Yes – tap Remove ads on the home screen or in Settings. It is a one-time purchase through Google Play and also gives you free continues. Restore it on any device with the same Google account via Settings → Restore purchases.

Open Settings → Restore purchases while online. If Google Play shows the payment as pending (some card or cash payments take a while), ads switch off automatically once the payment completes. Still stuck? E-mail us the order number from your Google Play receipt.

Ant Smasher is designed for children and families. The age screen (or Google Play's age signal, where available) lets the game show age-appropriate ads only. Only the age group is stored, never the age. To answer it again, clear the app's storage in Android settings.

She's a friend – let her walk by. Only ants should be smashed.

Yes. Internet is only needed for ads and purchases.

Zen Mode has no lives and no timer. It now gives little missions - "Smash 3 red ants", "Let a ladybug reach the picnic", "Make a ×4 combo" - and every finished mission earns a sticker for the player's sticker book (the sparkle button on the home screen). There are 24 stickers to collect, then bonus missions keep going. Every smash plays a musical note, and combos play a little tune. Stickers are earned by playing only - they are never sold.

Tap the trophy on the home screen. This device ranks everyone who plays on the same phone or tablet - pick who is playing with the Player button (names come from a fixed list, so nobody types a real name). Friends and World use Google Play Games and compare scores with your Play Games friends and players everywhere, for Classic and Time Attack. For children, online leaderboards stay off until a grown-up turns them on in Settings.

Yes. For players aged 13 or older with online leaderboards they are on by default (on Android 13 and newer after you allow notifications - the game asks when it starts). Switch them off any time in Settings → World record alerts. You get at most one alert per mode every 90 minutes and none between 21:00 and 08:00 (India time) - never adverts or reminders to play. Switch it off at any time in the same place or in Android settings. Children are never offered these alerts.

Google Play Games keeps scores of private profiles off public boards. The World tab shows a Make it public button that explains the steps and opens the Play Store. To appear: Play Store app → your profile picture → Settings → General → Play Games profile → Privacy & Settings → Public, then play another round. Your Friends board works either way.

Teens and adults can tap a name on the Friends or World board to open that player's Google Play Games profile and use Google's Follow button. Children cannot open other players' profiles.

Adults show their country's flag next to their name by default. It comes from the phone's SIM card (or its region setting if there is no SIM), never from GPS, and switching off Settings → Show my country flag removes it. Teens and children never share a country.

Adults get a daily challenge reminder (on by default, switch it off in Settings): one notification in the evening on days you have not played yet, made on your phone with no data sent anywhere, and it stops by itself after two weeks without playing. Teens and children never get reminders.

All three are in Settings (the gear button on the home screen).

Android 7.0 (Nougat) and newer – phones, tablets, foldables and Chromebooks (keyboard: Space/P/Esc pauses the game).