Owning a modern Xiaomi or Redmi smartphone often involves not only the enjoyment of functionality, but also background processes that users may not know about. One of these processes is automatically sending usage statistics, diagnostic data and behavioral analytics to the manufacturer's servers. Many device owners are wondering how to stop this flow of information to increase personal privacy and reduce battery load.
MIUI and the new HyperOS are set to actively collect data by default to improve service quality, but these settings are easy to change manually. Disabling telemetry does not affect the stability of the operating system, but allows you to fully control what information leaves your device. In this article, we will discuss all the stages of configuration in detail so that you can protect your data.
Before we make any major changes to the system, it’s a common practice for many tech companies to collect analytics, but it’s aggressively implemented in the Xiaomi ecosystem.Switching off all analytics services can cause some personalized features, such as smart recommendations in the browser or theme, to malfunction, but for most users, abandoning these features is a priority for privacy reasons.
Why Disable Data Collection and Analytics
The main reason users are trying to limit information transfer is because of digital hygiene, which means that the smartphone knows almost everything about you: what apps you open, where you are, what you print, and even how you hold the device in your hand, and that data is packaged into reports and sent to remote servers for processing by artificial intelligence algorithms.
In addition, the constant background activity of the services responsible for collecting statistics consumes processor resources and battery energy. MIUI is often accused of excessive background activity, and turning off unnecessary services helps to prolong battery life. You will notice that the device will become slightly more responsive, and the heating in the downtime will decrease.
Here are the main reasons why you should start setting up privacy right now:
- 🔒 Protection of personal data: preventing the leakage of the history of visits and geolocation to third parties.
- 🔋 Charge savings: reduction of background activity of system processes.
- 🚫 No Advertising: Many advertising mechanisms are based on collecting data about your preferences.
- ⚡ Traffic optimization: Reports can take up to several megabytes per month, which is important with limited mobile Internet.
⚠️ Note: Disabling system analytics is not a method of complete anonymization. the operator and installed applications (social networks, messengers) continue to see your IP-address and activity.
It's also important to note that some features, like Search Improvement or Responsive Brightness, may not work as efficiently without server feedback, but for the power user, it's an acceptable privacy fee, and you can decide whether to sacrifice convenience or privacy.
Customization of user experience and improvement program
The first step to privacy is to stop participating in what's called the "User Experience Improvement Program," which is a basic level of data collection that is activated immediately after the first smartphone is turned on, and it collects data on crash rates, interface usage, and system response times.
To turn this off, you need to go to the settings menu. The path may vary slightly depending on the shell version, but the logic remains the same. You need to find the password and security section where these options are usually hidden. In some firmware, this may be in the About Phone section.
Once you log in to the desired partition, you will see a switch that is active by default.Deactivating this item will stop sending crash and usage reports.The system may try to convince you to leave the feature on, claiming that this will help make MIUI better, but you can safely ignore these requests.
Algorithm for disabling the program of improvements:
- Open the settings of your device.
- Go to the Passwords and Security section.
- Select Privacy (or “User Experience Improvement Program”).
- Find the “Join the Program” switch and turn it off.
If you’re using the older version of MIUI 12 or 13, the path may look different: Settings → Advanced Settings → Privacy. With the newer versions of HyperOS, Xiaomi has started to group these settings more logically, but sometimes hides them deeper in the menu.
Advertising ID and personalization management
Advertising ID is a unique code assigned to your device for targeted advertising. Even if you have disabled general analytics collection, this ID continues to work, allowing ad networks to build a profile of your behavior, and resetting or deleting this ID is a critical step.
Xiaomi’s privacy settings include a special section for managing ads, where you can not only reset your current ID, but also completely disable its use for personalization, which means that the ads are not going anywhere (since they are sewn into the system), but they will become random and will not be based on your interests.
💡
Regularly resetting your advertising ID (once a month) knocks down the algorithms of ad networks, preventing them from giving you a snapshot of your preferences.
To access these settings, follow the following steps:
- 📱 Go to Settings. → Passwords and security → Confidentiality.
- 📍 Select Advertising Services (or “Advertising and Privacy»).
- ❌ Activate the toggle “Personalized Advertising” in the “Off” position».
- 🔄 Click the Reset Advertising Identifier button to generate new random code.
It's worth noting that once you reset your ID, some applications may require you to reauthorize or request permissions again, which is normal, because for advertising SDKs, your device looks like new. Don't be afraid if your app settings reset.
⚠️ Note: In some regions (e.g. EU or Russian Federation) menus may be called differently», «MSA» or “Personalization».
Disabling cloud analytics and Mi Account services
Xiaomi's ecosystem is tied to a Mi Account that syncs data between devices, but along with synchronizing contacts and photos, it often sends reports about cloud services, a separate telemetry channel that needs to be closed separately from system settings.
Inside the Mi Account settings, there's a section on cloud and security, and that's where the encryption keys and data setups are stored on Mi Cloud servers, and turning off reports here won't remove your data from the cloud, but it will stop sending metadata about how you use the storage.
The table below shows which services are most often involved in data transfers and where they can be found:
| Service/Service | Location on the menu | Risk of leakage | Impact on work |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mi Cloud Sync | Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud | High-pitched | Stop syncing photos/contacts |
| Find Device | Settings → Mi Account → Find Device | Medium. | It is impossible to track the phone when theft occurs. |
| System Apps Updater | Settings → About the phone → Update | Low. | There are no automatic system updates |
| Usage Data Access | Settings → Passwords → Privacy | Medium. | Reduced interface personalization |
The particular focus is on Find Device, which is that if you turn off data transmission for this service, you lose the ability to remotely lock your phone or erase data in the event of a theft, a trade-off between data security and physical security of the device.
What happens if you disable all Mi Account services?
Advertising Hiding in System Applications (MSA)
Although the issue is about reporting, MSA (MIUI System Ads) cannot be ignored, which is the process that drives ads in standard apps and often collects data about what ads you click on, and disabling MSA is a must-have for commercial data collection to be completely stopped.
The process of disabling ads in MIUI requires sequential passage across all built-in applications. You can’t just turn off one switch, since each application (Security, Downloads, Music) has its own ad settings.
Checklist for complete cleaning of advertising and trackers:
☑️ Completely cleansing out advertising
Start with the master switch: go to Settings → Passwords and Security → Access to personal data. Find the msa list and turn off the switch. You will have to wait 10 seconds and press “Cancel.” If the first time failed (the system can write “failed to withdraw”), try 3-5 times until confirmation appears.
Then, go through the system utilities. In the Security app, click on the gear and uncheck the "Receive recommendations" box. In the Downloads app, also in the settings, turn off "Show recommended." Similar actions are needed for the Themes, Music and Video applications.
Additional measures: DNS and special facilities
For those who want to go beyond standard settings, there are more advanced methods of blocking trackers at the network level. Using DNS with ad filtering allows you to cut off the connection to analytics servers even before the data leaves the phone. It is an effective method that works globally for all applications.
The most popular and reliable solution is the use of DNS-It's a service called AdGuard, which you can configure without installing any additional apps, right on Android, and that requires you to type a specific address into your network settings.
dns.adguard.comInstructions for setting up a private DNS:
- Open Settings → Connection and Sharing (or “Wi-Fi and Internet”).
- Find the Private DNS (Private DNS) option.
- Select the DNS Host Name (or Manual) mode.
- Enter the address: dns.adguard.com and save it.
💡
Using a private DNS blocks ads and trackers at the device-wide level, but can slow down some sites or applications if the filter server is unavailable.
It’s also worth checking the Special Features section. Often, after installing third-party apps (cleaners, antiviruses, launchers) they request access to the screen and user activities. Even if you disable system reports, a third-party app can collect all your activity. Go through the list in Settings → Additional Settings → Special Features and disable access for all suspicious programs.