Sticker by number with no ads — why it's rare, and where to find it

Q: Is Pentire's free version really ad-free?

Yes. As shipped today there is no ad SDK in the app at all, so the free tier cannot show ads even between puzzles. The free tier includes all 60 built-in puzzles at Starter, Easy, and Medium difficulty, unlimited generated original art, two photo puzzles, share codes, unlimited free hints, and full offline play — with no ads anywhere.

You downloaded a sticker game to unwind and got an ad every few stickers. Here's why that keeps happening, what a genuinely ad-free sticker-by-number app looks like, and how to spot one before you download.

Updated August 2026 · A Pentire guide

The experience is familiar enough to be a cliché. You install a sticker-by-number game because placing little pieces into numbered slots sounds like a nice way to switch your brain off for twenty minutes. You place a few stickers. A full-screen video plays. You place a few more. Another one. As of August 2026, user reviews of the popular sticker-by-number apps report exactly this pattern — interstitials every few stickers, and in some cases a "remove ads" purchase that turns out to be recurring, or ads that reviewers say kept appearing even after paying. Don't take our word for it: open any of the big sticker apps' App Store pages and skim the recent reviews yourself.

Why the ads are there — architecture, not villainy

Nobody at those studios sat down hoping to ruin your evening. A free, ad-funded game earns money per ad impression, which means it earns money per interruption. Once that's the revenue line, the design pressure all points one way: more ad moments per session, placed wherever players will tolerate them — between puzzles, between stickers, behind hints. In a genre whose entire appeal is calm, calm is literally the cost of goods.

The recurring "remove ads" purchase follows the same logic. Ad revenue arrives every month a player keeps playing, so replacing it with a one-time payment is a bad trade for the publisher; a subscription matches the shape of the revenue it's replacing. None of this is villainy. It's just what the business model does — which is the useful reframe: the problem isn't the sticker-by-number genre, it's how most sticker-by-number apps are funded.

What "no ads" means in Pentire, precisely

Pentire is a paint-by-stickers app for iPhone and iPad, and "no ads" here is a statement about what's compiled into the binary, not a settings toggle:

No ad SDK in the app at all. There is no code that could show a banner, an interstitial, a rewarded video, or a sponsored puzzle — in the free tier as much as the paid one.
Nothing is ad-funded, so nothing tracks you. Ads are the main reason "free" apps measure their players. Pentire ships no analytics SDK, never requests the advertising identifier, and therefore never shows an App Tracking Transparency prompt. More on that in our private-and-offline guide.
One optional upgrade funds the app. Pentire Plus is available as a one-time Lifetime purchase ($29.99 US) or monthly ($4.99 US, cancel anytime), sold through Apple. That's the entire business model.

Free with no ads is the product, not a teaser

The free tier isn't a demo you're meant to bounce off. Free, forever, with no ads anywhere: all 60 built-in puzzles at Starter, Easy, and Medium difficulty; unlimited generation of brand-new original art (you can keep up to 5 creations saved — when the shelf is full, new ones still play, they just aren't saved, and the app tells you so); your first 2 photo puzzles, cut entirely on-device; two piece shapes (Natural and Squares) and two looks (Photo and Flat color); share codes for sending puzzles to friends; and hints that are free and unlimited. Anything you've saved always stays playable. Plus adds unlimited photo puzzles, the Hard and Expert difficulties, the Polygon and jigsaw Puzzle shapes, the Cartoon and Pastel looks, all 14 color themes, and unlimited saved puzzles — features, not the absence of interruptions.

How to spot an ad-free puzzle app before downloading

Four quick checks that work on any app's App Store page, before it ever touches your phone:

Read the privacy label. Ad-funded apps almost always declare data "used to track you" or categories like identifiers and usage data. A short label is a good sign. Pentire's declares exactly one data type: purchase history, not linked to identity.
Look for ad disclosures in the listing. Check the description and the information section for mentions of ads or "watch to earn" mechanics, and skim recent reviews for the word "ads" — players are not shy about it.
Check how ad removal is sold. If "remove ads" appears in the in-app purchase list as a subscription, the ads are a revenue stream the app is built around, and reviews will tell you whether removal actually sticks.
Ask whether it works in airplane mode. Most ads need a network to load, so an app whose features all work in airplane mode usually isn't ad-funded. Pentire's library, art generation, photo import, and play all work in airplane mode.

A sticker-by-number app with no ad SDK at all — free tier included. All 60 built-in puzzles at three difficulties, unlimited generated art, and your first photo puzzles, free forever.

Get Pentire on the App Store

Frequently asked questions

Is there a sticker by number game with no ads at all?

Yes. Pentire is a paint-by-stickers app for iPhone and iPad with no ads of any kind — no banners, no interstitials, no rewarded video, no sponsored puzzles — because there's no ad SDK compiled into the app. That applies to the free tier too, not just a paid version. The app is funded by one optional upgrade, Pentire Plus.

Why do sticker by number games have so many ads?

Because most are ad-funded: the app earns money each time an ad is shown, so the design naturally inserts as many ad moments as players will tolerate — between puzzles, between stickers, and as rewarded video for hints or content. It's a consequence of the business model, not the genre. A sticker-by-number app funded some other way has no reason to interrupt you.

Is Pentire's free version really ad-free?

Yes. As shipped today there's no ad SDK in the app at all, so the free tier can't show ads even between puzzles. The free tier includes all 60 built-in puzzles at Starter, Easy, and Medium difficulty, unlimited generated original art, two photo puzzles, share codes, unlimited free hints, and full offline play — with no ads anywhere.

Does removing ads in Pentire expire?

No, because there are no ads to remove — the free tier is already ad-free. The optional Pentire Plus upgrade is about features (unlimited photo puzzles, Hard and Expert difficulties, more piece shapes and looks, all 14 themes, unlimited saved puzzles), not about switching ads off. The Lifetime option is a one-time purchase; there's also a monthly plan you can cancel anytime.

Does Pentire work offline?

Yes, fully — including in airplane mode. The 60-puzzle library ships inside the app, art generation runs on the device, and photo import is processed entirely on-device, so nothing needs a connection. That's also a useful signal when judging any app: most ads need a network to load.