For its brand-new One UI 8.5 update, Samsung snuck in a little something users have been begging for: a system-level tool to block notification ads before they land in your notification shade.
Titled “Block apps that spam with ads,” the setting is aimed at promotional spam that comes from applications that ping you too often, so you get a less cluttered alert experience without having to personally police every offender.
- What the new ad blocker is really doing on One UI 8.5
- How to enable it on your Samsung phone running One UI 8.5
- Basic vs Intelligent blocking: what each mode does best
- Use per-app notification channels to precisely tame noisy apps
- Privacy notes and practical limits of Intelligent blocking
- Real-world impact and why it’s valuable to use
Why this matters is obvious to anyone who has ever dismissed a dozen “limited-time offers” in a row. Industry benchmarks from mobile engagement companies, such as Airship, indicate that regular promotional pushes lead to decreased user retention and increased opt-out rates. Deloitte’s consumer research also finds growing “notification fatigue,” a strong indicator that platform controls are way past due. Samsung is doing its bit to clamp down on noisy apps while preserving alerts that matter.
What the new ad blocker is really doing on One UI 8.5
One UI 8.5 introduces a specific control that monitors for any app sending ad-heavy and repetitive notifications. It comes with two types of blocking modes, Basic and Intelligent. Basic is enabled by default and silently blocks apps that Samsung has previously identified as being overly promotional. Intelligent goes a step further by parsing notifications in real time and automatically blocking those that are sent too frequently and appear to be ads.
There’s also an “Excessive alerts” view displaying apps the system has flagged as problematic. From there, you can review your notifications and drill into app-level notification settings or continue to let the system shield you from noise.
How to enable it on your Samsung phone running One UI 8.5
The feature comes in One UI 8.5, which is launching for select models and regions before it rolls out more broadly. If you’re using a device that’s running One UI 8.5, you’ll find the control here:
- Navigate to Settings and tap Notifications.
- Select Block Apps With Excessive Ads.
- Make sure Basic blocking is turned on. This is the default behavior and does not need to be set up.
- For an even stronger filter, turn on Intelligent blocking at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap Excessive alerts if you want to scroll through the list of apps the system has flagged and make specific adjustments as needed.
If you don’t find the option, it probably means that your phone has not yet updated to One UI 8.5. Update your device software, if and when available, and check Notifications settings again.
Basic vs Intelligent blocking: what each mode does best
Basic blocking is a set-and-forget layer that relies on Samsung’s internal signals. It focuses on known offenders and aims to keep its interventions conservative, minimizing false positives for bank alerts, ride-share updates, or delivery notifications.
Intelligent blocking is more aggressive. It classifies notifications on-device in real time and mutes those when they resemble promotional behavior. If quiet matters most to you, it’s the better pick. If you see legitimate messages getting caught — apps that mix order updates with offers, for example — pop back into Basic and, rather than raising or lowering a sensitivity slider, adjust that app’s categories instead.
Use per-app notification channels to precisely tame noisy apps
You can pair Samsung’s updated filter with Android’s per-app channels for even more surgical control. Long-press on any notification, tap Settings, and you’ll see categories such as Promotions, Offers, or Marketing split away from vital alerts like Transactions, Orders, or Security. Only turn off the promotional categories to continue receiving all the other useful stuff.
Inside Samsung’s own apps, search for in-app marketing toggles. In Galaxy Store, Samsung Wallet, and Samsung Members, you may also find a setting to turn off Promotions or Marketing information. For account-level preferences, open Settings and go to your Samsung Account and privacy controls, where you may opt out of marketing communications if applicable.
Privacy notes and practical limits of Intelligent blocking
The Intelligent mode does on-device analysis of notification content and patterns to determine what it should block; it doesn’t require access to the cloud in order to function. That said, no automated system is foolproof. If you’re worried about false positives or missing an important notice, go back to Basic blocking and control your apps’ channels. You can also occasionally scan the Excessive alerts list for any surprises.
Real-world impact and why it’s valuable to use
Promotional surges are not just annoying — they can measurably diminish focus. Psychological scientists have long associated high rates of irrelevant alerts with task switching and decreased efficiency. Mobile marketing benchmarks demonstrate that users are more likely to keep notifications on when the frequency is modest and relevance is strong. One UI 8.5 restores that balance without requiring you to tackle app-by-app filtering of the worst offenders.
Still with me? The short version: Enable the new ad blocker, try Basic first, and then move on to Intelligent if you want a less chatty phone. Combine it with per-app channel controls, and you’ll trim notification clutter drastically while keeping the alerts you really need.
