How to disable Xiaomi’s Personal Data Collection: A Complete Guide to Privacy Settings

Why Xiaomi is collecting your data and is it possible to stop it?

Xiaomi smartphones and smart devices have long been a part of the daily lives of millions of users. But with convenience comes the question: what data does the company collect and how does it affect your privacy? In 2026, as regulators tighten requirements for the protection of personal information (for example, GDPR in the EU and similar laws in Russia), many owners of Redmi, POCO or Mi wonder: can the amount of data transferred be reduced without losing functionality?

It is worth clarifying right away: you can’t completely disable telemetry collection on Xiaomi devices without custom firmware, since some of the data is transmitted at the system level. However, up to 80% of “extra” fees can be blocked through standard settings. In this article, we will discuss which data Xiaomi collects, which are critical for the device’s operation, and which can be turned off without consequences.

It's important to understand that disabling some services can affect features like Mi Cloud, Find My Device, or personalized recommendations, but in most cases, this is not critical — for example, you can still use your smartphone even if you turn off location data collection for advertising, the main thing is to know what to turn off so that you don't disrupt the stability of the system.

What data is collected by Xiaomi: full list

Before you start setting up, you need to understand what information your device is transmitting, and according to independent research (including reports from Forbes and Kaspersky), Xiaomi smartphones can collect the following types of data:

• 📍 Location: coordinates GPS, Wi-Fi and cell tower connection data (even if geolocation is disabled in settings).
• 📱 Device identifiers: IMEI, MAC-addresses, serial number, model and firmware version data.
• 📊 Usage statistics: what apps you run, how long you use them, screen unlock frequency.
• 🔍 System logs: error logs, reboot data, information about connected accessories (headphones, fitness bracelets).
• 📷 Media files: If sync with Mi Cloud is enabled, photos and videos can be uploaded to Xiaomi servers.
• 💬 Account details: email, phone number, authorization history (if you use Mi Account).

Not all of this data is transmitted continuously, for example, system logs are sent only when critical errors occur, and media files are sent only if you explicitly enabled backup, but some information (such as device identifiers and usage statistics) is collected by default and may be transferred without your knowledge.

According to a study by Citizen Lab (2021), even in “incognito mode,” some Xiaomi models continued to send Wi-Fi connection data to servers in China, and the company has since made changes, but there is still no full transparency, so manual privacy settings remain the only reliable way to control it.

How to disable telemetry collection in MIUI settings

Starting with MIUI 12, Xiaomi has added a separate privacy management section, but many important settings are hidden in different menus, and below is a step-by-step guide to limit data collection as much as possible.

First, open Settings → Privacy. Here you will see a few key points:

1. Analytics and Improvements – disable all switches in this section, and this will block the sending of data about the system and applications.
2. Ad personalization – disable Xiaomi from collecting information about your preferences for targeted advertising.
3. Special App Permissions – Check which apps have access to contacts, camera, or microphone, and revoke unnecessary permissions.

Next, go to Settings → About Phone → All settings → Usage Statistics and Diagnostics and turn off:

• 📉 Sending error reports (this will not affect the system, but will reduce the transfer of logs).
• 🔄 Automatically send performance data (this data is used for optimization) MIUI, but not critical).

For devices on MIUI 13/14, a new Privacy → Permissions Management → In addition, where you can restrict access to:

• 📡 Background location data (disable for all applications except maps).
• 📎 Clipboard (so that applications don’t read copied text).
• 🔋 Battery information (some apps collect charge data for analytics).

Send error reports|Personalization of advertising|Usage statistics|Access to location in the background|Synchronization with Mi Cloud (if not used)-->

Dangerous settings: what can not be turned off

Not all data that Xiaomi collects can be blocked without consequences. Some services are critical to the stable operation of the device.

Also, don’t turn off Google Play Services completely, even if you don’t use Google services. Many apps (including banking) rely on these services for security checks, and if you want to minimize their impact, you can limit background activity in your app settings.

⚠️ Note: Disabling Google Play Services on devices with MIUI For the global market (e.g. Redmi Note 12 Pro)+ 5G) It can lead to errors in authorization in banking applications and payment systems. In extreme cases, use alternative stores like the Aurora Store, but take into account the risks.

How to Check Which Apps Are Spying on You

Even after the system telemetry is disabled, some applications can continue to collect data. To identify spies, use built-in MIUI tools or third-party utilities.

Method 1: Built-in activity monitor

Go to Settings → Battery and Performance → Battery Use. Here you will see a list of applications that consume charge in the background. If an application (such as Mi Browser or GetApps) consumes the battery for no apparent reason, it is likely that it is transmitting data.

Method 2: Data transfer log

MIUI 14 adds Privacy → Security Monitor → Network Activity, and you can see which apps have been transmitting data in the last 24 hours.

• 📡 Applications with constant activity (for example, MiuiDaemon or Analytics).
• 🌍 Suspicious domains (if you see addresses like.miui.com or.xiaomi.net, these are system servers).

Method 3: Third-party tools

For deep analysis, you can use applications like NetGuard or PCAPdroid to show what data your device is sending and where it is sending, such as PCAPdroid, which can reveal that Mi Browser is transmitting search history even in private mode.

💡

If you detect suspicious activity of a system application (e.g. com.miui.analytics), it can be blocked through NetGuard without root rights, but this can cause MIUI to malfunction.

Additional measures: disabling advertising and trackers

One of the main reasons for data collection is targeted advertising, as Xiaomi has integrated advertising SDKs into many system applications (e.g. Mi Music, Mi Video, GetApps) to disable personalized advertising:

1. Go to Settings → Privacy → Ad personalization and deactivate all switches.
2. Open Settings → Apps → App Management, find GetApps (or App Market) and turn off permission to display ads.
3. For MIUI 13/14, there is a hidden mode without ads: enter the Calculator code =()[]{}% (consecutively, as on the keyboard) This will turn off some of the banner ads.

You can also remove pre-installed advertising applications (if they are not system-based).

1. Activate Developer Mode (7 times click on the MIUI version in your phone settings).
2. Turn on USB Debugging and connect the device to the PC.
3. Use the ADB command: adb shell pm uninstall-k --user 0 com.miui.msa.global (this will remove the MSA, the service responsible for collecting analytics).

⚠️ Note: Removing system applications through ADB It can lead to unstable work. MIUI. Before executing commands, make a backup copy through Settings → Additionally. → Backup and reset.

Alternative firmware: extreme measures for paranoids

If you don't like even minimal data collection in standard MIUI, you can consider installing custom firmware.

• 🔄 LineageOS is a pure Android without extra telemetry. POCO.
• ⚡ Pixel Experience – firmware with Google Pixel functionality, but without integrated Xiaomi services.
• 🛡️ GrapheneOS is the most secure open source system (suitable for POCO F5 Other devices that support Project Treble).

Advantages of custom firmware:

• 🚫 The complete absence of Xiaomi telemetry.
• 🔒 Ability to block all trackers at system level.
• 📱 Longer support for updates (even for older models).

Disadvantages:

• ⚠️ Loss of warranty (if the device is under warranty).
• 🔧 Installation difficulty (requires unlocking the bootloader and knowledge of commands) ADB).
• 📵 Possible problems with the camera, sensors or module NFC (model).

If you do, follow the official instructions on the XDA Developers or 4PDA forums, for example, ArrowOS will work for the Redmi Note 11 Pro+, and Pixel Experience Plus will work for the POCO X5 Pro.

FAQ: Frequent privacy questions on Xiaomi