How to remove the label from the photo on Xiaomi: from watermarks to the date of the shooting

Watermarks, the name of a smartphone model or the date of the photo shoot are a standard feature of Xiaomi’s camera, which is turned on by default on many devices. For some users, it is a convenient way to sort images, for others – an annoying artifact, spoiling the frame. Especially a problem for owners of devices on MIUI 12-15, where marking can appear even after resetting.

In this article, we will discuss all the working ways of removing markings, from disabling the function in the camera settings to software editing ready-made photos. Separately, we will consider the nuances for the Redmi, POCO and Black Shark lines, where the labeling algorithms may differ. Importantly, some methods require super-user rights (root), but most solutions are available without hacking the system.

Why Xiaomi is adding a tag in the photo

The automatic watermarking function appeared in Xiaomi firmware back in 2018 as part of the corporate chip "AI-The camera was originally positioned as:

• 📅 Convenient organizer: date and model help quickly sort the photo by device and time of shooting.
• 🛡️ Authorship protection: Watermark makes content theft more difficult (although it's a controversial argument).
• 📱 Marketing move: model name (Redmi Note 12 Pro)+, Xiaomi 13 Ultra is a free advertising service.

Over time, however, users complained about the bad location of the characters (right in the center of the frame) and the inability to turn them off on some devices, in response, Xiaomi added the deactivation option, but hid it deep in the menu – or completely removed on individual models (for example, in POCO F5 before the MIUI update 14.0.5).

⚠️ Note: On devices with Chinese firmware (e.g. Xiaomi) 13T Pro for the market CN) labeling can be hard-stitched into the software, in this case, only flashing to the global version or manual editing of the photo will help.

Method 1: Disabling the marking in the camera settings

The easiest method is to deactivate the feature through the camera menu, which works on most devices with MIUI 12-15, but the path to the option may vary depending on the model.

Instructions for the standard Xiaomi/Redmi/POCO camera:

1. Open the Camera app.
2. Touch the gears. ⚙️ in the upper right corner (or swipe up the screen on some models).
3. Go to the Camera Settings → Watermark (or Photo Marking) section.
4. Turn off the slider next to the "Add Watermark" option.
5. To save the changes, restart the camera.

If the Watermark item is not on the menu, try an alternative path:

Settings → Additional settings → Camera settings → Tags in the photo

Is the standard camera (not Google Camera) open?

Is the software updated to the latest version of MIUI?

Are all the tabs checked in the settings (main and additional)?

Reboot your smartphone after the changes?-->

On some devices (e.g. Redmi Note 11 Pro+), the option may be called Date in the photo or Device Information. If it's not available at all, move on to the next method.

Method 2: Remove markings through photo editor

If the watermark is already inscribed on the finished images, you can remove it with an embedded or third-party editor, and let's look at both.

Built-in editor Xiaomi Gallery

The MIUI Gallery has a tool called “Remove Objects” that handles small watermarks:

1. Open the photo in the Gallery app.
2. Click Edit → Tools → Remove objects.
3. Circle the watermark with your finger or stylus.
4. Confirm the action – the algorithm will replace the selected area with texture from the surrounding background.

The downside of the method: complex backgrounds (such as cloudy sky) may leave a noticeable artifact. Use third-party apps for better results.

Third-party annexes

For accurate removal, suitable:

• 📱 Snapseed (Healing tool): free, no watermarks.
• 🖌️ Adobe Photoshop Express: Spot Heal feature + hand-retouch.
• 🎨 Remove Watermark (from InShot): a dedicated watermark solution.

💡

Before editing, make a copy of the original photo – some applications save changes on top of the source.

Method 3: Use ADB-commands without root)

If the labeling is not disabled via the menu, but you have access to debugging over USB, you can try deactivating the function via ADB. This method works on most devices with MIUI 13-15 and does not require superuser rights.

Instructions:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone → MIUI version and press 7 times.
2. Enable USB debugging in Settings → Additional → For developers.
3. Connect your smartphone to your PC, install ADB-tools and execute the command:

adb shell settings put global camera_watermark_enabled 0

To check the current status of the label, use:

adb shell settings get global camera_watermark_enabled

If the command returns 1, the function is active, 0 is disabled.

⚠️ Note: On some devices (e.g. Xiaomi) 12S Ultra after update MIUI You can reset the settings, and then you have to reset the command.

Method 4: Editing system files (root required)

For advanced root users, a radical method is to remove the files responsible for the labeling, which is suitable for devices where the feature is hard-stitched into firmware (for example, Black Shark 5 Pro or Redmi K50 Gaming).

Algorithm of action:

1. Install a file manager with root support (such as Root Explorer or Mixplorer).
2. Follow the path:

/system/vendor/overlay/CameraWatermarkOverlay.apk

or

/system/product/overlay/CameraWatermarkOverlay.apk

1. Delete or rename the file (e.g., in CameraWatermarkOverlay.bak).
2. Reset the device.

Alternative path (for some versions of MIUI):

/system/system_ext/priv-app/MiuiCamera/MiuiCamera.apk

You can edit res/values/bool.xml here by finding the line:

<bool name="config_camera_watermark_support">true</bool>

And then we changed the true to the false.

Method 5: Reflashing to custom software

If none of these methods work, the last resort is to install custom firmware without built-in labeling.

• 📱 LineageOS: pure Android without branded chips Xiaomi.
• 🔧 Pixel Experience: Google’s camera firmware (without watermarks).
• ⚡ MIUI by XDA: modified MIUI remotely restricted.

The installation process shall include:

1. Unlock the bootloader (fastboot oem unlock).
2. Installation of custom recavery (TWRP or OrangeFox).
3. Flash firmware via ADB sideload or from a memory card.

⚠️ Warning: Firmware will void warranty and may cause the device to blink. Before the procedure, check the firmware compatibility with your model on the XDA-Developers forum.

Turned off in the camera settings.|Edited photo on Snapseed|Used. ADB-team|Deleted system files (root)|I was re-filtering the device.|I haven't tried it yet.-->

Frequent problems and solutions

Even after successfully disabling the labeling, users are faced with nuances.

If you use Google Camera (GCam) instead of a standard camera, the Xiaomi marking will not appear - but watermarks from the GCam modification (such as BSG or Arnova8G2) may be added.

Settings GCam → Additional → Watermark → Off

💡

On dual camera devices (such as the Xiaomi 13 Pro), labeling can only be added to the main module's shots. Check the settings for each lens separately.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions