Screen time on Xiaomi: where to see statistics of phone and apps

Have you ever wondered how much time you spend on a Xiaomi smartphone? Screen time statistics are not just numbers, they're a real tool for controlling digital hygiene. In MIUI, this feature is not as obvious as in pure Android, and many users don't even know it exists. Meanwhile, you can find not only total usage time, but also a detailed analysis of the apps, notifications and even hidden backgrounds of activity that continue to eat away the battery charge when you think the phone is asleep.

In this article, we’ll look at all the ways you can view screen time on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices, from basic statistics to hidden tools for advanced users. You’ll learn how data differs in Settings → Screen Time and Digital Well-being, why numbers sometimes don’t match reality, and how to reset the statistics if they start lying, and how to enable parental control through screen time to limit your child’s use of the phone without installing third-party apps.

1. Standard method: the menu "Screen time" in MIUI

The most obvious way is through the built-in settings, which are available on all devices with MIUI 12 and up (including MIUI 13/14/15).

1. Open Settings (the gear icon on the main screen).
2. Scroll down and select Screen Time (some firmware may call Time of Use).
3. If the system requests, confirm that this is your account (a password or fingerprint will be required).

Here you'll see:

• 📊 Total use time for today/week (with schedule by day).
• 📱 Top apps by time – which programs eat up your attention the most.
• 🔔 Number of screen unlocks (useful for evaluating phone dependency).
• 🕒 Average session time – how long you normally interact with your phone in a single approach.

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If the Screen Time section is missing, upgrade to the latest version of MIUI. On older versions (MIUI 11 and below), this feature is not available - use alternative methods from the following sections.

Note that the default statistics are only collected for the main user, if there are multiple profiles on the phone (for example, a guest or a children's), they will have to be viewed separately, and you can also include time limit for specific applications here, which is useful if you want to reduce time on social networks or games.

2. Alternative method: Google's "Digital Well-Being"

If the built-in MIUI statistics don't seem detailed enough, use Google's tool, Digital Wellbeing, which is on all Google smartphones, including Xiaomi, but is often hidden in the back of the menu to find it:

1. Go to Settings. → Google.
2. Choose Digital Well-Being and Parental Control.
3. Click on the Control Panel (or Dashboard in English).

Advantages of this method:

• 📈 More detailed schedules by day and week.
• 🛠️ The ability to set timers for apps (e.g. limit TikTok to 30 minutes per day).
• 🌙 Sleep Time Mode that automatically turns your phone into black and white and blocks notifications.
• 📵 Focus mode for temporarily disabling distracting applications.

Importantly, data in Digital Well-being and the MIUI's built-in Time Screen can diverge by 5 to 15 percent, due to different calculation algorithms, such as Google taking into account background time, and Xiaomi only taking into account active interaction with the screen.

Hidden functions: extended statistics through the "Battery"

Few people know, but you can find detailed information about screen usage time in the Battery section, which works even on older versions of MIUI (up to the 12th inclusive) and shows the actual screen activity time, not just the statistics on the applications.

1. Go to Settings. → Battery.
2. Put it on the icon. ⚡ Battery usage (or statistics in some firmware).
3. Scroll down to the graph Screen Use - here will be the exact time in ChCh:MM format.

Why this is useful:

• 🔍 Shows the true screen time, including seconds (as opposed to rounded data in Screen Time").
• 📉 It allows you to compare screen time and inactivity time (when the phone was lying unused, but discharged).
• 🔋 Helps identify apps that drain the battery in the background even when the screen is off.

The downside of this method is that it resets when the phone is fully charged (the statistics are reset after connecting to the network), so it is better to combine it with other methods for long-term analysis.

4.How to Reset Screen Time Statistics on Xiaomi

Sometimes the screen time data starts to lie, they show unrealistically large numbers or they hang on a single value, and in these cases, the resetting of the statistics helps, and you can do this in two ways:

Method 1: Using the "Screen Time" menu

1. Open the Settings. → Screen time.
2. Slip on three dots in the upper right corner (⋮).
3. Choose Reset Data and confirm the action.

Method 2: Resetting the cache of the Security application

If the first method didn’t work (e.g., the reset button is inactive), follow the following steps:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the Security app (or Security in Russian).
3. Select Warehouse. → Clear the cache.
4. Reboot the phone.

⚠️ Note: Resetting statistics does not affect time limits for apps. If you set limits (for example, 1 hour per day for Instagram), they will remain. To remove them, go to the settings of each application in the "Screen time" section and manually undo the restrictions.

5.Why screen time on Xiaomi shows incorrect data

Many users complain that the statistics in Screen Time or Digital Well-being are not the same as reality, and here are the main reasons and ways to eliminate them:

If none of these things worked, try calibrating your phone's sensors.

1. Turn on Developer Mode (7 times tap the MIUI version in your phone settings).
2. Go to Settings. → Additionally. → For developers.
3. Find the USB debugging option and turn it on.
4. Connect your phone to your PC and execute the command: adb shell dumpsys batterystats --reset

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Once you reset the statistics through ADB, the phone can show you inflated screen time in the first 24 hours -- that's OK. The data stabilizes in a day.

6. Parental Controls Through Screen Time: How to Limit Your Child's Phone Use

The MIUI's Screen Time feature allows you not only to monitor your activity, but also to adjust your child's limitations.

1. Open Settings → Screen time → Parental control.
2. Create a child profile (you will need to link to your Mi Account).
3. Install: 🕒 Total time of phone use per day. 🎮 Application restrictions (e.g. 1 hour for games). 🌙 Sleep mode (locking the phone at night). 📵 Blacklist of Prohibited Applications.

Activate control through the password (the child will not be able to turn it off).

⚠️ Warning: If a child resets the phone to factory settings, all restrictions will fly away. To avoid this, link the device to your Mi Account via Settings. → Mi Account → Devices. Once reset, the phone will require you to enter your data to activate.

Third-party apps like Google Family Link or Kids Place can be used for more flexible controls, but these require additional settings and may conflict with MIUI.

7. Third-party applications for screen time analysis

If Xiaomi's built-in tools aren't enough, look for third-party apps that offer advanced analytics, data export, and even time optimization tips.-3 decision:

• 📊 ActionDash – shows the history of use over months, compares with other users, offers “challenges” to reduce screen time.
• 🕒 StayFree is a minimalist tracker with convenient widgets for the main screen and the Goal function (for example, "spend no more than 3 hours on the phone").
• 🔍 Digital Detox – focuses on the psychological aspect: shows how many times you unlock your phone and how often you are distracted.

Before installing, check application permissions. Some trackers require access to Special Features (to track the activity of other programs), which may trigger system warnings. Xiaomi may also need to manually allow auto-runs to Settings → Applications → Auto-Run Manage.

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To make third-party trackers work properly, add them to the Battery Optimization Exclusions list (Settings → Battery → Battery Optimization → Select apps).

Frequently asked questions