has DT Ignite installed. DT Ignite has been known for quite a few years now; it’s one of those types of bloatware app that you and I should stay away from.

If you’re wondering what bloatware is, it’s simply unwanted software or a group of apps that you find on a smartphone. They’re not as harmful as malware, but they can still cause a headache, usually by slowing down your phone. That said, is DT Ignite really that bad? 

If you want to know what it actually does to our smartphones or simply find a way to get rid of it, here’s all you need to know, as well as a step-by-step guide to help you out. 

Also read:What Is MCM Client on Android Phone and Is It Necessary

What Is DT Ignite?

In a nutshell, Digital Turbine (DT) is a software company that offers legit services to mobile operators, data carriers, and OEMs (original equipment manufacturers).  Just like any other, the DT Ignite app is one of the apps they offer to data carriers in the United States and some parts of the world. It is installed as a system app and is expected to install apps intended for carrier-released smartphones seamlessly.

The DT Ignite app works when a new smartphone is activated via an internet connection. It connects to the server and gathers data from the background. In most cases, it already has a set of apps and games ready to install as soon as it runs.

Typically, aside from the pre-installed apps and games from DT Ignite, it adds more apps and games based on your online activities. So, it is fair to say that future applications will be added based on your mobile behavior.

Besides, this is usually how carriers deliver non-Google apps to your phone. Generally, what DT Ignite does is download apps and games automatically, and after a while, you will realize mysterious apps appears on your mobile without your consent.

Apart from the auto-downloads, DT Ignite is also responsible for spamming ads to your notification area and other parts of the smartphone settings.

Should We Use DT Ignite?

Bloatware installed by DT Ignite is annoying, not to mention the popping ads that appear on your screen when you wake up your phone. Still, we need to understand why DT Ignite is in your smartphone system in the first place.

Verizon was one of the first companies to include DT Ignite in the smartphones that they offer. This means that they deliberately placed the app for their purpose. Now, the question is why?

The three main reasons why your carrier-branded phone has DT Ignite app installed are paid ads, app sponsorship, and extra data fees. Now, the last one is a bit shady once you realize how it actually works. Here’s the clarification you need for each one of them.

Paid Advertisement

In most cases, data carriers tend to squeeze the most out of their subscribers. They will do it in a heartbeat if they can find a way to profit more. And that is where the paid advertisement on your phone comes in.

Paid advertisement is a common practice. In fact, most businesses use this to double their business earnings. How it works is they use their network of subscribers by using ads on their carrier-branded smartphones.

If you’re unsure if your mobile is downloaded with the DT Ignite app, try to monitor your mobile activity over a period of time. If ads start showing up, DT Ignite is probably there somewhere on your mobile. Most of the time, it is not instant. It could be in a few hours or days after the initial setup of your new smartphone.

Oftentimes, the ads show up in the notification area or during phone lock and standby. Sometimes, it appears somewhere on the Settings page or even in some of the system apps. Businesses pay to show their ads on these carrier-branded smartphones. To put it simply, your data carrier gets paid by using DT Ignite to show the ads on your account.

App Sponsorship

The app sponsorship is similar to a paid advertisement, but this time, it does not just show as a banner on your screen. With app sponsorship, the app gets installed on your smartphone without your consent. That is why you suddenly find a new app or game in your app drawer without any memory of ever installing it.

The app developers will pay the data carrier, or they have at least some form of affiliation as business entities. Some may find this practice harmless, but for most people, it is just plain annoying. And to some extent, it is abusive.

Extra Data Fee

The extra data fee is the most controversial part of this scheme. This is in relation to how app sponsorship and advertisement work.

Subscribers pay monthly allocated data to the carrier, and that means getting limited data usage. Say, for example, you get 1 GB of data per month on Verizon. You will only be allowed to consume 1 GB for 30 days. Any excess data will be charged apart from the monthly bill that you have with Verizon. So, in this situation, you need to be conscious of the amount of data you use. Whether you are using social media or doing some web browsing for research, everything must be monitored.

With the DT Ignite app, you will lose data without your knowledge. This app needs data to deliver ads to your screen. It downloads the banners and shows them to you each time you use your phone. The more ads you see means more of your allocated data was used.

Installing apps and games is even worse. Some games need more than 1 GB of data to download, and that is bad for your wallet. That is because you will need to purchase extra data if you need to keep using the internet and your social media accounts.

So, while Verizon and other data carriers using DT Ignite are already making money out of your monthly obligations and paid ads and apps, they still get more by charging you for extra data. This is why some users call it the DT Ignite virus.

List of Companies Using DT Ignite

DT Ignite is not just used by Verizon. There are more data carriers that are involved in this practice. So, in a way, your smartphone could also have it installed. If you are curious to know, here are some of the data carriers and other companies that we found using DT Ignite:

These are already a handful, and this is not even a complete list. There are more companies and apps that are actually using DT Ignite services to do their bidding. Most of these data carriers and companies have placed acknowledgment about DT Ignite or similar terms on the agreement page before using their product or services.

Yes, you actually agreed to it in the first place. You just didn’t bother to read because it was long, technical, and boring.

What Is Mobile Services Manager?

If you find Mobile Services Manager on your app list, that is most likely the DT Ignite app just renamed. Some brands have changed the name of DT Ignite to avoid consumer feedback after the issue had spread online.

If you think your phone does not have DT Ignite just because you cannot find it anywhere on your app manager, then you probably have the Mobile Services Manager instead.

How to Remove DT Ignite?

We understand your frustrations upon learning about its purpose. Right now, you are probably very eager to remove DT Ignite or Mobile Services Manager from your smartphone.

Unfortunately, DT Ignite services cannot be completely removed from the smartphone system because of the simple fact that it is part of the system. That is why no matter how many times you try to reset your phone, it is still there and active.

The good part is it can be disabled instead. That means you can stop it from running in the background and perform what it is programmed to do. Here is how to do it.

How to Disable DT Ignite?

1. Access the notification area by swiping down from the top of your smartphone screen.

2. Tap on the Settings icon. It usually is the icon that looks like a gear.

3. On the Settings page, scroll down to find the Applications Manager or just Apps. That depends on the Android models or brands.

4. Finding the DT Ignite installed on your phone can be a challenge since it has different package names associated with it. Some of its known package names are com.dti.att for AT&T and com.dti.folderlauncher for Games Hub; there could be hundreds more. In case you cannot find it, try looking for the Mobile Services Manager instead.

5. If both names are nowhere to be found, try accessing the Show System Apps by tapping on the three dots in the top-right corner of the Settings page. This will now show both regular apps and system apps.

6. Find DT Ignite or the Mobile Services Manager and tap on it to show the options available for the app.

7. Tap the Disable button. This will now clear some data and disable DT Ignite.

Is DT Ignite Really Bad?

After learning the three main reasons why Digital Turbine Ignite is on your phone, you would certainly think that it is bad. Yes, we agree with you, but not entirely.

As you can see, before DT Ignite existed, bloatware is installed in the system partition, where it is untouchable. Anything installed in the system partition cannot be removed. If there is more than one bloatware installed on your smartphone, then that just means that more memory is given to those apps and games that came pre-installed on your device. That also means that more data is required for those apps and games to be installed properly with their constant updates. That in itself is a headache, and we cannot do anything about it.

With DT Ignite, you only have to deal with one app and have it disabled as soon as the initial phone setup is done. After that, you can forget about it until the next system update provided by the manufacturer or data carrier comes in, or when the time you decide to reset the phone.

We have to remember that by getting carrier-branded phones, we already agree with it. It came with the contract. The bright side is we can always disable it.

Final Word

While the purpose of these data carriers with DT Ignite is disconcerting, we just have to see it from their perspective. And that is making more money out of their subscribers because they are, after all, a business entity. Truly, we hate it as much as you do.

It is a good thing that an option to disable it is available. Otherwise, it would surely make everyone furious. Having no control over the data that you need to pay on a monthly basis is just not fair. Still, you are bound to an agreement, so in a way, it is still legal.

Are you okay with this practice? Tell us what you think about this issue in the comments section below!