How to Stop Unwanted Apple Wallet Ads & Notifications

Nobody enjoys unsolicited advertising, especially when it pops up unexpectedly from apps you rely on for essential functions. That’s exactly the frustration some iPhone users recently encountered when their Apple Wallet app, typically reserved for payments and passes, began sending push notifications promoting an upcoming Apple film.

The notification in question advertised “F1: The Movie,” Apple’s new racing film, offering a specific deal: “$10 off at Fandango: Save on 2+ tickets to F1 The Movie with APPLEPAYTEN. Ends 6/29. While supplies last. Terms apply.” While the offer itself might appeal to some, delivering it as an intrusive push notification from a system app like Wallet struck many users as crossing a line.

User backlash was swift and understandable. Wallet notifications are expected to be relevant to transactions, passes, or important service alerts – not marketing messages. The annoyance was compounded by the fact that this was Apple using one of its core apps to advertise its own original content. As one user pointedly put it, paying over a thousand dollars for an iPhone wasn’t meant to include receiving advertisements directly from Apple’s built-in software.

This incident follows a trend of Apple gradually integrating more advertising into its ecosystem since 2022, notably within the App Store and Apple News. However, using push notifications from an app like Wallet specifically for promotional content appears to be a less common, and clearly unwelcome, step. While Apple might view this as leveraging its platform for its own business interests, many users feel it detracts from the premium, user-centric experience they expect.

Fortunately, there is a solution to prevent these particular promotional notifications from appearing in your Wallet app in the future.

Stop Apple Wallet Promotion Notifications (Requires iOS 26 Beta)

Apple has reportedly added a specific setting in the Wallet app within the upcoming iOS 26 update that allows users to disable these types of ads without turning off other important Wallet alerts.

Important Note: This setting is currently only available in the iOS 26 beta. Installing beta software is not recommended for most users as it can be unstable and may contain bugs. If you choose to wait for the public release of iOS 26, this option will become available then.

Here’s how to access the setting once you are running iOS 26:

Open the Wallet app on your iPhone.
Tap the three dots (…) icon located in the top right corner.
Select Notifications from the menu that appears.
Find the toggle labeled “Offers & Promotions” and disable it.

Turning off this toggle should prevent Wallet from sending you push notifications for marketing offers like the recent movie ad.

While the rollout of these ads caused user frustration, the controversy inadvertently brought attention to both Apple’s movie and the existence of a fix in the upcoming iOS update. It’s a situation that highlights the ongoing tension between tech companies seeking new revenue streams and users desiring a clean, advertisement-free experience, particularly within the core functions of their devices.