Few things are as grating to a smartphone user as the relentless chime of a third-party app pushing “special offers” or “limited-time deals” every few hours. While users have long been able to manually disable notifications for specific apps, the process is tedious, often requiring a trip through multiple layers of settings for every single offending application.
Samsung is attempting to automate this frustration away. A recent update to the Device Care system app introduces a feature called “Excessive Ad Blocking,” designed to identify and silence apps that bombard users with frequent advertisement alerts. Rather than simply filtering the notifications, the system takes a more aggressive approach by placing the offending apps into a state of “deep sleep.”
For those of us who spent years in software engineering, this move is a logical evolution of system-level resource management. By moving these apps to deep sleep, Samsung isn’t just cleaning up the notification shade; it is reducing the background CPU cycles and battery drain associated with these persistent ad-delivery services. It is a quality-of-life improvement that treats notification spam not just as an annoyance, but as a performance bottleneck.
It is essential to clarify that this is not a traditional ad blocker. It will not strip banners from inside a website or remove sponsored posts from a social media feed. Instead, it acts as a gatekeeper for the system’s notification API, targeting the behavior of the app rather than the content of the ad itself.
How the blocking mechanisms differ: Basic vs. Intelligent
Samsung has implemented two distinct methods for detecting these “noisy” apps, allowing users to choose between a database-driven approach and a more dynamic, analysis-based system.
The “Basic” setting relies on Samsung’s internal data. This is essentially a curated list of known offenders—apps that have a documented history of pushing excessive alerts across the Galaxy ecosystem. When a known offender is installed on a handset, the system can flag it more quickly based on this existing telemetry.
The “Intelligent” setting is more sophisticated. Rather than relying on a pre-existing list, it analyzes the actual notifications being sent to the device. By scanning the frequency and nature of the alerts, the system can determine if an app is behaving like a spammer. If the patterns match those of an advertisement-heavy app, the system triggers the block. This is particularly useful for newer or niche apps that may not yet be on Samsung’s global “basic” list.
| Feature | Basic Blocking | Intelligent Blocking |
|---|---|---|
| Detection Method | Samsung’s curated app data | Real-time notification analysis |
| Primary Strength | Quick, low-overhead detection | Catches new or unknown spam apps |
| System Impact | Minimal | Slightly higher (due to analysis) |
The technical impact of ‘Deep Sleep’
When the Excessive Ad Blocking feature flags an app, it doesn’t just mute the sound; it moves the application into “deep sleep.” In the Android ecosystem, this is a critical distinction. Apps in deep sleep are prevented from running in the background entirely unless the user explicitly opens them.
From a performance standpoint, this is a win. Background processes—especially those designed to ping servers for new ad content—consume RAM and battery. By forcing these apps into deep sleep, Samsung effectively freezes their ability to consume resources. The trade-off, however, is that the user may miss legitimate notifications from that app. If a utility app is flagged as an ad-spammer, a critical alert from that same app might be suppressed until the user manually wakes the application.
Users can manage these restrictions by navigating to Settings > Device care > Care report > Excessive alerts. This provides a transparent view of which apps have been sidelined and allows the user to override the system’s decision if a necessary app has been caught in the crossfire.
Integrating with the broader Device Care suite
The ad-blocking tool is part of a larger optimization ecosystem within Galaxy devices. Device Care serves as a centralized hub for maintaining the health of the hardware, encompassing battery longevity, storage management, and RAM optimization.
One of the more interesting tools in this suite is “Virtual Memory,” often referred to as RAM Plus. This feature allows the system to allocate a portion of the device’s internal storage (UFS) to act as virtual RAM. Depending on the device model, users can expand their available memory by up to 8 GB. While virtual memory is significantly slower than physical LPDDR5 RAM, it allows the system to move inactive apps out of the physical RAM, leaving more room for high-demand tasks like gaming or video editing.
the suite includes a “Clean now” function under the Memory menu. This manually clears out background processes to free up physical RAM. While modern Android versions are generally efficient at memory management, this remains a useful tool for users experiencing lag during heavy multitasking.
How to find and enable these features
Because Device Care is a system-level application, it does not have a standalone icon in the app drawer. To access these tools, users should follow these steps:
- Open the Settings menu.
- Scroll down and select Device Care (on some older models, this may be labeled as Battery and device care).
- Alternatively, use the search bar at the top of the Settings menu and type “Device Care.”
- To enable ad blocking, look for the Excessive Ad Blocking toggle within the optimization or app settings.
The updated version of Device Care is being distributed via the Galaxy Store and as part of recent One UI system updates. If the feature is not yet visible, users should check for any pending software updates in their system settings to ensure they are running the latest stable build of their respective One UI version.
As Samsung continues to integrate more generative AI into its “Galaxy AI” branding, it is likely that these “Intelligent” blocking features will become even more granular, potentially distinguishing between “promotional” and “transactional” alerts with higher accuracy. The next major checkpoint for these features will be the wide release of the next One UI version, which is expected to further refine how the system handles background app energy consumption.
Do you find these system-level blocks helpful, or do you prefer manual control over your notifications? Share your experience in the comments below.
