Feature request: hide sponsored article cards in the Google News For You feed.
Your bundle covers the CustomTabs + GmsCore-support side of Google News well, which handles the "open externally" and "run without GMS" pain. The remaining big daily-driver friction is the inline "Sponsored" cards Google injects into the For You article grid — they appear ~every 5-8 organic articles and share the same visual chrome as legitimate publisher cards.
The ad-strip surface (as of com.google.android.apps.magazines v5.121.x) is a native feed-card family keyed by a SPONSORED_ARTICLE_AD enum entry in the obfuscated feed-item deserializer (class akxk in recent builds, though obfuscation drifts version-to-version). String literal anchor for the fingerprint: sponsored_article_impression in the analytics call attached to the ad card's onBind.
Two possible patch paths, in order of least-invasive:
- Skip at deserialize — filter out items with the SPONSORED_ARTICLE_AD type in the feed-list deserializer. No UI disturbance; the pagination request just returns fewer cards to render.
- Zero-height at bind — no-op the ad-card ViewHolder's onCreateViewHolder. Simpler fingerprint but the ad slot leaves a visual gap.
Option 1 matches the "minimal surface" theme of the CustomTabs / GmsCore patches you already carry. Google News ad-strip has been asked for a few times in r/patched-up threads but never actually landed anywhere in the RVX ecosystem. Happy to fingerprint against v5.121 if you're open.
Feature request: hide sponsored article cards in the Google News For You feed.
Your bundle covers the CustomTabs + GmsCore-support side of Google News well, which handles the "open externally" and "run without GMS" pain. The remaining big daily-driver friction is the inline "Sponsored" cards Google injects into the For You article grid — they appear ~every 5-8 organic articles and share the same visual chrome as legitimate publisher cards.
The ad-strip surface (as of
com.google.android.apps.magazinesv5.121.x) is a native feed-card family keyed by aSPONSORED_ARTICLE_ADenum entry in the obfuscated feed-item deserializer (classakxkin recent builds, though obfuscation drifts version-to-version). String literal anchor for the fingerprint:sponsored_article_impressionin the analytics call attached to the ad card's onBind.Two possible patch paths, in order of least-invasive:
Option 1 matches the "minimal surface" theme of the CustomTabs / GmsCore patches you already carry. Google News ad-strip has been asked for a few times in r/patched-up threads but never actually landed anywhere in the RVX ecosystem. Happy to fingerprint against v5.121 if you're open.