How to turn off screen recording in the background Xiaomi

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face a situation where the device begins to behave inadequately: the battery runs out faster than usual, and files appear in the gallery that you did not create. This can be a sign that the background recording of the screen is activated by a third-party application or malware. The MIUI operating system and the new HyperOS shell have built-in protection mechanisms, but their default settings do not always guarantee complete privacy.

This is a problem for users who install programs from unknown sources or actively use applications with extended access rights. If you notice that the recording indicator is burning without your participation, you need to urgently check the permissions. In this article, we will discuss in detail how to restrict access to the screen, disable the system functions of image capture and identify hidden processes that may compromise your personal information.

Many users mistakenly believe that a standard login password is enough to protect. However, modern threats often require a deeper privacy setting. We will look not only at software locking techniques, but also at system constraints that will help you take full control of your device. Understanding these processes is the first step to securely using your gadget.

Analysis of Application Permissions in MIUI and HyperOS

The first step to security is to audit the rights you have granted to installed programs. MIUI-based Android allows you to control access to functions in detail. Often malicious scripts disguise themselves as harmless utilities, requesting permission to "Write Screen" or "Above Other Windows."

To check, you need to go to the security settings, and here you can see a list of all the applications that have access to multimedia and system functions, and you need to pay special attention to programs that you haven't used in a long time or installed from third-party sources, and permissions are a key point that you can't ignore.

The system may alert you to an access attempt, but it's easy to miss these notifications, and it's recommended that you manually go through the list and revoke the extra rights, which will not only stop the possible recording, but also speed up the smartphone.

• 🔍 Open the Settings. → Annexes → All applications for manual search for suspicious programs.
• 🛡️ Use the built-in Security antivirus to scan for threats.
• 🚫 In the "Permissions Manager" section, disable screen access for all unnecessary utilities.
• 📱 Check out the Special Opportunities section where Trojans often hide.

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The system permission manager is the only reliable way to see which application has access to real-time image capture.

⚠️ Warning: If an application requires permission to "Write Screen" to run a calculator or flashlight, this is a guaranteed sign of malware.

Disabling the “Second Space” function and cloning

One of the unique features of Xiaomi smartphones is the “Second Space” feature, which allows you to create an isolated environment with a separate set of applications and passwords, but this feature can be used for hidden activities, including background recording, if the main space does not control the processes in the second profile.

If you're not actively using space sharing, you'd better turn it off. It consumes resources and creates additional pathways for potential data access. App cloning can also be a loophole if the cloned application has vulnerabilities.

To disable, go to the second space settings and select deletion of the profile, which will return all resources to the main profile and make it easier to monitor running processes, the system will work more stable, and security control will be increased.

• 🗑️ Go to Settings. → Second space and press "Delete".
• 🔄 Turn off app cloning in Settings → Annexes → Cloning of applications.
• 🔒 Set different passwords to enter the main and guest modes, if you need them.

Blocking access through "Special Opportunities"

The Accessibility section of Android is designed to help people with disabilities, but it is the one most often exploited by attackers. Once accessed, the app can read the contents of the screen, press buttons and, of course, record what is happening without the owner's knowledge.

In MIUI, when you try to turn on a special feature, you get a strict risk warning, and you can't ignore it, and if you see unfamiliar services or services that are connected to memory cleanup, batteries or accelerators, you need to turn them off immediately.

Checking this section should become a regular habit, and some programs can reactivate their rights after a system update or reboot, and controlling this section is equivalent to controlling the entire smartphone.

• 👁️ Go to Settings. → Additional settings → Special facilities.
• ❌ Disable all services that have the words "Recorder", "Screen", "Capture" in their name".
• 📉 Check the Downloaded Services tab and remove suspicious plugins.

⚠️ Attention: No "charge-saving" application requires special features to operate.

Set up notifications about the camera and microphone

Starting with Android 12 and in the current versions of HyperOS, an important security mechanism is implemented: activity indicators. When any application uses a camera, microphone or, in some cases, screen capture, a green or orange dot lights up in the corner of the screen, a system level of protection that cannot be circumvented by conventional applications.

But the standard settings may not be informative enough, you can expand the functionality by turning on the access log, so you can see which application accessed the recording function at what time, and real-time monitoring is the best protection.

If the indicator lights up in the background when you’re doing nothing, it’s an alarm. Xiaomi’s system lets you go straight into the settings of the offending app and limit its background activity, a critical feature for identifying hidden miners or spies.

• 🟢 Include indicators in Settings → Confidentiality → Access indicators.
• 📜 View the log of data accesses for the last 24 hours.
• 🚫 Limit background work for applications that don’t have to run constantly.

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Turn on the floating window when you record the screen, so you can visually monitor whether the image is being captured right now.

Use of the "Safe Mode" for Diagnostics

If you can't find the source of the problem through the settings, use Safe Mode. In this state, the smartphone only runs with system applications, without third-party software. If this mode is not recording the screen (or the problem disappears), then one of the applications you installed is to blame.

Xiaomi runs Safe Mode via a switch-off menu or button combination, a powerful diagnostic tool that isolates system processes from users’, and diagnoses in a clean environment provide an accurate answer.

Once you confirm that the problem is in third-party software, start methodically removing recently installed programs, most often the culprits are free versions of games, "optimizers" and applications for downloading videos from social networks.

Radical measures: Data resetting and cleanup

In cases where you can not find the source of the leak, or if you suspect the presence of a deep system virus (root rights), the only reliable solution is a complete reset.

Before you do this, be sure to save important contacts and photos to the Mi Cloud cloud or to your computer. Remember that after a reset, you should not immediately restore all applications from the backup at once, since you can return the virus. Install apps only from the official Google Play store or GetApps, avoiding APK-browser-file.

After reset, set up the phone as new.This will take longer but ensure the system is clean. Modern HyperOS shells have a reset protection (FRP) feature, so make sure to remember the password from your Google account and Mi Account.

• 💾 Backup important data to an external medium.
• 🔄 Perform reset through Settings → The phone. → Resetting settings.
• 🆕 Configure the device as new by installing applications selectively.

⚠️ Warning: After a complete reset, be sure to change the passwords from all important accounts (mail, banks, social networks), as there is a risk that the data has already been stolen before the time of cleaning.

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A complete reset is a guarantee of removing the spyware, but it takes time to set up and install the applications again.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)