My parents’ Android phones were ruined by invasive ads. Here’s how I fixed them for good

Mobile ads are becoming a significant issue on Android. I’ve recently encountered a spate of surprisingly manipulative pop-ups masquerading as genuine notices or system update alerts. While I’ve learned to sniff out the rubbish from the real, some people haven’t developed this skill.

I’ve previously written about my dad, who once encountered a deceptive PDF ad on his phone. He promptly tapped the fake “Update” button and installed numerous bogus PDF apps from the Play Store onto his device. This ad was lurking in a preinstalled office app, but now, it seems that even Google’s own apps are part of the growing problem.