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How to Stop Ads and Pop-Ups on Android (Including the Ones From Nowhere)

Block ads on Android without root: remove personalised ads, use a filtering DNS, and find the app responsible for full-screen pop-ups on your home screen.

By Guides written from official Android and Samsung documentation, with every source linked and every article dated4 min read

Short answer

Set a filtering Private DNS such as dns.adguard-dns.com to block ad and tracker domains system-wide, delete your advertising ID, and if pop-ups appear outside apps, find the culprit under Settings › Apps › Special app access › Display over other apps.

Block ads system-wide in about 30 seconds. Step 1: Open Network and internet — On Samsung: Connections, then More connection settings. Step 2: Tap Private DNS — Choose Private DNS provider hostname. Step 3: Enter a filtering resolver — dns.adguard-dns.com blocks ad and tracker domains. Step 4: Save — Requests to known ad domains now fail before they leave the phone. Step 5: If a café network stops working — Set it back to Automatic, sign in to the portal, then re-enable.
One setting, no app, no root, and it applies to every app and browser at once.

There are three separate problems here and they need different fixes: ads inside apps and web pages, personalised targeting, and pop-ups appearing when no app is open. The third one is the serious one.

System-wide ad blocking with Private DNS

The most effective no-root ad blocking on Android takes about thirty seconds and applies to every app and browser at once.

  1. Settings › Network & internet › Private DNS
  2. Select Private DNS provider hostname
  3. Enter dns.adguard-dns.com
  4. Save

Every DNS lookup now goes encrypted to a resolver that refuses to resolve known ad and tracker domains. Ads are not merely hidden — the request never leaves the phone successfully.

Alternatives:

HostnameBlocks
dns.adguard-dns.comAds, trackers, malware
family.adguard-dns.comThe above plus adult content
dns.quad9.netMalware only, no ad blocking
base.dns.mullvad.netAds and trackers, no logging

Limitations worth knowing: it cannot block ads served from the same domain as the content (YouTube ads, Instagram in-feed ads), and it applies only when your traffic uses the phone's DNS — a VPN takes over resolution.

Stop personalised targeting

Blocking the delivery is separate from stopping the profiling.

  • Settings › Security & privacy › Privacy controls › Ads › Delete advertising ID. This is step one of our Android privacy checklist.
  • Settings › Google › Manage your Google Account › Data & privacy › Ad settings → turn off Ad personalisation.
  • In Chrome: Settings › Privacy and security › Ad privacy → turn off all three of Ad topics, Site-suggested ads and Ad measurement.

Browser-level blocking

If a filtering DNS is not enough on the web:

  • Use a browser with built-in blocking — Brave, Firefox with uBlock Origin, or DuckDuckGo.
  • In Chrome: Settings › Site settings › Pop-ups and redirects → Don't allow, and Intrusive ads → Block.
  • Chrome's Settings › Site settings › Notifications — this is where "a website keeps sending me notifications" is fixed. Review the allowed list and revoke everything you did not deliberately approve.

Pop-ups when you are not in any app

Full-screen ads on your home screen, or ads that appear over other apps, mean an installed app is abusing overlay permission. This is adware, and it usually arrives with a flashlight app, a "cleaner", a QR scanner or a sideloaded APK.

Find it:

  1. When an ad appears, immediately open Recents — the offending app is often the card behind it.
  2. Settings › Apps › Special app access › Display over other apps — review the list and revoke everything you do not recognise or do not need.
  3. Settings › Apps › See all apps, sort by Recently installed. The problem almost always began with something installed in the last few weeks.
  4. Boot into Safe Mode (hold power → long-press Power off → Reboot to safe mode). If the pop-ups stop, it is definitely an installed app.

Then remove it:

  • Uninstall the app.
  • If Uninstall is greyed out, it has device-admin rights: Settings › Security & privacy › More security settings › Device admin apps → deactivate it first, then uninstall.
  • Check Settings › Accessibility › Downloaded apps and disable anything unexpected. Adware requests accessibility access because it grants the ability to read and control the screen.
  • Run Play Store › profile › Play Protect › Scan. For a full permissions audit afterwards, see what each Android permission really grants.

Notification-shade spam

Ads arriving as notifications are easier: long-press the notification, tap the gear, and turn off that channel. If the app has no legitimate purpose, uninstall it — an app that advertises to you through the notification shade is telling you what it is.

Reduce ads in Google's own apps

  • Google app → Profile › Settings › General → turn off Discover if you do not use the feed.
  • Play Store → Profile › Settings › General › Notifications → turn off the promotional categories.
  • Gmail → Settings › [account] › Inbox categories → turn off Promotions and Social tabs to stop the sponsored slots at the top of Promotions.

What not to do

Ad blocking that works, and traps to avoid. Do: A filtering Private DNS such as AdGuard or Quad9, Deleting your advertising ID, Revoking Display over other apps from unknown apps, A browser with built-in blocking. Avoid: Sideloaded ad blocker APKs, Free VPN-based blockers, Cleaner apps that promise to remove ads, Rooting just to edit the hosts file.
The bottom four are, with grim regularity, the actual source of the ads.
ApproachProblem
Sideloaded "ad blocker" APKsA common adware delivery method in itself
VPN-based blockersOccupy the one VPN slot; many log traffic; some are the ad networks
Rooting to edit the hosts fileBreaks banking apps and Play Integrity; a filtering DNS achieves the same result
"Cleaner" apps that promise to remove adsOverwhelmingly the source of the ads

Verify it is working

Load a site you know is ad-heavy before and after setting Private DNS. Or check that doubleclick.net fails to resolve — with a filtering resolver active, it should not load at all.

Frequently asked questions

How do I block ads on Android without root?

Set Private DNS to a filtering resolver such as dns.adguard-dns.com under Settings › Network & internet › Private DNS. It blocks ad and tracker domains across every app and browser without root or a VPN.

Why do I get pop-up ads on my home screen when no app is open?

An installed app is abusing the display-over-other-apps permission. Review Settings › Apps › Special app access › Display over other apps, check recently installed apps, and confirm with Safe Mode.

Why can't I uninstall the app causing pop-ups?

It has device administrator rights. Deactivate it under Settings › Security & privacy › More security settings › Device admin apps, then uninstall it normally.

Does Private DNS block YouTube ads?

No. YouTube serves ads from the same domains as its video content, so a DNS filter cannot separate them without breaking the app.

Sources & further reading

Official documentation used while writing and checking this guide. Every link was verified at the last update.

  1. AdGuard public DNS serversAdGuard
  2. Quad9 privacy and security DNSQuad9
  3. How to recognise and avoid phishing scamsUS Federal Trade Commission
  4. Permissions on AndroidAndroid Developers
  5. Secure Our World guidanceUS Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency
#ads#pop-ups#adblock#dns#malware

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