Xiaomi smartphones, including the popular Redmi Note 8 Pro, are famous for their price-performance ratio, but users are often annoyed by intrusive advertising on the system. device owners encounter banner ads in standard applications, notifications and even while using files. It is not just visual noise, but a process consuming Internet traffic and CPU resources.
Fortunately, the MIUI software shell allows you to flexibly configure privacy settings and disable most ad modules without obtaining superuser rights. You don't need to be a programming expert to clear the interface of unnecessary elements. We have prepared a detailed manual that will help you regain control of the device.
In this article, we will look at all the steps, from disabling the system advertising service MSA to fine-tuning each standard application. Follow the steps consistently to achieve maximum effect and ensure comfortable use of the gadget.
Disabling the MSA system advertising module
The main source of intrusive suggestions in the MIUI shell is a system process called MSA (MIUI System Ads), which is responsible for collecting data about your preferences and showing banners in various sections of the interface, the first and most important step is to deactivate it through authorization settings.
To start, you need to go to the settings menu of your Redmi Note 8 Pro. Find the Password and Security section and select Access to Personal Data. From the app list that opens, find msa and put the slider inactive. The system will warn you of the consequences, but it is necessary to remove ads.
⚠️ Attention: When attempting to disconnect MSA The system can display a countdown timer several times (usually 10 seconds) and suggest staying. This is standard protection against accidental shutdown, just wait for the timer to end and click Stop».
Once you have successfully shut down, the process will no longer receive data about your activities, but the changes may not take effect immediately, and it is recommended that you restart the device so that all system services update their statuses.
Set up personalized recommendations and services
Even after the main module is disabled, other services remain in the system that can display content based on your interests. MIUI has a separate switch for personalized advertising that also requires your attention.
Go to Settings → Password and Security → Privacy. At the bottom of the list, find the Advertising Services section. Here you need to deactivate the option “Receive personalized recommendations,” which will prevent the system from using your OAID to target content.
Also, check your Mi Account settings. Sometimes recommendations come through cloud storage services or themes. Open the Themes app, go to profile, and in the settings, find "Receive recommendations" or "Show ads," and then turn them off.
- 🚫 Turn off “Get personalized recommendations” in the privacy menu.
- 🔒 Check the advertising ID settings and reset it if necessary.
- 📱 Go through the built-in applications (Themes, Music, Video) and turn off auto-run promotional materials.
Remember that some changes may require re-signing in to your account or restarting specific apps to take effect.
Removing Advertising in Standard Applications
Xiaomi’s standard suite of apps often contains built-in ad units. To completely clean the Redmi Note 8 Pro, you need to go through each of them individually. It takes a few minutes, but the result is worth it.
In the Security app, go to the settings (cog in the corner) and find “Get recommendations.” Disable it. Then in the Cleanup section, also check for similar switches and remove the ticks. Similar actions are required for the Explorer app: open the menu, select “Settings” → “About” and turn off “Receive recommendations.”
Hidden settings in Task Manager
In some versions of MIUI, ads may appear in the menu of running apps. To fix this, go to Settings → Desktop → Recent Tasks and turn off the display of news cards or recommendations.> The Download app can also show banners. Open it, click three dots in the corner, select Settings, and remove the tick from Show Recommended Content. In the app, Music and Video settings are in the user profile or in the general menu of the app settings. App Path to setup What to disable Security Settings (cogs) Get recommendations Conductor Settings → About App Get recommendations Download Settings Show recommended content Topics Profile → Settings Show Advertising / Auto Update Music Settings → After these steps, the interface of standard utilities will become much cleaner and more functional.Mi Browser Cleanup and Blockers The built-in browser from Xiaomi is known for its aggressive policy of displaying news and advertising. If you use it, if you don't set it up properly, it's going to become a feed of entertainment content, but you can tame it. Open Mi Browser, go to settings (three bars). → Settings. Find the Privacy and Security section. You need to disable Personalized Recommendations and Site Notifications here. Also, select Classic in the Home Page section to remove the newsfeed. ⚠️ Note: Even after disabling all settings, the built-in browser can continue to download lightweight advertising content. For complete comfort on the Redmi Note 8 Pro, it is better to install a third-party browser, such as Chrome, Firefox or Brave. If you prefer to stay in the Mi ecosystem, use the Ad Blocker feature in your browser settings. Activate it and update filter lists. This will help hide banners on the sites you visit, although it does not guarantee 100% results. For advanced users, there is a possibility of using DNS-It's a system solution that blocks ads in all apps at once, including browsers. Use of private DNS One of the most effective and elegant ways to remove ads on Android is to set up a private DNS. This method doesn't require any additional applications to be installed, and it works at the network level, cutting off requests to known ad servers. You'll need a server address that filters traffic. One of the most popular and reliable is AdGuard. DNS. Its address is dns.adguard.com. Using this address redirects requests to advertising domains to nowhere. To set up on Redmi Note 8 Pro: Open Smartphone Settings. Go to Connection and Sharing (or “Other Settings” depending on version) MIUI). Find a private item DNS (Private DNS). Select the mode "Host Name of the provider Private" DNS». Manually enter: dns.adguard.com. Save the changes. 💡If you have included a private DNS Internet stopped working in some applications, try switching to the mobile network and back, or temporarily disconnect DNS After enabling this feature, you will notice that the amount of advertising in free apps and games has decreased significantly, and this can also speed up page loading a little, since the browser will not need to download heavy advertising scripts. 🚀 This method works for all applications that use a standard network connection. 🛡️ Increased privacy as trackers can’t send data about you. 📉 Mobile traffic consumption decreases. Additional measures and notification blocking Sometimes ads come in the form of push notifications from specific applications that you installed yourself. This is not Xiaomi system advertising, but requests from software developers. You need to manage them through the notification center. Hold your finger on the advertising notification that comes in. In the menu that appears, select "Notification Settings" or "Disable Notifications from..." This will allow you to pinpoint the spam from a specific source without affecting important messages. Also pay attention to the function "Advanced settings» → «Language and input. In some cases, promotional offers may be linked to a keyboard or voice input if cloud prediction services are enabled. Disabling Input Improvements can help. ⚠️ Warning: Do not install questionable “antivirus” or “cleaners” from the Play Market in the hope of removing ads. Often they are the source of advertising debris and only slow down the Redmi Note 8 Pro. Regularly check the list of installed applications. If you see programs that you don't remember, or those that have suspicious names without an icon, delete them immediately. 💡Integrated approach including shutdown MSA, setup DNS And controlling app permissions, ensuring you're completely free of ads on your device (FAQ) Is it safe to shut down the process? MSA? Will the phone break? Yes, it's perfectly safe. MSA It's the only one that's responsible for displaying ads, and it doesn't affect calls, messages, cameras, or basic functions of the system, and the phone will be more stable, and why does it still appear after the shutdown? Advertisements may be stored in the app cache or coming from third-party programs you have installed. Try clearing the cache of a problem app or check if you have recently installed suspicious software. Also make sure you reboot the device after setting up. DNS. Can you completely remove Xiaomi system applications? without obtaining Root rights or using the complicated procedure of unlocking the bootloader and ADB-You can't delete commands, but you can disable them or restrict them, which is what we did in this manual. Does blocking ads affect the speed of the Redmi Note 8 Pro? Yes, positively. Disabling advertising modules frees RAM and processor from background tasks for loading banners. Redmi Note 8 Pro will work a little faster and consume less battery. MIUI? Major system updates (e.g. transition from the MIUI 12 by 13) settings may reset.It is recommended to check the access to personal data and advertising services after each major firmware update.