Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often encounter intrusive content that appears immediately after unlocking the device or swiping to the left. These are not just random bugs, but a built-in feature of the MIUI shell or the new HyperOS, designed to keep the user’s attention.
Fortunately, Android allows you to manage these processes flexibly, so you don't have to be a programmer or root-rights to get rid of the redundant, but you just need to go through a few menu items in a sequence to get a clean and minimalist interface back, and in this tutorial, we'll look at all the possible places where news content might be hiding.
The process of shutting down may vary slightly depending on the operating system version and regional settings. We will look at the current algorithms of actions that work on most modern models. If you want to get rid of visual noise, follow the steps below carefully.
Remove the Glance tape on the lock screen
The most visible news source is the lock screen, which often displays article titles, weather and banner ads on top of your widgets, a feature called Glance (or "Widget Ribbon" in older versions) and works independently of the main desktop.
To deactivate it, go to Settings and find the Lock Screen section. In some firmware, this item may be called Wallpaper and Personalization, and then Lock Screen, and that's where the switch for streaming content hides.
- 📱 Open your smartphone settings and select “lock screen».
- 🔍 Find the option “Ribbon Widgets” or “Glance” and click on it.
- ❌ Transfer the switch to the position "Off».
- ✅ Confirm the action if the system requests a reconfirmation.
Once this feature is turned off, the lock screen will become static, with only the time, date and notifications that you allow in the corresponding menu, which will also help save battery power, as background news downloads will stop.
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If after turning off Glance wallpaper still changes itself, check the separate setting "Wallpaper Carousel" in the same menu and turn it off.
Disabling the news feed in the desktop
The second place where information noise is most common is the leftmost page of the desktop (screen «-1»). When you swipe to the right of the first desktop, you open a news aggregator, often called Yandex or simply Lenta, and you can remove it through the launcher settings.
Make a long tap (push) over the free space on the desktop to call the edit menu. In the lower right corner or at the top of the screen, the Settings button (cogs) will appear. Click on it to get into the settings of the System Launcher shell.
In the list that opens, look for the Tape or Google Discover item, and you'll be asked to choose a source of content. To clear the space completely, select No or Disable. If you use Yandex services but don't want to see the tape, also select No.
| Setting up | Where to find out. | Recommended value |
|---|---|---|
| Widget tape | Lock screen | Off |
| Tape (Left) | Launcher settings | No. |
| Recommendations | Application folders | Off |
| Advertising in MIUI | Special opportunities | Off |
The changes are instantaneous, and now when you swipe to the right, you'll either see a blank screen or a search bar, depending on the option you choose, which makes navigating apps much faster and more enjoyable.
☑️ Checking the cleanliness of the desktop
Configuring folders and application recommendations
Even if you remove the main feeds, the system can continue to offer content inside the application folders. When you open the folder with games or utilities, a "Recommended" block often appears at the bottom, suggesting that you download new programs.
Go to Desktop Settings (through the long tap). Find the Recommendations section. There are usually two sliders here: one is responsible for recommendations in the feed, one is responsible for recommendations in the folders. We need the second.
⚠️ Note: In some versions MIUI This switch can be called Get Recommendations, and it's at the bottom of the launcher's settings list. If you don't see a separate folder, look for a shared recommendation switch.
By disabling this feature, you will stop seeing intrusive offers to download Cashback or a new game while searching for the right icon.
Why are recommendations coming back?
Disabling Personalized Advertising (MSA)
While it’s not exactly a news feed, MSA’s (MIUI System Ads) advertising service is often a source of pop-ups and banners that users confuse with news, and disabling this system component is an important step toward clean interfaces.
Go to Settings → Passwords and Security → Access to Personal Data. In the list, find the msa process. Click on it and turn off the switch. The system will wait 10 seconds for your confirmation, after which the Cancel button will become active - press it to permanently deny access.
Also worth checking is the settings of the Security app. Open it, click on the settings gear, and find Receive recommendations. Disable it to get rid of the news blocks inside the system utilities.
- 🔒 Go to password settings and data access.
- 📉 Find the msa service on the list.
- 🚫 Disable access and confirm the action in 10 seconds.
- 🧹 Additionally, disable advertising in the “Security” app».
After that, the amount of junk in the system will shrink significantly, especially for global firmware versions, where monetization is done by displaying ads.
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Disabling MSA is a key step, as this process is responsible for delivering most advertising and news integrations to the system.
Management of widgets and aggregators
Sometimes users install widgets of news aggregators (Yandex, Google News, Smart News) without even mentioning them. Check your desktop for large widgets that automatically update the feed.
To remove, just press the widget with your finger and drag it to the top of the screen in the Delete or Click on the cross area.If the widget is built into the system and is not deleted, chances are it's the part of the tape we talked about in the previous sections.
Also check the settings of the Weather widget, which is often the one that loads news headlines with temperature, go to the weather widget settings and turn off the news display, leaving only weather data.
⚠️ Warning: Do not remove system applications marked with a gear icon or without an delete icon unless you are sure of their purpose.
Cleaning the desktop of heavy widgets will not only erase news, it will also speed up the smartphone, and less background processing will increase productivity.