How to Check If Someone Is Watching You Through Xiaomi Phone: The Complete 2026 Guide

Have you noticed that Xiaomi's battery is running out too quickly even when your phone is idle? Or maybe the microphone is periodically turned on in the background and unknown apps appear in the list of active processes? These signs may indicate that you are being surveilled through your smartphone. In the digital age, mobile spying has become a real threat, from jealous partners to hacker attacks.

Xiaomi smartphones (including the Redmi line, POCO and Mi) are no exception: their open firmware MIUI And the wide-ranging customization capabilities also make them vulnerable to spyware, and in this article, we'll look at 7 proven ways to detect surveillance on Xiaomi's Android devices, from analyzing network traffic to finding hidden administrators. You will also learn what unique features are MIUI They can give out a spy red-handed, and what to do if your suspicions are confirmed.

1. Signs of surveillance via Xiaomi phone: when to sound the alarm

Before you rush to check the device, it's important to understand if there's any real reason to be concerned. Spyware rarely works perfectly, it leaves traces that you can see when you look closely. Here are the key symptoms that should alert you:

• 🔋 Unexplained battery consumption: the phone discharges in hours without active use, especially at night.Spyware programs often run in the background, consuming resources.
• 📡 Increased mobile data traffic: If you haven’t downloaded large files but traffic suddenly increased by 2-3 times, this may indicate that your data is being transferred to third parties.
• 🎤 Spontaneously turning on the microphone or camera: noticed that the camera indicator flashes without your participation? Or do app settings show records of access to the microphone.
• 📱 Unusual screen behavior: the phone spontaneously reboots, unknown windows open, or the cursor moves without your participation.
• 🔍 Unknown files: in the Download folders or DCIM Files with strange names appear (for example, in the, log_123.txt or backup_apk).

Especially worth paying attention if several of these signs appear simultaneously, for example, the combination of fast battery discharge and network traffic growth is highly likely to indicate the operation of spyware. → Special features appeared unknown services, this may be a consequence of rooting or installing malware.

⚠️ Warning: Some "symptoms" may be caused by malfunctions MIUI. For example, fast battery drain is often associated with optimizing the background in the latest firmware versions. Before panicking, check the device for viruses with a standard antivirus (for example, Google Play Protect).

2. Check active connections and network traffic

One of the most reliable ways to detect surveillance is to analyze what data your phone is sending and where it is sending, and spyware typically sends information to remote servers that can be tracked through traffic monitoring, and Xiaomi does this in a number of ways:

Method 1: Integrated traffic monitoring in MIUI

Firmware MIUI It has a built-in tool to track the use of data:

1. Go to Settings. → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Using traffic.
2. View the list of applications, sorting them by the amount of data transferred.
3. Note unknown programs or programs that transmit data in the background (e.g., com.android.system with suspiciously high traffic).

Method 2: Using Third-Party Applications

For a more detailed analysis, we recommend installing one of these apps (available on Google Play):

• 📊 GlassWire – shows all active connections in real time IP-addresses and geolocation of servers.
• 🔍 NetGuard is a traffic blocker with a log function, where you can see which apps are calling home".
• 🛡️ Fing scans the network for suspicious devices connected to your phone.

If you see the logs, you will see connections to servers with IP-The spyware often uses foreign servers to disguise the information, and the information is not available.

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V MIUI 14+ There's a hidden logging function for network activity. To enable it, go to Settings. → About the phone, tap 5 times on the version MIUI, Then enter the password ##4636## in the dialer and select Usage Statistics.

3.Search for spy apps and hidden administrators

Many surveillance programs disguise themselves as harmless utilities (e.g., Battery Optimizer or File Manager) and check to find them:

Step 1: List of installed applications

Open the Settings. → Annexes → Manage applications and sort the list by installation date:

• 📱 Appendices with Chinese names (e.g., "Safe Guard").
• 🔄 Programs you haven’t installed (e.g. com.sec.android.app.launcher on Xiaomi) are suspicious).
• 📡 Utilities with Administrator Rights (see next step).

Step 2: Verification of Administrator Rights

Spyware often requests administrator rights so it can't be removed to check:

1. Go to Settings. → Passwords and security → Privileged access → Device administrators.
2. Disable the rights for all unknown applications.

Step 3: Finding the Hidden APK-file

Some spies are installed as system applications and not displayed on the menu.

1. Connect your phone to your PC and use a conductor to view the folder /system/app.
2. Look for files with suspicious names (for example, spy.apk, monitor.service).

Checking the camera and microphone for unauthorized access

One of the most frightening aspects of surveillance is remotely turning on the camera or microphone, and you can test it on Xiaomi like this:

Method 1: Activity indicators

In recent Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi Note 12, Xiaomi 13), when using a camera or microphone, a green dot appears in the status bar, if it lights up without you, this is an alarm.

• 📸 folder DCIM/.thumbnails — Sometimes spyware saves screenshots there.
• 🎙️ Record log: C Settings → Annexes → Permits → Check out which programs have recently used it.

Method 2: The wiretapping test

To check if the sound is transmitted from the microphone:

1. Call from another phone to your Xiaomi and leave it in a quiet room.
2. If you hear extraneous noises (voices, keyboard sounds) at the other end, then the microphone is active.

Method 3: Checking through ADB

For advanced users: connect your phone to your PC and follow the command:

adb shell dumpsys media.camera

If the output has lines from clientPackageName pointing to unknown applications, this confirms surveillance.

⚠️ Attention: B MIUI There's a Quick Ball feature that can accidentally activate the camera. → Special facilities → Quick Ball.

Location analysis and GPS-tracking

If someone is following you through Xiaomi, they are most likely tracking your location.

Step 1: Google Location Log

Open Google Maps Timeline and look at your travel history, and if there are routes you haven't taken or tags in unfamiliar places, that's a sign of surveillance.

Step 2: Geolocation settings in MIUI

Go to Settings. → Confidentiality → Permits → Location and check it out:

• 📍 Applications that have requested geodata recently.
• 🔄 Services that use the exact location (e.g., com.xiaomi.midrop should not request it).

Step 3: Finding Hidden Trackers

Some spyware (e.g., mSpy or FlexiSPY) disguises itself as system services to find them:

1. Install Anti Spy Mobile (available on Google Play).
2. Run a scan for known spyware modules.

6. Root access check and modified firmware

If your Xiaomi has a root access or modified firmware installed, it makes it much easier for spies to check this out:

Method 1: Root Checker App

Install Root Checker from Google Play and run the check. If the result is positive and you haven't installed the root yourself, that's an alarm.

Method 2: Checking firmware integrity

V MIUI There is a built-in function of checking system files:

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → System update.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Service Packs Checker.
3. If there is a message about corrupted files, the firmware has been changed.

Method 3: Analysis by ADB

Connect your phone to your PC and do:

adb shell su -c"mount | grep rootfs"

If the output has a line rw (read-write), then the system partition is unlocked for writing - this is a sign of a root or hack.

⚠️ Note: On some Xiaomi models (e.g, POCO F3) Root access can be activated via Fastboot without your knowledge. Check this with the command fastboot oem device-info - if Device unlocked: true, then the bootloader is unlocked.

7.What to do if you find surveillance: a step-by-step plan

If your suspicions are confirmed, act quickly and clearly:

Step 1: Turn off your phone from the network

Put Xiaomi in flight mode or turn it off Wi-Fi/This will stop the spy from transmitting data.

Step 2: Remove suspicious applications

B Settings → Find and remove any unknown applications, and if they are not deleted, reset the administrator rights (see Section 3).

Step 3: Perform reset to factory settings

This is a radical but effective way to:

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Select Delete all data.
3. After reset, do not restore data from the backup – it may contain spyware.

Step 4: Update the firmware

After the reset, update immediately MIUI Up to the latest version through Settings → Updating the system, closing the vulnerabilities that could have been exploited to hack.

Step 5: Complaint (if necessary)

If you suspect that a specific person (for example, a former partner or colleague) was following you, collect evidence (screenshots of logs, names of spyware) and contact the police. In Russia, this is regulated by Article 138.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (illegal trafficking in special technical means for obtaining information).

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If the reset didn't work, it's a sign that the spyware is sewn into the firmware, and then the only way out is to reflash the phone through Fastboot with the official image. MIUI.

FAQ: Frequent questions about surveillance through Xiaomi