Table of Contents
You unlock your phone and a full-screen ad for a game you’ve never heard of fills the screen. You close it, and another one appears a few minutes later. Sometimes it’s on the home screen, sometimes over WhatsApp, sometimes the moment you plug in the charger.
Ads like this don’t come from Android itself. An app on your phone is showing them, and it’s usually one you installed recently, or one that came with permissions it shouldn’t have. The trick is working out which one, because these apps rarely put their name on the ad.
Here’s the method I use, starting with the checks that catch the culprit most often.
First: work out what kind of ad you’re seeing
Not every annoying ad is the same problem, and the fix depends on which kind you have.
- Full-screen ads over your home screen or other apps: an app with adware is showing them. This is the main problem this guide solves.
- Ads that appear as notifications: either an app or a website you allowed to send notifications. Easy to fix.
- Ads on the lock screen: often a lock screen content service that came with your phone, such as Glance on many phones sold in India.
- Ads inside the phone’s own apps, such as the file manager, theme store or security app: these are the phone maker’s system ads, common on Xiaomi, Redmi, Poco, Realme, Oppo and Vivo phones.
- Ads inside a free app or game while you’re using it: that’s normal. It’s how the app makes money.
If yours is the first kind, start below. For the others, skip to the matching section.
Step 1: Check the Recent apps screen right after an ad appears
This is the quickest first check. It doesn’t always work, because well-built adware can hide itself from this screen, but it takes ten seconds and often points straight at the culprit.
- When the ad appears, don’t close it with the X.
- Open the Recent apps screen. Swipe up from the bottom and hold, or tap the square or three-line button, depending on your phone.
- Look at the card for the ad. Many adware apps show up here as a card, sometimes with a blank name, an odd name or a generic icon.
- Tap the app icon at the top of that card, then App info. That takes you straight to the app’s settings page, where you can see its real name and uninstall it.
If the ad doesn’t show as its own card, look at the first two or three cards in the list. The app behind the ad is often the one that was running just before it. If nothing looks suspicious, move on to the next steps, which are more reliable.
Step 2: See which apps can “display over other apps”
Full-screen ads that pop up over other apps usually need a special permission that lets an app draw on top of everything else. Very few apps need it.
- On Pixel and many other phones:
Go to Settings, then Apps, then Special app access, then Display over other apps. - On Samsung phones:
Go to Settings, then Apps, tap the three dots at the top right, then Special access, then Appear on top.
You’ll see a list of every app with this permission. Some have good reasons, such as Facebook Messenger chat heads, screen recorders, accessibility tools and some security apps. Be suspicious of anything that has no business drawing over your screen, especially:
- Phone cleaners, boosters and battery savers
- Flashlight, QR scanner and calculator apps
- Wallpaper, ringtone and keyboard theme apps
- Free VPNs
- Any app you don’t recognise
Turn the permission off for anything suspicious, then use your phone normally for a while. If the ads stop, you’ve found it. Uninstall it.
If you can’t find these menus, type “display over” or “appear on top” into the Settings search bar.
Step 3: Check which apps have Accessibility access
This is the most important check in this guide, because it’s about more than ads.
Accessibility access is meant for apps that help people with disabilities use their phones. It lets an app read everything on your screen and tap buttons for you. Malicious apps abuse it to stop you uninstalling them, give themselves more permissions, and in the worst cases read your messages, passwords and banking screens.
- Go to Settings, then Accessibility.
- Open the list of apps you’ve added. On Samsung, it’s called Installed apps. On Pixel, it’s called Downloaded apps. Other phones use similar names.
- Check every app that’s switched on.
Apps with a good reason to be here include password managers, screen readers, automation tools you set up yourself and some launchers. Switch off anything you don’t recognise, or anything that has no clear reason to control your phone, such as a cleaner, wallpaper or flashlight app. Then uninstall it.
If an app keeps switching its Accessibility access back on, or the switch won’t turn off, treat it as malware. Use safe mode (Step 6) to remove it, and if it handled any banking or payment apps while it had access, change those passwords from another device.
Step 4: Look for apps you didn’t install, or that are hiding
Adware often tries to stay out of sight. Some apps give themselves a blank name, copy the icon of a system app such as Settings or Google, or install with no visible icon at all.
- Go to Settings, then Apps, then See all apps (or App management).
- Scroll through the whole list slowly.
- Look for apps with no icon, a blank or strange name, or a name you don’t remember installing.
- Also look at what you installed in the days before the ads started. That’s often where the culprit is.
If you find something suspicious, tap it, check its permissions, and uninstall it.
Step 5: Check device admin apps
Some adware gives itself device admin rights so you can’t uninstall it. If an app’s Uninstall button is greyed out, this is usually why.
On Pixel and many other phones, go to Settings, then Security and privacy, then More security and privacy, then Device admin apps. On Samsung, go to Settings, then Security and privacy, then Other security settings, then Device admin apps. Menu names vary, so search Settings for “device admin” if needed.
Apps that normally appear here include Find My Device and work apps your employer installed. Switch off admin rights for anything you don’t recognise, then go back and uninstall it.
Step 6: Use safe mode to confirm
If you still can’t tell which app it is, safe mode helps. It restarts your phone with only the apps that came with it, so any app you installed yourself can’t run.
- On Pixel: press and hold the power button (or the power and volume up buttons together), then touch and hold Power off until you see the safe mode option, and tap OK.
- On Samsung: open the power menu, touch and hold Power off, then tap Safe mode.
Other brands use similar steps. “Safe mode” will appear at the bottom of the screen when it’s on.
Use the phone in safe mode for a while. If the ads stop, the culprit is definitely an app you installed. While you’re in safe mode, uninstall the most likely suspects, starting with the most recent. Restart the phone normally to leave safe mode.
If the ads continue in safe mode, the cause is a pre-installed app or system service, which brings us to the brand settings further down.
Step 7: Scan with Play Protect
Google Play Protect is built into every Android phone with Google Play, and it can find and remove known harmful apps.
Open the Play Store, tap your profile picture, then Play Protect, and tap Scan. If it finds a harmful app, follow the prompt to remove it.
Play Protect won’t catch every adware app, so don’t stop at a clean scan if you still see ads. And skip the “ad detector” or “virus cleaner” apps you’ll find when you search for this problem. Some are useful, but many are full of ads themselves, and you don’t need them to follow the steps above.
Ads appearing as notifications
Notification ads are the easiest to track down, because Android always knows which app sent each notification.
Long-press the ad notification. Your phone shows the name of the app that sent it, and you can turn off that app’s notifications straight from there.
If the notification has already gone, check your notification history. On Pixel, go to Settings, then Notifications, then Notification history. On Samsung, go to Settings, then Notifications, then Advanced settings, then Notification history. You may need to switch it on first, and then wait for the next ad.
If the sender is Chrome or another browser, the ads are coming from a website you once allowed to send notifications, often by tapping Allow on a “Click Allow to continue” page. To stop them:
- Open Chrome and tap the three dots, then Settings.
- Tap Site settings, then Notifications.
- Find the website and set it to Block, or remove it.
Newer versions of Chrome also turn off notifications from sites you don’t use any more, and some notifications now include an Unsubscribe button.
Ads on the lock screen
If you see news stories, videos and ads on your lock screen, your phone probably has a lock screen content service switched on. In India, the most common one is Glance, which comes pre-installed on many phones from Samsung, Xiaomi, Realme and others.
On Realme phones, Glance’s own help page says to go to Settings, then Glance for Realme, and switch it off.
On other phones, open Settings and search for “Glance”, “lock screen”, “wallpaper services” or “wallpaper carousel”. Choose None, or switch the service off, and set a normal wallpaper for your lock screen instead.
Ads inside your phone’s own apps (Xiaomi, Realme, Oppo, Vivo)
Some phone makers show ads in their own system apps, such as the file manager, theme store, music player, security app and app installer. These aren’t adware, but they’re annoying, and you can switch most of them off.
Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco (HyperOS)
There’s no single switch, so work through these:
- Go to Settings, then Fingerprints, face data and screen lock (or Passwords and security on some phones), then Authorization and revocation. Switch off msa and tap Revoke.
- Go to Settings, then Privacy (or Additional settings), then Ad services, and switch off Personalized ad recommendations.
- In each system app that shows ads, such as Security, Themes, Music, Downloads and the Mi Browser, open its settings and switch off options such as Show ads, Recommendations and Personalized recommendations.
Recheck these after a big software update, because some can switch themselves back on.
Realme, Oppo and Vivo
Look for home screen folders called Hot apps, Hot games or similar. These are app suggestions, not apps you’ve installed. Open the folder’s settings and switch off recommendations, or remove the folder. Also check the settings of the built-in browser, app store and theme store for options to turn off recommendations and ads.
Fake “virus detected” pop-ups in your browser
A pop-up in Chrome warning that your phone has 13 viruses, or that your battery is damaged, is not a real warning. It’s an ad from a website, designed to scare you into installing something.
Close the tab. Don’t tap anything on the page, and don’t install the app it recommends. If the page keeps coming back when you open Chrome, check Chrome’s notification settings as described above.
If nothing works
If you’ve tried every step and the ads keep coming, back up your photos, contacts and chats, then factory reset the phone. The path is different on every brand, so open Settings and search for “reset”, then choose the option to erase all data or reset to factory settings. After the reset, reinstall only the apps you actually use, from the Play Store, one at a time.
How to stop it happening again
- Install apps only from the Google Play Store, and be wary of APK files from websites, Telegram groups or WhatsApp forwards.
- Avoid phone cleaners, boosters and battery savers. Android doesn’t need them, and they’re among the most common sources of adware.
- Before installing, check the developer, the reviews and the number of downloads. A flashlight app asking for lots of permissions is a red flag.
- When an app asks to display over other apps or for Accessibility access and has no clear reason, say no.
- Keep your phone and Play Protect updated.
Quick Answers
How do I find which app is showing ads on my Android phone?
Start with the Recent apps screen right after the ad appears and check the card behind it, then tap its icon and App info. Adware can hide from that screen, so if it doesn’t work, check which apps can display over other apps in Settings, then Apps, then Special app access.
Why do ads pop up on my home screen?
An app with adware is showing them. It usually has permission to display over other apps. Turn that permission off for suspicious apps, then uninstall the one causing the ads.
Why can’t I uninstall the app that shows ads?
It probably has device admin rights or Accessibility access. Search Settings for “device admin apps” and “Accessibility”, switch off the app’s access in both, then uninstall it. If that fails, try again in safe mode.
Is it dangerous if an unknown app has Accessibility access?
Yes. Accessibility access lets an app read your screen and tap buttons for you. Switch it off for any app you don’t recognise in Settings, then Accessibility, then Installed apps or Downloaded apps.
How do I stop ads on my Android lock screen?
Switch off the lock screen content service. On many phones in India, that’s Glance. Search Settings for “Glance” or “wallpaper services” and turn it off.
How do I turn off ads on Xiaomi phones?
Revoke msa in Authorization and revocation, switch off personalised ad recommendations in Ad services, and turn off ads and recommendations in each system app’s settings.
Do I need an ad detector app?
No. The built-in Android settings in this guide will find the culprit. Many detector and cleaner apps show ads themselves.
Bottom Line
Pop-up ads on Android almost always come from one app you installed, usually a cleaner, utility or free app that asked to display over other apps. Try the Recent apps screen as a quick first check, then review which apps can draw over your screen and which have Accessibility access, look for hidden apps and device admins, and use safe mode to confirm. For lock screen ads and ads in your phone’s own apps, it’s a settings change, not a virus. Once the ads stop, stick to the Play Store and think twice before giving any app permission to draw over your screen or control it through Accessibility.
