It can feel like new apps and advertisements appear on your phone every day. Often, several different things are being confused: an app, an ad inside an app, a notification, and a website shortcut.
First, identify what you are seeing
An installed app opens when you tap its icon. An advertisement appears inside a website, game, or another app. A notification appears as an alert or banner. A website shortcut looks like an app icon but opens a page in a browser.
Reduce notifications on iPhone
Open Settings > Notifications. Choose the app sending alerts and change or disable its notification permissions. For Safari website pop-ups, open Settings, search for Safari, and enable the pop-up blocking option when available. Some ads are built into free apps and cannot all be removed through a single phone setting.
Remove unfamiliar apps carefully
Press and hold an iPhone app icon, then tap Remove App > Delete App. On Android, touch and hold the app or go to Settings > Apps and choose Uninstall. If an app is unfamiliar, check what it does before deleting it. Removing an app may not cancel an existing subscription.
Do I need antivirus?
Keep your operating system and apps updated, use official app stores, and avoid suspicious links. Modern phones have built-in security protections, but no product can make you perfectly safe. If a browser page announces that your phone is infected and asks you to call a number or pay immediately, it may be a fake virus warning. Close the page, and do not call the number.
Quick check
- Is it an ad or a real installed app?
- Which app or website is showing it?
- Can you turn off its notifications?
- Is there a paid subscription you also need to cancel?
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