How to remove Adware from Android

How to find the Adware Android infected application

If you see Adverts on your phone, which are displayed even when your internet browser is turned off, that means one of the applications on your phone has embedded Adware. In most cases it will be the app you most recently installed on your phone, but this is not always the case.

Android Adware Removal duide

Android Adware is very annoying piece of software, especially when it comes to your mobile phone.

Sometimes app developers make terrible decisions – such as including Adware into Apps as a regular update – so it is entirely possible one of your older apps is the cause of the problem.

There is no direct way to identify the trouble maker, but you can easily find it by elimination. Shut down all non-essential Apps on your Android device, then start turning them on one by one. When you turn on an app give it some time to display the Ads – the more time you can give it the better, since we can’t know the trigger that causes them to appear. By using this method you will eventually discover the troublemaker.

Is it possible to keep an Application, but remove the Adware?

It may be possible, but strictly on а case-by-case basics:

  • Usually the easiest way is to purchase the premium version of the App – these usually come Ads-free. To do that just go to the store and purchase and install the premium version, then uninstall the Adware-infested version by following the guide below.
  • If that is not an option, you can try looking through the options menu of the App – sometimes certain App features trigger the Adware. Du Quick Charge, which recently created an outrage among Android users, is a good example.
  • The most likely scenario, however, is that the App developer will force a decision – to use the App and endure the ads or to remove the Adware completely.

The removal guide below will help you get rid of the App in question. Do not hesitate to get rid of any app containing intrusive Adware, because there is a stiff competition between App developers. You should be able to find an alternative Ads-free solution if you spend a bit of time in the store!

How to remove Adware from Android

If you have an Android virus, continue with the guide below.

If you have an iPhone virus, please use our iPhone Virus Removal guide.

If you have a Mac virus, please use our How to remove Ads on Mac guide.

If you have a Windows virus, please use our Windows Virus Removal guide.

Step1

Whether you use the default “Internet” App for browsing or a different browser like Chrome you need to go to:
Settings/More/Application Manager/All

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Locate the Browser/App in question and tap on it.

Step2

Now the method is effectively the same for users using both “Internet” and Chrome/Other Browsers, yet for more clarity we have provided instructions for both:

For “Internet” Browser Users:

Tap the Force Stop button.

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Now tap the Clear Data and Clear Cache Buttons.

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For Google Chrome Users:

Click on  Force Stop.

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Then click on Clear Data and Clear Cache.

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Step3

Restart your Browser. It might be a good idea to Reboot your Android device, just in case.

  • Important!

If you are still seeing Ads in your browser, it is likely they are generated by the websites you visit and there is nothing you can do about it.

However, if you are seeing Adverts outside of your internet browser, then one of your installed Apps contains the problematic Adware. In this case you need to take a look at this guide.

Did we help you? Please, consider helping us by spreading the word!

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About the author

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Violet George

Violet is an active writer with a passion for all things cyber security. She enjoys helping victims of computer virus infections remove them and successfully deal with the aftermath of the attacks. But most importantly, Violet makes it her priority to spend time educating people on privacy issues and maintaining the safety of their computers. It is her firm belief that by spreading this information, she can empower web users to effectively protect their personal data and their devices from hackers and cybercriminals.

30 Comments

  • thanks for the information the virus comes from explorer.apr I never used it and now it was opening just erase the data and disable it.

  • Hey, thank you soooo much, without this site, I wouldent have been able to stop seeing ads that just pop up. Thank you and anyone who helped create this site

    • You are most welcome! We are happy to hear that you’ve been able to deal with your issue using the instructions from our site!

  • My adware shows up with no icon and no name and I disabled it’s device administrator permission but it still won’t let me delete it. Help!

    • Can you at least Disable/Force stop it? Also, what’s the app that’s causing it in your case?

  • Thanks! Had already disabled device administrator so went in and got rid of the more recent apps haven’t been necessary, no pop-ups in last hour, looks promising. I kept thinking I could get an app to get rid of the offending pop-ups.
    Thanks again for setting me straight.

  • What if the uninstall option is greyed out but there is nothing in device administrators, where do I go next?

    • Which app are you trying to remove? Also, are the other options like Disable and Force Stop grayed out as well? If not, you can try using them instead to see if anything changes.

  • Please, receive a VERY BIG ¨THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU¨ . . . !!
    That f”··$%&g PUP was ruining my day….!!
    Hahahaha!!

  • thanks, i saw that Adware was with me with explorer, i deleted the kess data. so it’s as good …

  • Your article was quite helpful. Now, I understand that adware is what makes many apps free. The issue I have is that it often pops up during dialing. Not good timing if you’re dialing 911! Again, thanks.

    • It is very rare for an app to be free and to not have ads integrated into it, users need to always keep that in mind when downloading and installing free stuff.

  • I get full screen ads launched via Android Launcher, have uninstalled the two apps installed in last few months but no change. Haven’t found any way of finding out were this is hidden and all apps to detect this have failed.

    A guide to stopping this would be very helpful.

  • Thank you!! I went to security then found warnings from Google Play Protect which indicated which apps to remove. Whew!

  • But how do you know which app is malicious? And even if you deleted that app, the data it leaves behind is still active and hidden. I need to delete the data that is causing the problem before I decide to factory reset.

    • The issue is caused by the app, and once that app is removed, there should be no more annoyances. Finding out which app is the culprit can be tricky, but you need to use your common sense. For example, if you have recently downloaded some new app, and that’s when the issues began, it’s likely that this new app is responsible. Also, sometimes automatic updates of older apps may cause similar problems, so think about whether any of your other applications have recently received any updates around the time the problem started appearing.

  • What if the adware doesn’t appear under apps either? I have smartSite adware and it keeps opening in both Chrome and the default browser on my phone as well as other sites I have never visited. I would say it’s part of XHelper but the popups appear even after I uninstall/remove XHelper with Avast for Mobile

    • Then maybe another app is the culprit. In general, if some form of adware is bothering you it should almost always be related to an app that you can see in the Apps’ manager.

    • Randito
      SmartSite IS the app causing your issues as it contains a Browser Hijacker and is considered a virus / malware by all major antivirus / antimalware solutions.

  • Hello sir, I have a problem in my redmi note 4 I don’t know why but sometimes in my phone the play store automatically opens and some app starts get downloaded without me doing any touch in most cases there are different app but josh app usually gets downloaded I uninstalled it every time but every time it again get reinstalled

    Note:- sorry for my grammatical mistakes. I m from INDIA

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