Samsung’s built-in monitoring and performance optimizing app, Device Care, has long been the silent guardian of the Galaxy ecosystem. Not only does the app help users manage battery usage, storage, and RAM, it also automatically scans for malware to ensure a risk-free smartphone experience.
With the app’s latest update, it’s now also starting to block apps, but not in the way you might have thought.
I’m sure we’ve all experienced the cons of certain ‘freemium’ apps, especially the ones that think that your notification shade is an open forum. It can be a pesky game that keeps asking you to come back and play, or it can be a certain shopping app that keeps reminding you that you have items in your cart.
With Device Care version 13.8.80.7, Samsung is finally pushing back.
The development was first highlighted by @KAILASH61229293 on X, and pointed out by the folks over at SammyGuru.
There’s basic and intelligent blocking
The app will now be able to “Block apps with excessive ads.” The feature’s description suggests that the apps themselves won’t be blocked. Only their notification will be blocked.
“Apps that send frequent advertisement alerts will be put in deep sleep to prevent them from bothering you,” reads the feature’s attached documentation.
There’s ‘basic blocking,’ and then there’s ‘intelligent blocking.’
- Basic blocking: Apps identified by Samsung as sending frequent ads will be blocked whenever they’re detected on your phone.
- Intelligent blocking: Alerts are analyzed on your phone to determine whether they’re ads and blocked if they’re frequent. This determination may not always be accurate.
Apps in deep sleep will not bother you unless you manually open them. Said apps can be viewed in Settings > Device care > Care report > Excessive alerts.
To check whether the Device Care app update has landed for you, head to the Galaxy Store. Alternatively, you can download the APK through @KAILASH61229293’s post on X.
It’s not entirely certain, but it looks like the feature only works with One UI 8.5, and that might explain why some users are indicating that they’ve had access to the feature since the Galaxy S26 series launched.
Does your Galaxy have the ‘Block apps with excessive ads’ toggle? Let us know in the comments below!
