Alex Ruben
How To Block Ads Permanently on Any Samsung Phone
Okay, so if you’re like me and tired of those endless ads popping up, notifications sneaking in, or just feeling like Samsung’s trying to sneak in more promos than actual useful stuff—this might help. No root, no weird hacks—just some straight-up toggles and settings. But fair warning: Samsung does like to keep their system a little opaque, so some steps are kinda trial-and-error or need a reboot or two. Still, these methods are usually enough to at least tame most ad annoyances.
Step 1: Disable Marketing Notifications
This is kind of obvious, but it’s a good place to start. Samsung constantly pushes promotional stuff via notifications or your account settings, which can lead to more ads and promos. Disabling this removes a chunk of marketing noise.
- Open the Settings app.
- Scroll down and tap on Samsung Account.
- If it prompts, sign in — or skip if you already signed in.
- Head over to Privacy Settings.
- Toggle off the option for receiving marketing notifications.
- If those ads still bug you, consider removing your Samsung Account from the device entirely, which can help cut down on account-linked promos. To do that, go back to Settings → Accounts and Backup → Accounts, then select your Samsung account and choose Remove account.
Step 2: Manage Notifications from Built-in Apps
This is where the fun begins—Samsung apps like Weather, Galaxy Store, or even Samsung Pay love to throw notifications at you for no good reason. Halting these can cut down on some sneaky ads or promo banners.
- Open the Galaxy Store app.
- Tap the hamburger menu (three lines) or the Settings icon.
- Select Notifications.
- Turn off all notifications here—and repeat for other apps like Samsung Pay, Weather, or pre-installed apps you never use. For each, head into their Settings menu and disable notifications.
Note: On some devices, these settings might hide under system-level notification controls—so check in Settings → Notifications for those apps if needed.
Step 3: Disable Ad Data Collection
Samsung and Google kinda play a game of “Let’s track everything,” so it helps to turn off ad personalization. Doing this doesn’t stop all ads — but it does prevent profiling and targeted ads, which can be more invasive.
- Head into Settings.
- Scroll to Privacy.
- Select Google > Ads. (On some models, it’s directly under Privacy -> Ads)
- Toggle off Opt out of Ads Personalization.
- Click on Delete Advertising ID. This resets the ad ID, which means you’re basically starting fresh with ad tracking.
This works better if you also turn off Personalized Ads in your Google account settings — because, of course, ads love to follow you around everywhere.
Step 4: Use Private DNS to Block Ads System-Wide
This is kinda sneaky but effective — configuring your phone to use a DNS server like AdGuard’s or Cloudflare’s can help block some ads at the network level. Not perfect, but if you’re tired of ads everywhere, worth a shot.
- Open Settings.
- Tap on Connections.
- Find and tap on More connection settings.
- Choose Private DNS.
- Select Private DNS provider hostname.
- Enter dns.adguard.com or 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare + DNS filtering works pretty decent). For AdGuard, their hostname is `dns.adguard.com`.
- Hit Save and give the network a quick reboot if things feel laggy.
Fair warning: Not all DNS providers block everything, and some apps might ignore DNS filtering, but it’s a good layer to add.
Extra Tips & Common Issues
If ads still manage to pop up, check if apps have their own notification settings or internal options to disable notifications. Some apps like Amazon shopping or curation apps sometimes sneak in ads unless you look in their specific settings.
On certain devices, a factory reset might be needed if ad-related permissions or settings just refuse to stay off. Just be sure to back up first — because of course, Samsung has to make it a little difficult.
And yeah, using third-party ad blockers or custom ROMs is a possibility, but that’s venturing into more complex territory.
Summary
- Turn off marketing notifications in your Samsung account.
- Disable notifications for built-in apps like Galaxy Store, Weather, and Pay.
- Disable ad tracking and reset your ad ID.
- Configure a Private DNS like dns.adguard.com for some network-wide ad blocking.
- Keep an eye on app-specific settings — some apps still push ads or notifications despite all this.
Hopefully this shaves off a few hours for someone. Samsung’s OS can be a pain, but there are ways to wrestle back control. Good luck!