How to Remove Ads from Phone: A Step-by-Step Guide for Android and iPhone

Knowing how to remove ads from phone depends on where the ads are coming from. Pop-ups in your browser need a different fix than ads in your notification tray — and both are different from OEM ads baked into your phone's system apps. This guide walks through each type clearly.

Quick Answer: How to Remove Ads from Phone

The fastest fixes: turn off personalised ads in your phone's privacy settings, block pop-ups in your browser, and revoke notification permissions from apps pushing ad alerts. For persistent pop-ups that appear across everything, check for adware first.

Ad Type	Where It Appears	Primary Fix
Personalised / OEM ads	Samsung, OPPO system apps	Disable via account or privacy settings
Browser pop-ups	Chrome, Samsung Internet	Block via browser site settings
App notification ads	Notification tray	Revoke notification permission per app
Adware / malware ads	Anywhere, won't stop	Safe Mode removal + Play Protect scan
Lock screen ads	Lock screen	Identify and restrict the app sending them
In-app ads (free apps)	Inside apps you use	Cannot be removed without paying or uninstalling

What to Realistically Expect Before You Start

Not every ad on your phone can be removed completely. That's worth saying upfront.

Free apps are built around advertising — it's how developers earn money. If you want to keep the app, you're keeping the ads unless a paid version exists. Similarly, some phone manufacturers — Samsung and OPPO being common examples — embed low-level promotional content into system apps that can only be reduced, not fully switched off.

What you can reliably remove: browser pop-ups, notification ads, and most adware.

Ad Source	Fully Removable?	Realistic Outcome
Browser pop-ups	Yes	Fully blockable via settings
App notification ads	Yes	Per-app toggle removes them
Adware pop-ups	Yes, if the app is found and removed	Requires identifying the right app
Personalised OEM ads	Partially	Frequency reduces, won't disappear entirely
In-app ads (free apps)	No	Part of the app's revenue model
OPPO Music / Videos system ads	No (as of 2026)	No toggle currently available

Why Does Your Phone Keep Showing Ads?

Ads Pushed by Third-Party Apps

Most pop-up ads on Android phones come from apps you've downloaded. Some apps — particularly free utilities, games, and lesser-known tools — push ads outside their own interface, showing up on your home screen or in your notification shade. This happens because the app has permission to send notifications, and it's using that permission aggressively.

What's often overlooked is that the app doesn't have to be actively open to push these ads. As long as it's installed and notifications are enabled, it can send them at any time.

Personalised Ads from Your Phone Manufacturer

Samsung, OPPO, Xiaomi, and several other Android manufacturers serve personalised promotions through their own system apps — phone managers, file explorers, weather apps, even the calendar. These are tied to your device account and use your usage data to decide what to show you.

Disabling personalisation won't make these ads disappear entirely, but it reduces how frequently they appear and stops them from being targeted at you specifically.

Browser-Based Pop-Ups and Redirects

If ads appear specifically when you're browsing, the issue is usually at the browser level. Certain websites trigger pop-up windows or redirect you to ad pages. Chrome and Samsung Internet both allow these by default unless you've explicitly blocked them.

In practice, enabling Chrome's built-in pop-up blocker resolves most of this without needing any third-party tool.

Adware — When Ads Signal Something More Serious

If ads are appearing constantly, across unrelated apps, on your home screen, or even on your lock screen with no clear source — that's worth treating differently. This behaviour is typical of adware: an app that exists primarily to serve ads, often disguised as a utility or tool.

As reported by TechCrunch, security researchers found 85 adware apps downloaded over eight million times from Google Play, many of which hid their icons and ran full-screen ads at timed intervals to avoid detection.

Adware won't stop on its own. You need to find and remove the specific app causing it.

How to Remove Personalised Ads on Android

Turn Off Ad Privacy Settings via Android Settings

Android has a built-in system for managing how apps use your data for advertising. Turning these off won't block ads outright, but it limits what advertisers know about you.

1. Open Settings
2. Tap Google > All Services
3. Under Privacy & Security, tap Ads > Ad Privacy
4. Turn off Ad Topics, App-Suggested Ads, and Ad Measurement individually

For Samsung Galaxy Users — Disable Customisation Service

Samsung's personalised promotions are tied to its customisation service, which is opt-in during device setup. If you skipped that or want to turn it off now:

1. Open Settings
2. Tap Samsung Account
3. Go to Privacy
4. Tap Customisation Service
5. Toggle it Off

This reduces personalised promotions across Samsung apps. It won't remove all Samsung ads, but the frequency noticeably drops.

For OPPO / ColorOS Users — Disable Per-App Personalised Services

OPPO embeds personalised ad toggles in individual system apps rather than a single central setting. You'll need to go through each one:

• Phone Manager: Open app > three dots (top right) > Settings > Privacy > turn off Personalised Recommendations
• App Market: My Account tab > gear icon > Privacy Settings > Ads & Recommendations > turn off Personalised Advertising
• My Files: Three dots > Settings > Privacy > turn off Personalised Services
• Weather App: Gear icon > About Weather > turn off Personalised Services
• Calendar: Three dots > Calendar Settings > Displayed Items > turn off Personalised Services

Note: As of 2026, the Music and Videos system apps on ColorOS still have no toggle to disable ads.

How to Block Ads in Your Phone's Browser

Block Pop-Ups and Ads in Google Chrome

1. Open Chrome and tap the three-dot menu
2. Go to Settings > Site Settings
3. Tap Pop-ups and Redirects — set to Blocked
4. Go back and tap Ads — set to Blocked

Block Pop-Ups in Samsung Internet

1. Open Samsung Internet > tap the three-line menu
2. Go to Settings > Sites and Downloads
3. Toggle Block Pop-Ups on
4. Go back to the main menu and tap Ad Blockers
5. Download one of the suggested ad blocker extensions

Stop Website Notification Ads in Chrome

Some websites ask for notification permission and then use it to send ad alerts. To revoke this:

1. In Chrome, go to the website sending notifications
2. Tap the lock icon or Page Info at the top
3. Tap Permissions > Notifications
4. Toggle Show Notifications off

How to Stop Ad Notifications from Apps

Disable Notifications for a Specific App via Settings

1. Open Settings > Notifications
2. Look under Recently Sent for apps that recently pushed an ad
3. Toggle notifications off for that app

Long-Press a Notification to Disable It Instantly

When an ad notification appears in your tray, long-press it. A small menu will appear letting you turn off notifications for that app immediately — no need to go into Settings.

How to Stop Ads on Your Lock Screen

Lock screen ads are almost always coming from an app with notification permissions.

According to reporting by the BBC, adware apps frequently disguise their pop-ups as system notifications and delay their activity by several days after installation — specifically to make it harder for users to identify which app is responsible. The fix is the same: identify which app sent the notification (check the icon or name on the lock screen alert), then revoke its notification permission via Settings > Notifications or by long-pressing the notification itself.

How to Find and Remove Apps Causing Pop-Up Ads

Use Safe Mode to Isolate the Problem App

Safe Mode starts your phone with only pre-installed system apps running — no third-party apps. If the ads stop in Safe Mode, a downloaded app is causing them.

1. Press and hold the power button
2. Long-press Power Off on screen until you see a Safe Mode prompt
3. Confirm — your phone restarts with "Safe mode" shown at the bottom
4. Uninstall recently downloaded apps one at a time
5. Restart normally after each removal to check if ads have stopped

Check Recently Used Apps via Google Play Store

1. Open Google Play Store
2. Tap the three-line menu > My Apps & Games
3. Go to Installed > sort by Last Used
4. Look for unfamiliar apps you haven't opened recently — these are likely suspects

Enable Play Protect to Detect Adware

1. Open Google Play Store
2. Tap your profile picture (top right) > Play Protect > Settings
3. Turn on Scan Apps with Play Protect

Play Protect runs periodic checks and flags known harmful apps. It doesn't catch everything, but it's a reliable first layer of defence.

Advanced Options — Ad Blockers and DNS Filtering

Use a Browser-Based Ad Blocker

Both Chrome and Samsung Internet support ad blocking extensions. Samsung Internet has a dedicated Ad Blockers section in its menu. For Chrome on Android, ad blocking is primarily handled through the built-in settings above, though some users install a browser like Firefox that supports full extension-based ad blockers.

Block Ads Across All Apps Using Private DNS

This is the most effective method for blocking ads system-wide — including inside apps. It works by routing your DNS queries through a server that filters out known ad domains before they reach your phone.

1. Open Settings > Network & Internet (or Connections on Samsung)
2. Tap Private DNS
3. Select Private DNS provider hostname
4. Enter a DNS provider address (such as dns.adguard.com)
5. Tap Save

One practical note: private DNS can occasionally cause issues on corporate or office networks. If you notice connectivity problems at work, switching back to Automatic will restore normal behaviour.

How to Remove Ads on iPhone (iOS)

Turn Off Personalised Ads in iPhone Settings

Apple serves its own personalised ads in the App Store and a few other Apple apps. To limit these:

1. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security
2. Tap Apple Advertising
3. Toggle off Personalised Ads

This only affects Apple's own ad placements — it won't change ads inside third-party apps.

Block Pop-Ups in Safari

1. Go to Settings > Safari
2. Toggle Block Pop-ups on

Limit App Tracking on iPhone

Third-party apps can only track you across other apps and websites if you've given permission. To review and restrict this:

1. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking
2. Turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track

This stops apps from asking for tracking permission and effectively prevents cross-app ad targeting.

Conclusion

Removing ads from your phone is rarely one fix — it depends on where the ads are coming from. Browser pop-ups, OEM personalisation, app notifications, and adware all need different approaches. Start with the type causing the most disruption, work through the relevant steps, and set realistic expectations for what can and cannot be fully switched off.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I remove all ads from my Android phone completely?

No. In-app ads on free apps are part of the app's revenue model and cannot be removed without paying for a premium version or uninstalling the app. System-level OEM ads can be reduced but not fully eliminated on most devices.

Why do ads keep coming back after I've disabled them?

App updates can reset privacy or notification settings. After a major update, check your ad and notification preferences again — particularly for manufacturer apps like Phone Manager or App Market on OPPO devices.

Is a sudden pop-up ad on my phone a sign of a virus?

Not always. A single pop-up is usually from an aggressive app or website. If ads appear constantly across your home screen and multiple apps with no clear source, that's more likely adware and worth investigating via Safe Mode.

Do third-party ad blocker apps work on phones?

Browser-based blockers work well for ads within browsers. For system-wide blocking, Private DNS is more effective than standalone apps and doesn't require installing anything additional.

Will blocking ads affect how my apps work?

Turning off personalisation or revoking notification permissions won't break apps. Private DNS blocking may occasionally affect a small number of apps or services that use the same domains as ad networks — though this is uncommon.