By @shutupzac96
Publication Date: 2026-08-22 12:00:00
Joe Maring / Android Authority
One of the things people love most about a Pixel is the lack of bloatware and ads. That’s still largely true, but Google has started to give in to temptation.
After the launch of the Pixel 11 series, many users, myself included, started receiving ads for the new phone on our older Pixels. It’s the sort of thing we’ve come to expect from Samsung, but not so much Google.
Thankfully, there’s an easy way to stop it from happening.
Have ads in our smartphones gone too far?
4956 votes
The Pixel is meant to be above this
Adamya Sharma / Android Authority
Ads on smartphones aren’t new. I love One UI, but even I can’t excuse how often Samsung pushes ads in front of your face. Pixels have always been free of that. A Pixel doesn’t come with a plethora of Microsoft or Meta apps because someone paid to have them preloaded, and until now, there haven’t been ads in my notification shade either.
The My Pixel app has broken the formula. The app used to be…