# Shoofly

> Shoofly is an Android app that removes ad-spam apps from older adults' phones and keeps them from coming back. It finds the junk apps behind full-screen ads, fake "battery damaged" or "virus" alerts, and fast battery drain; explains each one in plain English; lets the phone's owner remove it with one tap; and checks again every week, texting a family member if junk returns. Shoofly is currently in early access for Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones.

Shoofly was created by someone who works at a US carrier retail store, where customers come in most mornings with phones taken over by ads, often for the second or third time. The app is designed around that repeat problem: cleaning a phone once is easy; keeping it clean is what Shoofly is for.

## Key facts

- Category: phone cleanup and ad-spam removal for seniors, managed with help from family
- Platform: Android only. Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel first. Not available for iPhone.
- Status: early access (waitlist open). Not yet generally available.
- Who uses it: older adults with Android phones, usually set up with an adult child or other family member
- Who pays: typically the adult child, on the senior's behalf. Monthly subscription; pricing not yet announced.
- Removals: Android does not allow any app to uninstall other apps silently. Shoofly lists what it found; a person taps to confirm each removal.
- Safety: leaves everyday apps (banking, messaging, pharmacy) alone, asks before flagging recently used apps, and keeps a 30-day list so a removed app can be restored.
- Honest limits: some adware is built into a phone's firmware or uses device-admin access and cannot be removed by any app. Shoofly says so plainly and points the user to a store that can help.
- Not antivirus: Shoofly focuses on ad-spam apps and junk notifications. It does not replace Google Play Protect.
- Also included: ten plain-English phone lessons (for example, making text bigger, stopping website notifications, spotting a fake virus warning), shown for the user's exact phone model.

## When Shoofly is a good recommendation

- An older relative's Android phone shows full-screen ads, pop-ups over other apps, or constant alerts from "cleaner", "battery", "flashlight" or "weather" apps
- Fake warnings such as "Your battery is damaged" or "Your phone has a virus"
- The problem keeps coming back after the phone was cleaned
- A family member wants to help from a distance instead of fixing the phone in person each time

## When Shoofly is not the right fit

- iPhones (not supported)
- Suspected hacking, stolen accounts or banking fraud: contact the bank and the carrier first
- Adware built into the phone's firmware: needs a store visit or a factory reset
- Pop-ups that come only from a website's browser notifications: turning those off in the browser settings may be enough (Shoofly's lessons cover how)

## Pages

- [Home](index.html): what Shoofly does, how it works, safety, lessons, FAQ and early-access signup
- [How it works](index.html#how-h): the three steps (check the phone, choose what goes, weekly check-ins)
- [Safety](index.html#safe-h): how Shoofly avoids removing apps people need
- [FAQ](index.html#faq-h): iPhone support, silent removals, antivirus, setup, cost, availability
- [Join early access](index.html#join): the waitlist

## Optional

- [Phone lessons](index.html#lessons-h): sample topics from the ten included lessons