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You can remove or hide unwanted apps and reduce some smart-TV banners, but no single setting clears every app and ad on every brand. First identify your TV’s platform and software version. Then choose the control that matches the problem: uninstall an app, remove its home-screen shortcut, limit recommendations, or hide a specific ad.
Choose the control that matches what you want to remove
| What you want to change | Control to look for | What it does not necessarily do |
|---|---|---|
| An app you no longer use | Uninstall or delete the app | It may not be available for every preinstalled app. |
| An app icon on the home screen | Remove it from the home screen or app list | The app may remain installed and be available to add again. |
| Personalized recommendations | Apps-only mode or a setting to turn off personalized recommendations | Sponsored content or other ads may remain. |
| A particular banner | A hide-ad control, if the platform offers one | Another ad may take its place. |
| Ads delivered through network requests | Optional DNS filtering | It does not remove every interface banner and may disrupt app features. |
Menu labels and available settings vary by model, region, and software version. If a route below does not match your TV, check its model-specific support instructions rather than assuming the setting is missing from all models.
Remove or hide apps by TV platform
Google TV: uninstall an app or limit recommendations
To uninstall an app, open the Apps tab, find it under Your apps, open its details, and select Uninstall. Google says menu availability can vary by device and region. See Google’s Google TV guide.
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To reduce personalized recommendations, go to All settings → Accounts & Profiles → your profile → Apps only mode. This mode shows installed apps and hides personalized recommendations, but sponsored content and movie or show teasers can remain. Search, Google Assistant, likes and dislikes, and watchlist controls are among the features that are unavailable in this mode.
Android TV: edit rows and previews
Some Android TVs let you add, remove, or reorder home-screen channel rows, turn off audio and video previews, and sign out of Discover to turn off personalized recommendations. Look under Settings → Device preferences → Home screen. Google cautions that settings differ across Android TV devices. See Google’s Android TV home-screen guide.
Roku: remove a channel from the home screen
Roku’s instructions cover removing an app from the home screen or through its mobile app. If Remove app is unavailable, an active subscription or billing cycle may be involved. If you intend to stop paying for the channel, cancel auto-renew where appropriate before trying again. Follow Roku’s app-removal instructions.
#1 Best Overall
- 720p resolution - View your favorite movies, shows and games in high definition.
- Alexa voice control - The Alexa Voice Remote lets you easily control your entertainment, search across apps, switch inputs, and more using just your voice. Press and hold the voice button and ask Alexa to easily find, launch, and control content, and even switch to cable.
- Access thousands of shows with Fire TV - Watch over 1.5 million streaming movies and TV episodes with access to thousands of channels, apps and Alexa skills, including Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, YouTube, Apple TV+, Disney+, ESPN+, Sling TV, Paramount+, and other services right from this TV.*
- DTS Virtual-X Sound - An immersive sound format creates a three-dimensional sound experience with your TV’s speakers.
- Supports HDMI ARC - Sends audio directly from the HDMI jack to a compatible soundbar or AV receiver, removing the need for an extra cable.
Samsung TV: remove an icon without uninstalling the app
Samsung’s cited instructions use Home screen → Now Playing → List Edit. Select the app and press Down to remove it from the Home screen. This only removes the shortcut: the app remains installed and can be added back. The instructions are from Samsung India, and menu names may differ by model or market. See Samsung’s app instructions.
LG webOS: delete an app or change the TV’s display mode
For the webOS 22 route in LG’s cited app guidance, open Home, choose Edit App List, select the app, and use the delete control. The exact steps depend on webOS version and model; consult LG’s app guidance for your TV.
Rank #2
- Bright, clear picture: Bring entertainment to life on our 40" flat screen TV with bright 1080p Full HD—perfect for bedrooms, kitchens, and beyond. Roku Smart Picture cleans up incoming TV signals, optimizes them, and chooses the right picture mode.
- Seamless streaming: With fast Wi-Fi and apps that launch in a snap, Roku Select Series TVs get you to your entertainment quickly. You get excellent picture quality, clear sound, automatic updates, and more. It’s simple to use. Hard to outgrow.
- TV, simplified: With setup that only takes minutes, a simple-to-navigate Home Screen, and an uncluttered remote control that does all you need—Roku makes it easier to watch the TV you love.
- A world of free entertainment: Enjoy a huge selection of free live TV, news, sports, movies, shows, and much more—all just a click away.
- More streaming, less searching: With personalized picks right on your Home Screen, quick access to the sports and entertainment you watch most, and fast and easy search in one place—the days of endless scrolling are over.
LG says Store Mode can cause promotional messages or images and recommends switching the TV to Home Mode. Its guidance also points to General → System → Additional Settings → Home Settings for home-menu advertising settings, but the route varies across webOS generations. See LG’s advertising-message guidance.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- 4k Ultra HD (2160p resolution): Enjoy breathtaking HDR10 4K movies and TV shows at 4 times the resolution of Full HD, and upscale your current content to Ultra HD-level picture quality.
- High Dynamic Range: Provides a wide range of color details and sharper contrast, from the brightest whites to the deepest blacks.
- All-in-one: Get right to your good stuff. With Fire TV, you can enjoy a world of entertainment from apps like Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max. Plus, stream for free with Fire TV Channels, Pluto TV, Tubi, and more. Access over 1.8 million movies and TV episodes. Subscriptions may be required. Feature and content availability may vary.
- Smart Home: Your smart home hub. Pair Fire TV with compatible smart home devices to see live camera feeds, use AirPlay, control your lighting and thermostat, and more.
- Free Content: Stream for free. Access over 1 million free movies and TV episodes from popular ad-supported streaming apps like Fire TV Channels, Tubi, and Pluto TV. Subscriptions may be required. Feature and content availability may vary.
Rank #4
- Bright, clear picture: Bring entertainment to life on our 24" flat screen TV with bright 720p HD—perfect for bedrooms, kitchens, and beyond. Roku Smart Picture cleans up incoming TV signals, optimizes them, and chooses the right picture mode.
- Seamless streaming: With fast Wi-Fi and apps that launch in a snap, Roku Select Series TVs get you to your entertainment quickly. You get excellent picture quality, clear sound, automatic updates, and more. It’s simple to use. Hard to outgrow.
- TV, simplified: With setup that only takes minutes, a simple-to-navigate Home Screen, and an uncluttered remote control that does all you need—Roku makes it easier to watch the TV you love.
- A world of free entertainment: Enjoy a huge selection of free live TV, news, sports, movies, shows, and much more—all just a click away.
- More streaming, less searching: With personalized picks right on your Home Screen, quick access to the sports and entertainment you watch most, and fast and easy search in one place—the days of endless scrolling are over.
Rank #3
- 1080p resolution - View your favorite movies, shows and games in full high definition.
- Alexa voice control - The Alexa Voice Remote lets you easily control your entertainment, search across apps, switch inputs, and more using just your voice. Press and hold the voice button and ask Alexa to easily find, launch, and control content, and even switch to cable.
- Access thousands of shows with Fire TV - Watch over 1.5 million streaming movies and TV episodes with access to thousands of channels, apps and Alexa skills, including Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, YouTube, Apple TV+, Disney+, ESPN+, Sling TV, Paramount+, and other services right from this TV.*
- DTS Virtual-X Sound - An immersive sound format creates a three-dimensional sound experience with your TV’s speakers.
- Supports HDMI ARC - Sends audio directly from the HDMI jack to a compatible soundbar or AV receiver, removing the need for an extra cable.
Reduce banners without uninstalling apps
Google TV: Apps only mode changes recommendations, not every ad
Use Apps only mode if the main problem is personalized recommendations. It is a narrower change than an ad-free mode: Google says sponsored content and teasers may still appear, and some Google TV features become unavailable.
Roku: hide a selected banner, with a replacement
For certain right-side home-screen ads, select the ad, press Star, and choose Hide this ad. Roku says another ad replaces the one you hide, and the preference applies only to that device. Its ad-preference controls apply to non-video banner ads in menus and screensavers; they do not turn off all Roku ads. See Roku’s ad-preferences guide.
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Some devices let you sign out of Discover to disable personalized recommendations. This is a recommendation control, not a promise that every promotional item or banner will disappear. Look under Settings → Device preferences → Home screen if the option is available.
Advertising-ID settings do not remove ad inventory
On Google TV, advertising-ID controls are under Settings → Privacy → Ads. Resetting the ID replaces it; deleting it leaves no new ID assigned. Neither action stops apps from showing ads, which may still be based on other information shared with those apps. Treat these controls as ways to affect personalization signals, not as banner-removal settings. See Google’s advertising-settings guide.
DNS filtering is an incomplete network workaround
A DNS filter can block requests to listed advertising or tracking domains, but it cannot reliably erase every banner built into a TV interface. The FTC-hosted 2020 study explains this method and reports that results varied by device and blocklist in the study’s selected datasets. That older, experiment-specific evidence is not a current guarantee of how well a filter will work on your TV. Blocking domains can also interfere with app features or services. See the FTC-hosted study.
Check the result before changing more settings
- After uninstalling an app, confirm it is no longer in the app list; removing a shortcut alone may leave it installed.
- After changing recommendation or ad settings, check the same screen again. A reduction in personalized content does not mean all sponsored placements have been removed.
- If an option or route is missing, verify the TV’s platform, model, region, and software version. The cited support pages do not establish one menu path that applies to every model.
- If you try DNS filtering, test the TV apps and services you rely on. A blocked domain may affect functionality as well as tracking or advertising.
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