Hey everyone!

INTRO: I'm a huge fan of this community and all the hard work the developers have put into making Morphe an awesome success. I've been working hard on various patches thanks to being able to learn from the best (RookieEnough, Hoodles, Paresh) and give back to the community.

I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge that I am not a coder. I work in healthcare and have a decent idea of how things work, but I am in no way experienced in bytecode patching. I've learned how to use the expertise of LLM and teach it to understand the complexities of thousands of lines of code and to reverse engineer what companies spend millions of dollars developing. I don't have years to study and learn everything and these patches are in need now.

So fair warning: I've deployed Claude (scary!!!) to help me build my GitHub repo, and I've leaned on AI extensively to problem-solve and write the code — this Netflix patch included. I know an AI-assisted patch isn't what everyone wants, but hey, it's your choice: an AI-generated patch for ad-free Netflix, pay for a Netflix ad-free plan, or watch Netflix with ads. I know which one I'd choose.

And to be clear up front: this is NOT about getting Netflix for free. You need a valid, paid account and you log in normally — bypassing subscriptions, paywalls, or DRM is out of scope. This is purely about removing ads and trimming device telemetry inside an app you're already paying for.

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TL;DR:

A Morphe patch that installs an ad-free **clone** of the real living-room Netflix app on Android TV. Kills pre-rolls, mid-rolls, and the pause-screen ad overlay, plus an optional privacy toggle. No root, no proxy, no DNS/VPN. **You keep stock Netflix installed** — the patched clone needs it there (explained below). On-device verified on an Onn 4K.

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What it does

– ✅ **Pre-roll ads** (before playback) — gone

– ✅ **Mid-roll ads** (during a show/movie) — gone

– ✅ **Pause-screen ad overlay** (the full-screen ad when you pause) — gone

– ✅ Playback, resume-to-position, and seeking all work normally

– 🔒 Optional privacy toggle ("Minimize Network Fingerprint") — blanks the local IP / MAC / Wi-Fi SSID the app reports, and stops it from reporting your advertising ID (GAID) in its telemetry. Off by default.

This is the actual TV app (`com.netflix.ninja`), not a phone app running on your TV.

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Why there are TWO apps (please read — this trips people up)

You end up with stock Netflix & an "ad-free" Netflix clone installed side by side. Both must stay installed. Here's why:

– Netflix on a TV is a system app that's cryptographically signed by Netflix. You CANNOT patch it in place, and you CANNOT uninstall it without root. So the patch installs as a separate app with its own name.

– The clone is protected by a native anti-tamper check that reads Netflix's original signature. The clone passes this check by *pointing at the stock app and borrowing its genuine signature*. WARNING: Remove or disable stock Netflix and the clone will refuse to start.

– The clone reads stock's signature, not its version — so it's totally fine to let stock Netflix auto-update in the background. It won't break the clone.

Bottom line: Keep stock Netflix installed and enabled. You just never open it — you open the clone instead. Log into the clone once and you're set.

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Install

1. Add the repo to Morphe: https://morphe.software/add-source?github=ajstrick81/morphe-androidtv-patches
2. In Morphe, select Netflix and apply the patch set:- Remove Netflix ads — the ad kills (on by default)- Clone Netflix — required; makes it installable alongside stock- Minimize Network Fingerprint — optional privacy toggle (off by default)
3. Install the patched APK it produces. Do not uninstall stock Netflix.
4. Open the new Netflix Clone app, sign in, and use it like normal.

> Updating later: rebuild with Morphe and reinstall over the clone — your login is kept (same signing key).

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FAQ

Do I need root? No. No root and no proxy. Your ATV device plays it seamlessly without ads.

Do I need a VPN or a DNS blocker (AdGuard/Pi-hole)? No. The ads are removed *inside the app*, not by blocking network requests.

Will this stop the "you're traveling / not in your household" prompt? No. That's based on your public IP address, which Netflix's servers see no matter what the app does. Only a VPN/proxy changes that. This patch is about ads and device fingerprinting, not household enforcement.

Does the privacy toggle make me anonymous? No — be realistic. Netflix still knows who you are (you're logged in) and what you watch (it streams it to you). The toggle trims *granular device analytics* (local network details, advertising ID). It's a reduction, not a cloak.

Will Netflix updating break it? No. Let stock Netflix update freely. If a future Netflix version changes the internals enough that ads come back, the patch fingerprints get refreshed and you rebuild.

Two Netflix icons is annoying — can I hide stock? You can move it out of the way, but don't disable or uninstall it — the clone needs it present to start.

Is my login safe / is this a fake app? It's the real Netflix APK, re-signed and cloned locally by you with Morphe. It talks to Netflix's real servers with your real account. Nothing is proxied through a third party.

Does this get me Netflix for free / bypass the subscription? **No — and that's not what this is.** You need a valid, paid Netflix account and you log in normally. This patch only changes how ads and device telemetry are handled *inside* an app you're already entitled to use. Bypassing paywalls, subscription checks, DRM, or any access control is explicitly **out of scope** for these patching projects — don't ask for it and don't expect it here.

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Verified

Tested on an Onn 4K (Android 14, Netflix 13.0.1). Across repeated runs the Netflix servers did deliver real pre-rolls, mid-rolls and pause ads — and none of them played, with no playback errors and resume position intact. A full technical write-up of how it works is below:

Technical Guide