How does the process of removing a ViewModel from memory occur in your application?

In Android, ViewModel lives within the lifecycle of an Activity or Fragment and is automatically removed from memory when the associated component is completely destroyed (for example, when the Activity finishes).

The process of removing the ViewModel occurs because the ViewModel is stored in a ViewModelStore associated with the UI component's lifecycle. When the lifecycle ends (for example, when onDestroy() is called with the isFinishing == true flag), the ViewModelStore is cleared, and the onCleared() method of the ViewModel is called, where resources can be released.

Therefore, developers usually do not need to manually delete the ViewModel — the system manages this automatically. In onCleared(), you can implement cleanup of subscriptions, closing threads, or releasing other resources.