Smart Albums feature** on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones automatically sorts photos and videos into categories like People, Animals, Documents, Screenshots and others. For some users, this is convenient, but many find it intrusive — especially when the system creates duplicate albums or misallocates files. Unfortunately, MIUI doesn’t offer an obvious switch to completely disable the feature, but there are several proven ways to get around this limitation.
In this article, we’ll look at all the disablement methods available, from hiding albums in the gallery interface to deep system settings through ADB and third-party apps. The instructions are relevant for MIUI 14/15 (including global and Chinese versions), as well as for most models: Xiaomi 13/14, Redmi Note 12/13, POCO F5/X5 and others. If you’re tired of the chaos in the gallery or want to return the classic kind of photo storage, read on.
1.Why Smart Albums are Interfering with Users
On paper, automatic categorization seems useful, where the system analyzes the contents of the photos and groups them together for quick access, but in practice, many people face the following problems:
- 🔍 Slowdown: Background processing of photo for categorization consumes processor resources and battery.
In addition, in some regional versions of MIUI (e.g. India or Europe), the Smart Albums feature is integrated at the com.miui.gallery system application level, making it extremely difficult to turn it off without root rights. It is not just a feature, but part of the Xiaomi ecosystem that syncs with the Mi Cloud cloud and other services.
If you are one of those who prefer manual sorting or use third-party galleries (like Google Photos), the following instructions will help get rid of the intrusive feature.
2. Method 1: Hiding albums in a standard gallery
The easiest way is not to turn off the feature completely, but to hide unnecessary albums from the interface. This won't remove them physically, but will make the gallery visually cleaner.
- Open the Gallery app** (com.miui.gallery).
⚠️ Note: Hidden albums will remain in the system and will be accessible through search or file manager, and this method does not eliminate background processing of photos for categorization - just hides the results.
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If the albums reappear after hiding, clear the gallery cache in the app settings (Settings → Apps → Gallery → Storage → Clear the cache).
Method 2: Disconnect via MIUI settings (for some regions)
Some versions of MIUI (mainly global) have a hidden switch to turn off the smart sorting, and you can check for it like this:
- Open the “Settings”** of the smartphone.
- Go to the Apps → Application management.
- Find the Gallery and tap it.
- Select Permissions → Additionally.
- Look for the option Smart Albums or Automatic Categorization (the title may vary).
- Turn off the slider and restart the device.
If there is no such clause, then your version of MIUI does not support this solution, in which case you should move to more radical methods.
| Method of disconnection | Root is required. | Difficulty | Efficiency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hiding albums | ❌ No. | ⭐Easy | ⚠️ Partial |
| MIUI settings | ❌ No. | ⭐Easy | ✅ Full (if available) |
| ADB-team | ❌ No. | ⭐⭐ Medium | ✅ Complete. |
| Removal of gallery updates | ❌ No. | ⭐⭐ Medium | ⚠️ Temporary. |
| Replacement of gallery with third-party | ❌ No. | ⭐ Easy | ✅ Complete (visually) |
Method 3: Disconnect via ADB (without root)
If standard methods don’t work, you can use the Android debugging bridge (ADB), which doesn’t require superuser rights, but requires connecting your smartphone to your computer.
Install ADB-PC drivers|Insert “Debugging by” USB» Xiaomi|Connect the phone to the computer|Check the connection with the adb device command
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Steps:
- Activate Developer Mode** on Xiaomi: Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (Tap 7 times)
⚠️ Attention: After update MIUI Some firmware versions also block system components from being disabled through ADB. If the team doesn’t work, try an alternative:
adb shell settings put global smart_album_enabled 0This command forcibly disables smart albums at the system setting level. To return functionality, replace 0 with 1.
5. Method 4: Removing Gallery Updates
In some cases, smart albums appear after updating the standard gallery through Google Play.A rollback to the factory version may temporarily solve the problem:
- Go to Settings → Applications → Gallery.
- Tap it on three points (⋮) in the upper right corner and select Remove Updates.
- Confirm the action and restart the smartphone.
🔹 Limitations of method:
- 🔄 After the next automatic update of the gallery through the Play Market, smart albums will return.
- 🚫 Does not work on devices where the gallery is part of the system software (for example, on Xiaomi 14S). MIUI 15).
What to do if the “Remove Updates” button is inactive?
6. Method 5: Using a Third-Party Gallery
If all the previous methods have failed or seem too complicated, the radical solution is to completely abandon the standard gallery in favor of alternative applications.
- 📱 Google Photos: does not automatically categorize by default (but can offer Memories»).
- 🖼️ Simple Gallery (from Simple Mobile Tools): open source, no unnecessary features.
- 🔍 A+ Gallery: Supports cloud services and manual sorting.
How to make a third-party gallery the default app:
- Disable notifications from the standard Xiaomi gallery in the app settings.
✅ Pros of the method: full control over the display of photos, no background processing, additional functions (for example, encryption of albums in Simple Gallery).
❌ Cons: Some apps (like WhatsApp) may still open photos in a standard gallery.
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Replacing the gallery is the only method that is guaranteed to get rid of smart albums without the risk of disrupting the system.
7. Radical methods (for advanced users)
If you are willing to go to extreme lengths and have experience with Android devices, consider the following options:
- 🔧 Removal of the system APK galleryway ADB Or Magisk (requires an unlocked bootloader).Command: adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.miui.gallery ⚠️ Note: this will remove the gallery completely, and you will need third-party software to view the photo).
- 📦 Replacing the gallery with Magisk: modules like MiuiGalleryDisabler or De-bloater allow you to disable unnecessary components without removing them.
- 🔄 Flashing to custom firmware (for example, LineageOS or Pixel Experience), where there are no proprietary Xiaomi features.
💡 Important: Any manipulation of system files can lead to loss of warranty, unstable device operation or locking the bootloader!