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Apple's iOS Settings app pushes non-dismissible ads for its own services

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Apple's iOS Settings app pushes non-dismissible ads for its own services

Apple has been inserting promotional banners for its own paid services into the Settings app on iOS, and the backlash on social media and Reddit has been swift. The banners sit near the top of the Settings screen and push products including paid iCloud+ storage, free trials for Apple Music and Apple TV, and the AppleCare+ extended warranty plan. The complaint driving the anger is that users cannot easily get rid of them: there is not always a dismiss button, and when one exists, some users report it does not work. In many cases the only way to clear a banner is to let it expire, which the article says can take weeks or even months, during which the Settings app carries a persistent notification badge, or to simply pay for whatever is being promoted. Some banners appear to be tied to specific triggers, such as an Apple Music offer that shows up after a customer buys a new Apple product, which the piece links to the recent launch of the iPhone Duo and the iPhone 18 Pro range. Frustrated users have taken to social media to vent, with one comparing it to Microsoft's ad-laden Start menu and another writing that they wish Apple would just stop the practice. The article frames this as part of Apple's broader push into services revenue such as iCloud+, Apple Music, Apple TV and AppleCare+, at a time when smartphone sales growth has slowed. It also raises the possibility that at least some of the ads, particularly the iCloud+ one showing up for users who are already subscribed, may be appearing because of a bug rather than by design; whether Apple confirms a bug or leaves the ads in place is not yet known. The piece adds that further promotions are reportedly planned for Apple's Visual Intelligence system, suggesting the practice is set to expand rather than be walked back.

Key facts

  • Non-dismissible or hard-to-dismiss promotional banners for iCloud+, Apple Music, Apple TV trials and AppleCare+ have appeared near the top of the iOS Settings app.
  • Clearing a banner often requires letting it expire, which can take weeks or months and leaves a persistent notification badge on Settings in the meantime, or paying for the promoted service.
  • Some banners, such as an Apple Music offer, appear to trigger after a customer buys a new Apple product, coinciding with the recent iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro launches.
  • Users who are already iCloud+ subscribers have reported seeing ads for the service they already pay for, which the article suggests could be a bug rather than intentional.
  • The article ties the ads to Apple's push to grow services revenue as smartphone market growth slows, and says further promotions are reportedly planned for Apple's Visual Intelligence system.

Why it matters

Apple has built its brand on a premium, uncluttered user experience, and inserting ads into a core system app like Settings, on top of the ads Apple already added to Apple Maps, cuts against that positioning. The story is a visible sign of Apple leaning harder on services revenue such as iCloud+, Apple Music, Apple TV and AppleCare+ as growth in smartphone sales slows, and it shows that push reaching into places users do not expect to see marketing.

Who it affects

iPhone owners running iOS are the ones seeing the banners, particularly people who have recently bought a new Apple product or who already subscribe to a promoted service like iCloud+. Apple itself is affected in reputational terms, since the article describes the reaction on social media and Reddit as swift and widespread frustration rather than a niche complaint.

How to use it

There is no confirmed workaround beyond the two the article describes: wait for a banner to expire, which can take weeks or months, or pay for the service being promoted. A dismiss button exists in some cases but has been reported as non-functional by some users, so it cannot be relied on to clear a banner for good.

How solid is it

The account is a single tech-press report built on user complaints circulating on social media and Reddit, not on an official Apple statement; no Apple response is quoted in the piece. It does not cite a specific iOS version, a start date for the banners, or any figure for how many users are affected, and it flags the bug explanation as its own speculation rather than a confirmed cause.

Risks and caveats

Whether the ads are a deliberate design decision or a bug, as the article speculates for the iCloud+ case, is unresolved, and Apple has not said whether it will change the behavior. Because the source gives no version number, start date or user count, the scale and permanence of the practice beyond what individual users have reported cannot be independently confirmed.

“I wish Apple would just stop that crap”

— an iOS user, quoted by TechRadar