Why do ads have sound when my phone is on silent?

Why Do You Still Hear Ads on a Silent Phone?
It’s happened to all of us – you flip your phone’s ringer to silent before a meeting or movie, expecting blissful quiet. But then an ad starts blaring, startling you and everyone around you! You frantically grab your phone to mute it, wondering how ads can play sound even when your phone is silenced. This common annoyance highlights the complex relationship between your phone’s audio settings, the apps you use, and their embedded ads. In this article, we’ll explore the tech behind phone audio, ad delivery methods, and how users can control sound in a world of constant digital stimulation.
Types of Phone Silent Modes
There are several different types of silent modes available on smartphones that allow users to mute sounds and notifications:
Mute
The mute or silent setting completely silences all sounds and vibrations from a phone. When mute is enabled, no ringtones, alerts, notifications or any other audio will be heard. This mode essentially turns the phone’s speaker and vibration capabilities off (CNET, 2016).
Vibrate
Vibrate mode mutes the ringtones and notification sounds, but allows the phone to still vibrate when calls or messages come in. This allows the user to be notified of incoming communications without any audible disruption (Wikipedia, n.d.).
Do Not Disturb
Do not disturb silences calls and notifications like mute, but allows for customization of exceptions and settings. Users can allow calls or messages from certain contacts or during designated times. This gives more flexibility than a blanket mute (Quora, 2017).
Default Behavior of Ads
By default, most ads are programmed to play audio even when a user’s phone ringer or notification volumes are muted or set to silent. According to one Reddit user, ads have recently been playing audio at full volume despite their phone’s sound being turned off (Source 1). This appears to be the standard behavior for many ads shown in apps and games. The audio plays automatically without any user prompt.
There are a couple reasons ads play audio by default. Advertisers want to fully engage users with audio and visuals to maximize ad effectiveness. Audio also helps ads stand out from static content on a page or app screen. Lastly, some ads promote music, podcasts or other audio content – playing an audio clip is crucial for users to understand the ad’s purpose.
Audio is Crucial for Ads
Audio has a strong impact on advertising effectiveness and audience engagement. Studies show audio can keep listeners’ attention longer and lead to higher recall compared to visual ads alone. According to research from Spotify, audio advertising leads to a 25% increase in unaided brand awareness and a remarkable 41% increase in purchase intent [1]. This is likely because audio engages more of the brain and creates “mental imagery,” allowing listeners to imagine the advertised product or service. Audio also creates an intimate environment that allows brands to make an emotional connection. With fewer distractions than visual ads, audio messaging can fully captivate an audience.
In addition, audio storytelling triggers the release of dopamine, which makes listeners more receptive to brand messaging. Spotify found that podcast ads double listeners’ ability to recognize brand names when compared to those who didn’t hear the podcast ad. According to Nielsen, audio advertising also drives a 37% increase in product recall and a 28% increase in message recall versus non-audio formats [2]. With audio’s immersive qualities, brands can truly engage audiences while subtly weaving in their core messages.
Separate Audio Channel
Advertisements are able to play audio even when a phone is muted because they use a separate audio channel that operates independently from the phone’s normal media audio. When a user mutes their device, it only mutes the sounds from the media they are consuming, such as a video, song, or game. Ads take advantage of a distinct audio stream that is not impacted by the mute button.
This separate ad channel allows sound to play regardless of whether the phone is in vibrate mode or muted. The audio from ads flows through its own pipeline and bypasses the phone’s mute settings. Even if all other sounds are silenced, commercials are engineered to keep playing uninterrupted.
Having a dedicated channel gives advertisers the capability to reach users with audio even when they have tried to limit interruptions from their device. While some may find it frustrating, it ensures brands can get their messages heard no matter what media sounds a consumer has chosen to mute.
Audio Exceptions
While ads typically play audio even when a phone is set to silent mode, certain apps and devices allow for exceptions to this rule. Some apps have settings that let users disable audio in ads specifically. For example, Pandora has an “Ad Audio” setting that can mute audio during ad playback. Hulu also gives premium subscribers the option to disable all ad audio.
On Android devices, apps like YouTube allow users to mute audio on individual ads by tapping the mute button as soon as the ad starts playing. There are also ad blocking apps available on the Google Play Store that can block audio and video ads in other apps.
Some smartphone manufacturers like Samsung also provide system-level settings to disable audio in ads. For example, Samsung Galaxy phones have an “Ad Volume” option under Sound settings that can mute audio from “interest-based ads.”
While ads are designed to play audio by default, users do have some ability to mute or disable ad audio through app-specific settings or device capabilities. However, this requires proactively changing configurations and may not work uniformly across all apps and platforms.
User Control
Though ads play audio separately from other media on your phone, there are still options to mute ads while keeping other sounds on. On Android, you can install an ad blocker app like AdGuard to block audio in ads. You can also try settings like “Do Not Disturb” to silence notifications during certain times. On iPhones, enable Limit Ad Tracking to potentially receive fewer audio ads. Additionally, adjust notification settings for individual apps serving ads. Overall, while ads have separate audio channels, users still have some control to selectively mute ad sounds if desired.
Industry Standards
Mobile advertising is governed by a set of industry standards established by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). According to the IAB’s official Mobile Application Advertising Measurement Guidelines, mobile ads are required to have audio enabled by default even when a user’s phone is set to silent or vibrate mode. The guidelines state that “Audio must be user-initiated and never automatic. However, if auto-play of audio is initiated by the user within an ad, audio should resume upon re-entry to the ad for the duration of the session.”
This standard applies to all major mobile ad formats including banner ads, interstitial ads, and video ads viewed on smartphones and tablets. The rationale is that audio is a core component of most ads, whether for music, voiceovers, or sound effects. Forcing users to turn on audio manually would degrade the ad experience. Thus, the industry guidelines require audio to play automatically despite silent mode to preserve the integrity of mobile ads.
Looking Ahead
The future of audio advertising looks bright, with several key trends emerging. According to The Drum, audio advertising will rival visual advertising more and more as content continues to shift towards podcasts, audiobooks, and other audio formats. Audio will become more interactive and immersive as well, with technology like spatial audio and voice activation becoming more prominent.
As noted by Forbes, podcasts and digital radio will be critical for the future of audio advertising. Brands will need to embrace these platforms to effectively reach desired audiences. Personalization and segmentation will also increase, with ads tailored to individual listeners based on their preferences and behaviors.
Some key innovations highlighted by Spotify include interactive audio features, voice controls, and new opportunities for creator-led advertising. As audio advertising becomes more immersive and integrated, it will open up new possibilities for measurable engagement between brands and consumers.
Conclusion
In summary, ads play sound even when your phone is set to silent mode for a few key reasons. Phone silent modes typically only mute ringer and notification sounds, but don’t affect media volume, which allows ads to play audio. Audio is an important part of advertising, helping grab attention and convey the ad’s message. Ads use a separate audio channel that isn’t impacted by silent mode. While users can manually mute ads or install ad blockers, playing audio is an accepted industry practice aligned with advertising standards. Looking ahead, we may see more user control over ad audio or changes in how silent mode works as technology evolves.
The key takeaways are:
- Default phone settings allow ads to play audio on silent.
- Audio helps ads be more effective and noticeable.
- Ads use dedicated audio channels that bypass mute settings.
- Industry standards permit ads to play audio in most scenarios.
- Users have some options to mute ads if desired.