Xiaomi smartphone owners often face intrusive interface elements that the company implements into the shell of MIUI and HyperOS. One such controversial decision was the folder “For You” in the standard gallery. This section is designed to aggregate content based on user interests, but in practice it often turns into a source of advertising recommendations and visual noise.
Many users are looking for a way to get rid of this feature so that their personal photos don’t mix with promotional offers or news. Fortunately, the system allows you to flexibly customize the display of items. Xiaomi Gallery provides tools for managing content, although sometimes these settings are hidden quite deep.
In this article, we will discuss in detail how to disable recommendations, clean the tape and return the usual appearance of the application, you will learn how to manage system settings and use additional methods to completely clean the interface from the superfluous.
What is the “For You” section and why is it needed?
The For You section (sometimes referred to as MIAI or just a recommendation feed) is part of Xiaomi’s ecosystem services, with its primary task being to analyze your photos, identify objects, places and faces, and suggest relevant content from the Internet.
It's billed as a smart assistant that helps you find forgotten images or create collages, but for many users, it's an invasion of privacy, and collecting data about the content of photos can raise privacy questions, especially if you're storing sensitive information.
Disabling this section doesn't affect the basic functionality of viewing images. You can still edit photos, create albums and use cloud storage. The only thing that will change is that the feed with recommendations and advertising blocks will disappear.
⚠️ Warning: Disabling recommendation services completely can affect how a smart photo sorter works by category (e.g., Food, Documents, People) as these functions use the same algorithms for analyzing photos.
Understanding how this module works helps you to consciously adjust it, and it's not just a bug, it's a feature that you can deactivate if you don't need it.
Basic settings: disabling recommendations in the tape
The easiest way to clean a gallery is to use the standard settings of the application, which requires no third-party software installation and is safe for the system. First, open the Gallery app and go to the recommendations tab.
Click on the profile icon or three dots in the corner of the screen to open the menu, and you'll need to find the personalization item, which can be called "Recommendations," "Receive recommendations," or "Tape settings" in different versions of MIUI.
- 📱 Go to the gallery settings via the side menu.
- 🔍 Find the "General" or "Recommendations" section».
- ❌ Switch the “Receive Recommendations” slider to an inactive state.
- 🔄 Restart the application to apply changes.
After doing this, the tape should clear, and if you only see your albums, it's a success, and sometimes you need to do it twice, because the app cache can keep the old settings for a while.
☑️ Checking privacy settings
Management of MSA Services and System Advertising
Often, the For You folder is filled with content because of the MSA (MIUI System Ads) service, which is the main module responsible for displaying ads in Xiaomi’s built-in applications, and disabling it is a key step towards a clean interface.
To get to the settings you want, go to your smartphone's general settings, look for Passwords and Security or Fingerprints, Face Data and Locks, and you're interested in Accessing and Deleting Data, or simply MSA Service.
In the list that opens, find msa and turn off the switch. The system will try to dissuade you by running a countdown timer. Wait for the time to end and confirm the shutdown. This action is critical to removing advertising debris.
| Service | Function | Recommendation | Risk of shutdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| msa | Systemic advertising | Shut down. | Safe. |
| Daemon | Statistics collection | Shut down. | Safe. |
| Mi Video Ads | Video commercial | Shut down. | Safe. |
| GetApps | App store | Leave it. | No updates to applications can be made |
It's also worth checking the settings for other embedded applications like Music, Video and Explorer, each with its own "Get recommendations" switch, and disabling global recommendations ensures a comprehensive cleaning approach.
⚠️ Attention: When the service is disconnected MSA The Internet on the phone can be briefly lost. It's normal behavior, the connection will recover in a few seconds automatically.
Cleaning the cache and resetting the gallery settings
Sometimes the visual elements of the For You folder stay in place even after all the switches are turned off, because of the stored data in the cache, and cleaning the application data helps reset all the settings to factory and remove the "stick" elements.
Go to your phone's settings, select "Apps" and search the "Gallery" list. Click on "Storage." Here you'll see two buttons: "Clear Cache" and "Clear All." For full effect, select the second option.
Don't worry, your photos and videos won't be deleted. This process only affects display settings, thumbnails and temporary files, and after cleaning up the first time you run the gallery, it'll run a little slower until it indexes the media files again.
Settings → Applications → All applications → Gallery → Storage → Clean everythingThis method is especially effective after major operating system updates, when old configuration files may conflict with newer versions of the software.
What to do if the “Clear Everything” button is inactive?
Use of alternative gallery applications
If the built-in app continues to be annoying with its functionality, it makes sense to consider alternatives: Third-party galleries often run faster, consume fewer resources and, most importantly, do not contain an obtrusive "For You" tape.
One of the best solutions is Google Photos. It integrates perfectly with Android, has powerful search and automatic backup. However, if you don't want to depend on Google's cloud, there are other options.
- 🖼️ Simple Gallery – a light, open gallery without advertising and unnecessary features.
- 🚀 QuickPic is a classic option for those who appreciate speed and minimalism.
- 🎨 A Gallery - a modern shell with support for themes and folders passwords.
Installing a third-party app allows you to completely ignore system limitations. You can assign a new gallery to the default application, and when you click on the photo in the messengers, they will open.
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When installing a new gallery, be sure to give it all the necessary permissions to access the files, otherwise it will not be able to display your pictures, usually on the first run.
Advanced Methods: ADB and Hidden Settings
For power users who want to achieve the perfect result, there is a method of removing system components through ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires connecting a smartphone to a computer, but gives maximum control.
First, activate the developer mode. Click the build number seven times in the About Phone section. Then, in the Developer menu, turn on USB Debugging. Connect the phone to your PC and start the console.
To remove the package responsible for recommendations, use the command:
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.misysBe careful: deleting system packages can lead to unstable work.The com.miui.misys package is responsible for system services, and its complete removal may disrupt the work of the Mi Account. It is recommended to use this method only if you know exactly what you are doing, or use specialized tools like Xiaomi. ADB/Fastboot Tools.
An alternative to complete deletion is to freeze applications through the same ADB or special applications that require root rights, which allows you to “disable” the process without physically deleting files.
⚠️ Attention: Use of teams ADB Incorrect removal of system components can lead to a cyclic reboot of the device. Always back up important data before starting procedures.
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The safest and most effective way to remove For You is to combine disabling recommendations in gallery settings and disabling the MSA service in system settings.