Xiaomi smartphone owners often face the need to hide personal correspondence or financial information from prying eyes. MIUI 12 has a powerful built-in tool that allows you to limit access to selected programs without installing third-party software, this is especially true when you give a phone to a child for games or leave a gadget on the desk in the office.
App Protection works at the system level, which ensures its stability and low power consumption. You do not have to look for workarounds or pay for a subscription in questionable utilities from Google Play. Just activate the right module in the security settings to securely close access to instant messengers, gallery or banking customers.
In this article, we will discuss in detail how to set up a lock, what biometric data can be used to unlock and what to do if you forget your password, and we will also look at hidden settings that increase the level of privacy of your data to the maximum.
Preparation for data protection settings
Before you start setting restrictions, you need to make sure that your Mi Account is activated and linked to the device, a security requirement from Xiaomi developers to restore access in the event of a password loss or reset. Without an associated account, some encryption features may not be available.
It's also worth checking if the software is up to the latest available version for your model.In MIUI 12, the security menu interface has been redesigned, and in older builds, the path to settings may differ.
- 🔒 Make sure that the device has a digital password or graphical screen unlock key.
- 📱 Register your fingerprint or set up facial recognition for quick authorization.
- 🔗 Check the status of the Mi Account binding in the system settings menu.
⚠️ Note: If you forget your application protection password and don't have access to your associated Mi Account, it's almost impossible to restore access to your data».
It's important to understand the difference between locking the screen of the smartphone itself and locking individual apps. App protection is an additional barrier that requires proof of identity after the phone has been unlocked, creating a double layer of security.
Activation of the application protection function
The process of enabling protection in MIUI 12 is unified, but may have slight visual differences depending on the regional firmware (Global, China, EEA).The main path lies through the system application "Security", which is preinstalled on each Xiaomi device.
Open the Security app and find the Application Protection section. If you don't see this icon on the home screen of the tool folder, search inside the settings or swipe down in the Security app to open additional tools. After you first log in, the system will ask you to create a separate password.
☑️ Security password setting
When creating a password, you will be asked to choose the type of protection: a pattern lock, a digital code or a mixed password. It is recommended to use a digital code or a complex mixture of characters, since the pattern lock is easier to peek from the side. Once you enter the password, the system will suggest linking Mi Account to restore access - this step should not be missed.
Next, you'll be asked to set up questions to restore access, and the answers to them should be unique but memorable, don't use obvious answers like date of birth, which are easy to calculate on your social networks, and that's the last line of defense if the primary password is lost.
Choosing applications to block
Once you have successfully set a password, you will see a list of all the programs you have installed that you can protect, and in MIUI 12, this list is sorted into categories, which makes navigation easier, and you can block both system applications and those downloaded from third-party sources.
To activate the protection, you just need to switch the slider against the right name, for example, you can block access to WhatsApp, Telegram, Gallery, or even Settings so that no one can change the settings of the network or delete your account.
| Type of application | Recommendation for protection | Level of risk |
|---|---|---|
| Messengers | Definitely (correspondence, photo) | High-pitched |
| Banking applications | Definitely (finance) | critical |
| Social media | Recommended (personal data) | Medium. |
| Games | Optional (time limit) | Low. |
It's worth noting that locking system settings can be helpful if you give your children a phone, and your child won't be able to accidentally turn off the Internet, change the brightness, or remove important system components, but be careful: to get into the settings, you'll have to enter a password every time.
The list of secure apps also shows the time of last activity, which is a useful feature for monitoring: you will always know when and when someone tried to open a blocked program. If you see an attempt to log in in in your absence, this is a reason to change the password.
Setup of biometrics and unlocking methods
MIUI 12 allows you to use biometrics to quickly access secure applications, eliminating the need to enter a password manually every time, and supports fingerprint and facial recognition unlocking.
To activate this feature, go to the Application Protection menu and click on the gear icon in the upper right corner. Here is the Unlock fingerprint. Turn it on, and the system will use the fingerprints already stored in the phone's memory.
- 👆 Unlocking with your finger works faster than code entry and is more convenient in the dark.
- 👁️ Facial recognition is not available on all models, but it speeds up access significantly.
- 🔄 You can combine methods: face for quick access, password as a backup option.
⚠️ Attention: Biometric unlocking may not work if your finger is wet, dirty, or in very bright or dim lights. Always keep a digital code in your head.
An important option is to set the lock timeout. You can choose when to request a password: immediately after leaving the application, after 1 minute or after 10 minutes of downtime. For maximum security, choose the option “Immediately”.
Hidden biometrics settings
If you use face unlock, note that in low light conditions it can run slower or require a brightening of the screen.The fingerprint scanner in Xiaomi usually responds instantly, even if the screen is off.
Hiding the contents of notifications
Even if an application is locked with a password, notifications from it can appear on the lock screen or in the notification curtain, which creates a loophole through which an outsider can see the text of the message or the name of the caller.
In the application protection settings menu (Cog), find Hide Content. When activated, notifications will only display the name of the application, and the text of the message will be replaced with asterisks or the phrase “Click to view”.
This is especially important for messengers and email clients, for example, if you get a bank confirmation code or a personal photo, no one can read it just by looking at your smartphone screen, and complete privacy is achieved only with a comprehensive approach.
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For complete anonymity, also enable Incognito mode in Android notification settings to hide even app icons on the locked screen.
Keep in mind that hiding content only works when the phone is locked or when the app itself is password-enclosed, and within an open application, this setting does not affect the display of data.
Second Space as an Alternative
If standard app locking isn't enough, MIUI 12 offers a more radical solution, Second Space, which is essentially creating a second virtual smartphone inside a single device with a separate set of apps, files and accounts.
Switching between spaces is done by fingerprint or password, so you can set one finger to open the main desktop and the other to a hidden space with private data, and to a third-party observer, it looks like a normal unlocking of the phone.
The second space is ideal for separating work and personal life, or for storing files that shouldn't be visible even when you connect your phone to your computer in file transfer mode, a level of protection comparable to having two different phones.
- 📁 Complete file isolation: photos from the second space are not visible in the main gallery.
- 📲 Individual accounts: You can log into two different WhatsApp or Telegram accounts at the same time.
- 🔐 Invisibility: The second space doesn’t appear in the app list until you open it.
⚠️ Warning: When you reset your phone to a factory setting, the data in Space Two will also be deleted.
Using the Second Space requires more RAM resources, so on budget models with 3-4 GB of RAM, the system may become less stable.
Solving and restoring access
Users often experience a situation where they have forgotten the password from the application protection. If you have attached Mi Account, you can restore access through the "Forgot the password" button on the code entry screen, the system will send a confirmation code or require you to enter an answer to a secret question.
In some cases, if the account is not tied, the only way to do this is to completely reset the phone, which will cause you to lose all your data, so again, linking the account is critical, and you can also have problems after you update your firmware, when you reset your security settings.
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Always write down your application protection password in a secure location separate from your phone, which is the only guarantee that you won’t lose access to your data.
If application protection is not working properly (it doesn’t even let you with the right password), try to clear the data of the system application “Security”. To do this, go to Settings → Apps → All Apps → Security → Memory → Clear data. This will reset the security settings, but will not delete your files.