Owners of Redmi, POCO and Xiaomi smartphones often encounter intrusive content that appears immediately after the screen is turned on. Instead of a clean image or simple time, the device offers to scroll through the news feed, promotional articles and widgets from Glance (formerly known as Lockscreen), which is not just visual noise, but also a way of the system to collect data about your interests, as well as spend traffic in the background.
Fortunately, this feature is not a system limitation that can’t be eliminated. Engineers have made it possible to completely turn off the tape, returning the user to control the appearance of their gadget. Turning off the news feed is the first step to personalization, which allows you to make the interface cleaner and faster.
In this guide, we will go into detail all the known ways to eliminate ad blocks. We will look at standard system settings, hidden settings for advanced users and methods to combat system applications-aggregators. You can configure Miui Home so that it works exclusively for you, not for advertisers.
Why Advertising and News appear on a Locked Screen
The newsfeed is pre-installed with content aggregation services, and the global versions of MIUI and HyperOS are most commonly seen as Glance, which is positioned as a platform for personalized recommendations, but in practice it turns the lock screen into an advertising platform that displays articles, videos and store offers.
In addition, some of the content is managed by a system application, which can be called differently depending on the region: in the Chinese version it is the Content Center, in the European version it is Mi Video or GetApps can implement their own widgets, and advertising algorithms analyze your actions to select relevant content, which puts additional strain on the processor and battery.
Many users are unaware that activation of this feature often occurs implicitly during the initial setup of the smartphone. When you quickly scroll through the installation steps, you can accidentally agree to the terms of use of "personalized recommendations." That is why it is important to carefully check the check boxes when you first start the device.
⚠️ Warning: Complete removal of system components responsible for tape may require the use of ADB-Be careful to remove only those packets that are specifically related to the news service, so as not to disrupt the security system.
Understanding the source of the problem is key, and if you see swipe-to-right news cards on a locked screen, you have Glance activated, and if you see news as a widget on your desktop or a notification curtain, you might be looking at Google Discover or the built-in Mi Browser.
Disable Glance tape through standard settings
The easiest and safest way to remove unnecessary items is to use the built-in settings menu, which does not require root rights or a computer connection and is suitable for most current models, including the Redmi Note and Xiaomi Mi series.
First, you need to go to the main settings menu, find the partition that controls the appearance of the lock screen. In newer versions of HyperOS, this item is often hidden inside the Always on Screen and Lock screen menu. This is where the switches that control the widget display are located.
Find a box called "Widget Ribbon," "Cards," or "Glance for Redmi." Inside this menu, there's a switch that activates the card display. Deactivating this slider instantly removes the news feed. The system can suggest that you leave only notifications or a weather widget on -- say yes, if you only need them, or shut it down completely.
☑️ Checking screen settings
After making changes, it is recommended to completely turn off and turn on the smartphone again, this is necessary in order to update the system interface cache and apply the new settings correctly6. If the tape is lost after restarting, then the procedure was successful.
In some cases, the standard switch may be inactive (locked in gray), meaning that the function is intercepted by the system aggregator application, in which case you need to move to a deeper setup through application management.
Managing system aggregator applications
If you just switched the settings didn't work, you'd have a separate system app that's responsible for the news feed, and depending on the firmware region, it could be called Glance, Content Center, Mi Video, or just News, and to get rid of the ads, you'd have to find that app on the installed list and restrict its rights.
Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps. In the upper right corner, click on the three-dot icon and select "Show System Processes." Now hidden services will appear in the list. Find an app related to news (often has a newspaper or color dot logo).
Enter the application information. Here you need to do a few steps to completely neutralize:
- 🚫 Click "Disable Notifications" so that the app can not send push messages.
- 📉 Select "Other Permits" and disable access to location, microphone, and storage.
- 🔌 Press Auto Start and make sure the slider is off.
- 🗑️ If the Remove button is active (available for some versions), please uninstall the application.
Special attention should be paid to the Content Center app (often found in Chinese and Indian builds), which is responsible for the content on the lock screen and in the My Apps widget, and disabling this component completely clears the system of recommended content.
What to do if the application is not removed?
Once you limit the rights of all suspicious news-related system applications, be sure to restart the device, which will cause the MIUI shell to recalculate active processes and stop downloading content in the background.
Customization of widgets and Google Discover
Often users confuse the lock tape with widgets on the desktop or the Google Discover screen, which opens with a swipe to the left. If after cleaning the lock screen, the news remains, check the launcher settings. In the shells of Xiaomi and POCO, a separate settings section is responsible for this.
Press the empty space on your desktop and click Settings (or gear). Find More or More. There'll be an option called Widget Ribbon or Google Discover. Switch it to No or Built-in Ribbon if you want to leave only the widgets on your system but remove the news from Google.
Also, check the settings of the Google app itself, open the app, click on the profile avatar and select "Settings." In the "General" section, find "Discover" and turn it off, which will stop the creation of personalized news in the search bar.
For full effect, it is recommended to clear the launcher cache. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps → MIUI Home (or POCO Launcher). Select "Clean" → "Clean the cache." This will not delete your wallpaper or icons, but will reset temporary files that can store data about old widgets.
⚠️ Note: Disabling Google Discover may affect the Google Assistant voice assistant, as they use a shared database. If you actively use voice search, it’s best to simply hide the tape in the launcher settings without touching the Google app itself.
Remember that system updates can return these settings to factory values. After a major Android or MIUI update, it’s worth checking these points to make sure that the ad does not reappear.
Comparison of methods of cleaning the lock screen
There are several approaches to solving a problem, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, and the choice of method depends on your technical background and the desired degree of cleanliness of the system.
| Method | Difficulty | Efficiency | Risks. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard shutdown in settings | Low. | Medium (remains traces) | Minimum |
| Disabling system applications | Medium | Tall. | Possible malfunctions in the widgets |
| Using ADB teams | Tall. | Maximum | High (the system can be broken) |
| Installation of a third-party launcher | Low. | Tall. | Loss of MIUI functions |
For most users, the best option is to combine the first two methods: disabling the function in the settings and disabling the activity for the aggregator application, which gives 99% of the result without the need to connect the smartphone to the PC.
Using ADB (Android Debug Bridge) allows you to remove system packages completely, but requires a computer and basic command line knowledge, a method suitable for advanced users who want to clean the system to the screw.
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If you decide to use ADB, be sure to make a full backup of your data before you start working.Removing critical system components can cause the device to reboot cyclically.
Installing a third-party launcher like Nova Launcher or Microsoft Launcher completely replaces Xiaomi’s interface, a radical but effective way to get rid of not only the news feed, but all the visual style of MIUI, replacing it with pure Android.
Additional measures to clean up the system
After disabling the news feed, it is recommended to conduct a review of permissions for browsers and app stores. Often Mi Browser or GetApps become the source of push notifications that look like news. Go to the settings of each browser and disable notifications in the Settings section" →"Notifications".
Also worth checking is the "Security" section → "Cleaning." The cleaning settings (cogs) often hide "Receive recommendations" or "Show ads." Disabling these options will make the built-in antivillage work less intrusive.
Remember that some "news" may come through weather or sports widgets: Press and hold the widget on your desktop, select "Widget Settings" and tick off "Show News" or "Recommendations."
Regularly checking the list of installed applications will help to identify new "parasites." If you notice an application with a strange name or without an icon, try to find its description on the Internet. Often advertising modules are disguised as system processes with names like msa (MIUI System Ads) or dms.
The comprehensive approach ensures that your smartphone will work quickly and not distract by unnecessary visual noise.A clean interface is not only more pleasant to the eye, but also saves battery life, since the system does not need to constantly download and update content in the background.