Hi Everyone, Around a month ago for no obvious reason I started getting pop up video ads when using my Fairphone 2. It can happen and essentially shut down any app I’m using and appear in a whatsapp conversation and stop the conversation. It even stopped google maps while I was driving and therefore the directions disappeared until I closed the ad. This is intrusive and unpleasant. Can anyone help? I am thinking to do a factory data reset but when I try this, it asks me to confirm my pin - I don’t ever remember creating one. All help appreciated.
This is most likely the “price” you are paying for installing a free app that comes with ads. You might want to go back and check the apps you have installed anew during that period.
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If I´m not mistaken it´s the main unlock pin of your phone/screen.
This looks like a commercial overlay which you may have installed or activated with another app or game.
Maybe you can remember what app you have last installed?
Take a closer look into app permission details listed something called
like “screen overlay”.
You can remove the entire app if identified or go into the permissions settings and disable the specific if possible.
But you may also read more into this here.
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Thank you both. It started after I downloaded spotify premium. I did then try deleting the account but the ads continued and over every platform from texts to whatsapp, to e mail, even at times when I wasn’t using the phone. An ad would just start playing!!
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Yes, that’s the main idea to push the user into purchasing the pay versions.
Generally it can only be stopped by deleting the entire app not only an account.
But you also could install a firewall and investigate to block specific network accesses. This is a more complex task and may not lead to success as for apps needing network access
a full block will make its purpose useless.
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There is another new post regarding the same topic here, they haven’t found a solution yet, but it may be interesting to have a look over there, too.
(I’ve also linked this topic there.)
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