Xiaomi’s modern smartphones offer incredible functionality, but often pay for comfort by paying attention to personal information. Many device owners notice that the system collects telemetry, displays ads and requires constant connection to the account for basic functions, which causes a natural desire to limit information collection and regain full control of the gadget.
The process of disabling different layers of protection and data collection is not trivial, as manufacturers embed these mechanisms deep into the MIUI shell or the new HyperOS. You will have to go through multiple menus sequentially, disable system services, and change privacy settings to minimize the digital footprint.
In this guide, we will look at all the ways you can limit your collection, from simple menu settings to more complex manipulation of system applications. It is important to understand that completely disabling all services can affect the operation of certain functions, so act consciously.
Threat analysis: what exactly does the smartphone collect?
Before you make any changes, you need to be clear about which components of the system are responsible for monitoring your activity. The Xiaomi ecosystem is based on MSA (MIUI System Ads), which is formally responsible for advertising, but also collects data about application usage, and there is a service Mi Cloud Service that synchronizes data with the company’s servers.
Users often confuse virus protection with personal data protection. Antivirus scanners may request access to a list of installed programs, which is part of security policy, but also a channel for collecting statistics. Deactivation of these components requires a spot approach so as not to disturb the stability of the operating system.
It is worth noting that even after the visible settings are turned off, some system processes may continue to transmit data packets in the background, which is why the instructions below are comprehensive, covering all known telemetry channels.
⚠️ Warning: Disabling security services can make your device more vulnerable to external threats. Only take action if you understand the risks and understand what each parameter is responsible for.
There are several levels of data access: the user layer (privacy settings), the application layer (permissions), and the system layer (ADB and hidden menus).
Basic privacy settings in MIUI and HyperOS
The first step is to disable the standard tracking features, which are active by default immediately after you buy a device. Manufacturers leave these options on to improve the service, but for the user, this often means invading personal space. You need to find the privacy section that is usually hidden in the depths of the settings menu.
Find passwords and security or just security, depending on your firmware version, and that's where the key switches that control analytics are located.
Inside the security menu, you're interested in the privacy section, and you'll want to find the switch that's responsible for participating in the user experience improvement program, often called "Join the program" or "Send usage data."
It's also worth checking your ad ID settings, which is a unique code that allows ad networks to track your preferences across different applications, and resetting or disabling it greatly reduces the effectiveness of targeted advertising.
- 🔒 Go to Settings. → Passwords and security → Confidentiality.
- 📉 Find the User Experience Improvement Program and disable it.
- 🚫 In the section Advertising services disable receiving personalized advertising.
- 🔄 Reset the advertising ID via the "Reset" button ID promotion".
Once you do that, the system will stop actively collecting statistics about your actions for analytics, but that's just the tip of the iceberg, and it'll take a deeper dive into the settings to make it work.
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Disabling the experience improvement program is the first and mandatory step that stops sending basic telemetry to the manufacturer’s servers.
Disabling system advertising and MSA service
MSA (MIUI System Ads) is the main source of intrusive advertising and shell data collection, and even if you don't see banners, it can work in the background, consuming resources and transmitting data, and to completely disable the protection of personal data, which is actually protection for advertising algorithms, you need to deactivate this component.
The thing about the deactivation procedure is that the deactivation button only becomes active after the wait timer has expired, so that the user can come to their senses, and you have to be patient and wait for the countdown to end.
Find the msa app in the settings (often called "MIUI Daemon" or simply "Advertising Services" depending on the firmware region) and enter it and click "Disable" and a warning window and a countdown timer (usually 10 seconds) will appear.
⚠️ Attention: If after the shutdown MSA widgets or some system notifications have stopped working, just turn the service back on. MSA It can cause instability of the launcher.
After the timer expires, press the confirmation button. The system may ask you several times if you really want to turn off the service. Be persistent and confirm the action. In some cases, you may need to repeat the procedure 2-3 times as the system tries to automatically turn the service back on.
- 🔍 In the search for settings, type "msa" or find in the list of applications.
- ⏳ Click "Disable" and wait until the 10-second timer ends.
- ✅ Confirm the shutdown by ignoring system warnings.
- 🔄 If the service is turned on by itself, repeat the procedure several times in a row.
Disabling this service is critical for those who want to clean the interface of unnecessary noise and stop transferring data about running applications.
Managing Application Permits and Access
In addition to system services, a huge amount of information is collected by installed applications. The MIUI and HyperOS shell provides advanced access control tools that need to be used. Authorization and access to microphone, camera and geolocation must be strictly regulated.
There's a Privacy Protection feature in the security menu that shows what apps have accessed your data and how often they have accessed it in the last 7 days, a powerful audit tool that can identify hidden spies. Check this report regularly.
Pay particular attention to permissions for system applications like Music, Video, and Explorer, and they often request access to contacts or locations that are completely unnecessary for their primary function, and displaying such requests should be a signal to action.
There is also a Virtual Location feature, or data swapping, that allows applications to give false information about your location, which is useful for testing, but can also serve to confuse trackers.
| Type of permit | Risk to data | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Location | High (tracking of movements) | Only when used |
| Microphone | Critical (wiretapping) | Request or prohibit |
| Contacts | Tall (Social Count) | Only for messengers. |
| Camera. | Medium (lens access) | Request. |
| Files. | Medium (access to photos/documents) | Restricted access |
☑️ Permit audit
Regular review of granted rights is the best protection against leaks, so don't let apps run in the background unless there's a pressing need to.
Special features and additional settings
And deep down the settings menu, you can see the settings that are rarely changed by ordinary users, but they have a direct impact on privacy, and they're about special services and automation, and they're often the ones that are used to implement data collection scenarios.
Check Advanced Settings → Special Features. Services that you haven't installed may be active here. Carefully review the list and disable anything suspicious. Especially pay attention to services that have access to screen or text input.
And you also have to look at Print settings. Standard printing services can send document data to printer manufacturers' servers or to the cloud. If you don't use wireless printing every day, you'd better turn off those modules.
Why do you need access to the screen?
Another important aspect is the voice assistant, and if you're not using Google Assistant or Xiao AI all the time, turn off voice activation, and listening to the activation command is a potential channel for audio leakage.
Don't forget to check Google's sync settings. Even on Xiaomi, Google's account is key. Go to your Google account settings and turn off syncing for unnecessary data, such as your browsing history or Chrome data.
Advanced Methods: ADB and System Limitations
For those who want to go beyond standard settings, there is a method of using USB debugging and the command line ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which allows you to remove or freeze system applications that cannot be disabled through the interface. Using ADB requires a computer connection and basic command line knowledge.
First, you need to activate the developer mode. To do this, seven times click on the build number in the About Phone section. Then in the menu that appears, turn on USB Debugging. Connect the phone to your PC and install the drivers.
adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.misysThis command, for example, disables the MIUI system service that controls some of the telemetry, but be careful: misuse of commands can cause the phone to fail. Always check the name of the package before turning it off.
There are also special shell utilities for ADB, such as Xiaomi ADB/Fastboot Tools, which have pre-built scripts for removing ads and trackers. They make the process safer and easier for beginners.
- 💻 Install platform tools ADB computer.
- 🔌 Put the debugging on. USB developer menu.
- 📝 Enter a command to disable a specific package.
- ⚠️ Do not remove system components whose purpose you do not know.
⚠️ Attention: Use ADB To remove system components, you can cancel the warranty and cause the device to "brick" if you make an error.