How to Remove Android App Splash Ads by Editing the Manifest

Introduction

In this tutorial the author shows how to remove the splash-screen advertisement from an Android game by decompiling the APK, editing the AndroidManifest.xml to change the launch activity, and recompiling the package.

Tools Used

AndroidKiller and a virtual device (e.g., LDPlayer)

Background

The AndroidManifest.xml file defines the application’s components such as activities, services, broadcast receivers and required permissions. The activity marked with the MAIN and LAUNCHER intents is started when the app is opened.

Cracking Steps

1. Decompile the APK

Drag the target APK 火柴人突击格斗.apk into AndroidKiller to obtain the source files.

2. Edit AndroidManifest.xml

Identify the current launch activity (e.g., com.mosads.adslib.Splash.MosSplashActivity) using the command:

adb shell dumpsys window | findstr mCurrentFocus

Because the splash activity disappears quickly, locate the activity that appears after the ad (e.g., org.cocos2dx.lua.AppActivity) and set it as the new MAIN/LAUNCHER activity in the manifest.

3. Recompile and Test

Rebuild the APK, uninstall the original version, and install the modified package. The splash advertisement is no longer displayed.

Conclusion

The author estimates that about 80 % of Android apps can have their splash ads removed simply by modifying the launch activity in AndroidManifest.xml, a technique accessible to anyone with basic Android reverse‑engineering knowledge.