Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face the sudden appearance of banner ads in system applications, a phenomenon that has become the hallmark of the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS, raising many questions among users accustomed to “pure” Android. Built-in advertising is not a virus or an accidental failure, but the result of a well-thought-out business model that allows you to sell devices with high margins at low prices.
Understanding the nature of this phenomenon is the first step to making it comfortable to use a gadget. Advertising integrations can appear in folders, when you unlock the screen, in a standard browser, and even in system utilities like Calendar or Music. However, despite aggressive marketing by default, the system provides enough tools to completely disable intrusive content without losing functionality.
In this article, we will look at what’s behind the MSA acronym, why the company is embedding ads in firmware, and how to clean up the interface from unnecessary visual noise, and learn which settings need to be changed first to return the device to its original appearance.
The Nature of Embedded Advertising: Business Model and MSA
The main reason for advertising lies in the brand’s pricing policy: Xiaomi has historically limited the margin on hardware, often selling smartphones at near cost. To offset development, research and logistics costs, the company introduces monetization services through software, which allows it to keep the price tag on the store shelf attractive to the buyer.
The technical executor of this strategy is the MSA (MIUI System Ads) system process, which is a legitimate application that by default has access to the Internet and rights to display content in various sections of the shell, and it is the MSA that is responsible for collecting data about user preferences (as part of the privacy policy) for targeting ads.
⚠️ Attention: Process MSA Trying to remove it through third-party launchers or root rights without proper preparation can lead to unstable shell operation or cyclical restart of the device.
Advertising modules work not only in the Chinese version of firmware (CN), but also in the global version (Global), although in the latter there are initially fewer of them. With the release of HyperOS, the company began to revise the approach, making privacy settings more transparent, but completely from advertising this user has not yet been rid of.
Where is the most common advertising in MIUI and HyperOS
Advertising integrations are unevenly distributed and depend on the specific system application, and most often users notice banners in the standard Mi Browser browser, which is installed by default on the system, it can show news feeds and promotional materials on the start page, as well as suggest installing recommended applications.
The second popular place is the Security app, where once you have finished scanning for viruses or clearing the cache, you often see a card that suggests you install a game or use a partner's service, and you also see ads in folders on your desktop, where the app icons can be mixed with the advertising tiles.
- 📁 Explorer and Files: When you open the "Shares" or "Recommendations" section in the file manager.
- 🔒 Lock screen: Wallpaper Carousel can upload sponsored images with brand logos.
- 🎵 Multimedia: Music and Video applications often contain pop-ups when running or in menus.
Special attention deserves the system folder Tools (Tools), which often contains widgets with news and offers. Even the app GetApps (analogue of Google Play from Xiaomi) actively promotes content through push notifications, if not disable the corresponding permissions.
Hidden advertising in the task manager
Basic setup: disabling MSA and personalization
The most effective way to combat intrusive banners is to disable the MSA service at the system level, which breaks the connection between the device and the ad server, stopping downloading content for display, a procedure that requires no complex manipulation and takes less than a minute.
You have to go to the settings menu first, and the path may vary slightly depending on the shell version, but the logic remains the same, and you have to find the password and security section where key service switches are hidden.
☑️ Shutdown algorithm MSA
Once you find the MSA in the list of authorized applications, click the switch. The system will try to dissuade you by running a countdown (usually 10 seconds) and saying "Leave on." You need to wait for the timer to end and press the Revoke button. If the first time failed, try repeating the procedure 2-3 times.
⚠️ Attention: After disconnection MSA Cached banners can be displayed for a while until the app cache is updated or you reboot your smartphone.
In parallel with the MSA, it is recommended to disable advertising personalization, which is responsible for analyzing your actions to select more relevant ads. It is located along the Settings path → Passwords and Security → Privacy → Advertising Services. Here you need to deactivate the option “Personalized Ads”.
Cleaning system applications from banners
Even after the core MSA module is disabled, individual applications can continue to show content if they have their own internal settings, primarily the browser and the Security app, which need to be configured separately.
In the Security app, go to the settings (the gear icon in the corner). Find Receive recommendations and turn it off. It's also worth checking the Cleanup section, where the option of showing ads after scanning may be hidden, which will remove pop-ups after each optimization procedure.
For Mi Browser, it's the same. Open the browser menu, go to settings, and find the Privacy and Security section, and you have to uncheck the "Get News," "Popular Now," and "Personal Guidelines," which will turn the browser into a clean surfing tool without a news feed on the home page.
| Annex | Settings section | What to turn off | The result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security | Settings (cogs) | Receive recommendations | No banners after scanning |
| Mi Browser. | Settings → Confidentiality | Popular now, News | Clean start page |
| Conductor | Settings → About the annex | Recommendations (if any) | Lack of tabs with advertising |
| Music. | Settings → Additional | Showing ads | Only the player interface |
Don't forget to check the settings of the folders on your desktop, and when you open the folder with the apps, click on the name of the folder. The menu that opens often hides the "Recommended Apps" or "Ads" switch, and turning off this option will clear the space inside the folder of unnecessary icons.
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Tip: If you don’t use the standard Xiaomi browser, simply remove its updates or disable it in the application settings. This will free up space and guaranteed to remove the source of banners.
Removing Advertising in GetApps and System Folders
The GetApps app store is one of the most active sources of push notifications and pop-ups. It aims to replace Google Play by constantly offering discounts and new games. To calm it down, you need to get into the deep settings of the store itself.
Open GetApps, go to the profile (human icon) and select Settings. Here we are interested in the section "App Auto Update" and "Notifications." Disable all items related to recommendations, promotions and auto-update (if you prefer to do it manually). Pay special attention to the item "Advertising Notifications" - it should be turned off.
For desktop folders, the way they work has changed in the new versions of HyperOS, so that folders can now be advertised through a wallpaper widget or special content widgets. If you see a banner inside the folder, try clicking on it and select Hide or delete the widget from the folder.
- 📲 GetApps: Settings → Notifications → Take off all the ticks.
- 📂 Desktop: Settings → More. → Hide content widgets.
- 🔔 Notifications: Long click on the GetApps icon → About the annex → Notifications → Turn it off.
It's important to understand that GetApps is a system application, and it can only be completely removed with superuser rights or through ADB, which is not recommended for ordinary users, but the right setup makes it almost invisible in everyday use.
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Completely cleaning your smartphone from advertising requires a comprehensive approach: disabling MSA, configuring each system application separately, and managing notifications.
Advanced methods: ADB and DNS-filtering
For users who want guaranteed results and are not afraid of technical manipulation, there are more powerful tools, one of the most effective methods is filtering traffic at the DNS level, which allows you to block requests to ad servers before they reach the application.
You can use services like AdGuard DNS or NextDNS. To set up, go to Settings → Connection and Sharing → Private DNS. Select “DNS Provider Host Name” and type in an address like dns.adguard.com. This action will block ads not only in the system, but also in many applications and browsers.
dns.adguard.comA more radical method is to use ADB (Android Debug Bridge) debugging to hide system packages, which does not require a Root-right, but requires a connection to a computer, and commands can freeze components of ads, making them invisible to the system.
Example of commands to hide the ad component (requires an ADB installed on PC):
adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.misysThis command disables the system service responsible for some of the ad integrations. However, using ADB requires caution: disabling the wrong components can lead to errors in the phone's operation. Always check the names of the packages before entering commands.
⚠️ Attention: Use DNS-filters may slow the opening of some sites or disrupt applications that use ads to verify licenses. DNS Internet or applications stopped working, return the settings DNS in the initial state ("Auto").
The impact of advertising on performance and battery
Many users underestimate the impact of ad modules on device resources: constant background loading of banners, tracking location for targeting and rendering animations consume RAM and battery power. On Redmi budget models, this can be tangible.
Disabling MSA and advertising services often results in a small but noticeable increase in battery life. The smartphone stops constantly polling servers for new promotions, which reduces the load on the processor and communication module, especially for devices with small batteries.
Also, cleaning up the system frees up RAM, makes the interface more responsive, eliminates micro-latency when switching between applications, and for older phone models that start to run slower over time, turning off ads is a way to breathe a second life into them without flashing them.