Getting greeted by pop-ups and unnecessary notifications can be cumbersome. While most apps no longer deliver pop-ups on Android and iOS, certain pre-installed or third-party apps and browsers may still end up showing unwanted ads. In this brief guide, let's take a look at how to stop pop-up ads and notifications from apps and browsers on Android mobile phones and iPhones.
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Here's how to stop browser pop-ups on Chrome. These steps work for both Android and iPhone.
Step 1: Open Chrome on your mobile phone
Step 2: Tap the '3-dots' at the top right corner (bottom right corner on iPhone) and select 'Settings'
Step 3: Now scroll down and select 'Site settings' (Content settings on iPhone)
Step 4: Under the Content section, select 'Pop-ups and redirects'
Step 5: Disable the option and you're good to go
Turn off Safari browser pop-ups on your iPhone by following the below steps:
Step 1: Launch the Settings app
Step 2: Scroll down and select 'Safari'
Step 3: Now simply enable 'Block Pop-ups'
This will prevent websites from showing you random pop-ups on Safari.
Some Android phones may come pre-installed with apps that tend to frequently send ad notifications and pop-ups. These can get bothersome and may end up stacking your phone's notifications.
Many Android custom skins such as Realme UI, ColorOS, One UI, and Funtouch OS carry an app store that is notorious for pushing out app recommendation notifications. Here's how to disable them.
Step 1: Open the application store
Step 2: Now go to it's Settings
Step 3: Locate the notification option and disable it
Apart from app stores, some Android skins also offer additional apps such as browsers that deliver unnecessary notifications from time to time. Here's how to disable those notifications:
Step 1: Search and locate the app in the app drawer you wish to stop receiving notifications from
Step 2: Now long press on the app icon and select 'App info'
Step 3: Tap the 'Notifications' option
Step 4: On the next screen, simply disable notifications
Although most third-party apps don't send out pop-up notifications, even if they do, you can find your way through the app's settings to disable them. Here's how:
Step 1: Search and locate the app in the app drawer you wish to stop receiving notifications from
Step 2: Now long press on the app icon and select 'App info'
Step 3: Tap the 'Manage notifications' option
Step 4: On the next screen, simply disable notifications
Under the Notifications section, you may also get the option to specifically disable different types of notifications so that you can continue to receive the required and important notifications from the app.
Alternatively, you can also go through the in-app notification settings to turn off push notifications which you don't wish to receive. This will vary from app to app.
If you have been getting pop-up ads from an app on your Android phone and can't seem to figure out its source, simply enter the recents menu (by swiping from the bottom of the screen or pressing the 'recents' button, depending on your navigation mode). After doing so, you'll get the name of the app that's acting up. No go ahead and disable the notifications of the app or uninstall it for the better.
No, using ad blockers is not illegal, however, websites can choose to not show or deliver content if they detect the user has enabled an ad blocker.