How to completely disable advertising on Xiaomi MIUI 12: an expert guide

Xiaomi smartphone owners are well aware of the situation when, after buying a new device or updating the firmware, the system begins to literally flood the user with advertising offers. It is annoying, distracting from important tasks and consumes traffic, but, fortunately, in the shell of MIUI 12, the company’s engineers have provided sufficiently flexible tools to combat this phenomenon. Most users do not even suspect that intrusive banners can be removed by regular means without resorting to installing third-party software or flashing the device.

The process of cleaning the system from marketing noise requires a consistent approach, as the settings are scattered across different menu sections. We will consider all available methods, from basic disabling of the MSA system recommendation to fine-tuning each built-in application. The correct configuration of these parameters will not only restore comfort of use, but can also positively affect the autonomy of the gadget.

It’s worth noting that some changes may require rebooting or re-signing in, so be patient. Below is a detailed guide to help you make the interface as clean and minimal as it should be.

Disabling System Advertising through MSA

The centerpiece of Xiaomi’s advertising ecosystem is MIUI System Ads (msa), which is responsible for collecting data on user behavior and displaying relevant ads, and it’s where you start cleaning up, as it’s the source of most pop-ups in the system. The shutdown process requires care, as the system will try to keep the service active even against the user’s will.

To start, open the settings menu and go to Passwords and Security, where you will need to find access to personal data or special features, where in the list of system processes you need to find msa. Once you find the switch, you need to move to an inactive position, but the system will issue a warning that some functions may stop working correctly.

⚠️ Attention: When trying to disconnect MSA the system will provide a countdown timer in 10 You'll have to press the "Disable" button exactly when the timer reaches zero, or you'll have to start over again. 2-3 once.

After successful disabling of the service, it is recommended to immediately go to the Application menu → Application management, find there MIUI Daemon and also limit its background activity, which will prevent you from collecting statistics about device usage in other ways, and if you do it right, the number of intrusive sentences in the interface should be reduced substantially.

Cleaning up Xiaomi’s built-in apps

Even after the system (ad service) is disabled, individual applications like Explorer, Music or Them can continue to display banners on their homepages, each with its own privacy settings that need to be configured separately to achieve maximum effect.

Start with the Security app, which is often the main source of pop-ups when cleaning up memory. Go to its settings (the gear icon at the top), select Receive recommendations and disable it. A similar procedure should be done in the Topic app: go to the user profile, click on settings and uncheck the “Show ads” and “Personal recommendations”.

• 📁 Explorer: Open the menu, click Settings, find About Service and turn off receiving recommendations.
• 🎵 Music: in the section "Settings» → «Additionally, remove the option “Show advertisements».
• 🎨 Topics: In the user profile, disable “Personal recommendations” and “Advertisements».
• 📂 Downloads: in the menu of the settings of the application, uncheck the box from the item "Get recommendations».

Also, be sure to check the settings of the Mi Browser app if you use it by default. In the Settings → Privacy and Security section, you need to disable all items related to personalization and news feed, which will free the start page from information noise.

Set up personalized recommendations

In the MIUI 12 shell, there is a separate setup layer responsible for personalizing content based on your interests. Even if you have disabled the MSA, the system can use other identifiers to match ads. Deep cleaning requires visiting a special menu hidden in the general settings.

Go to Settings → Passwords and Security → Privacy. At the bottom of the list, you will find the Recommendation Service (or Recommendations) item, where you need to switch to an inactive state, which will prevent the system from analyzing your actions to generate advertising offers.

Next, you should pay attention to the Advertising Services section (may be called the Advertising Identifier), where the Reset Advertising Identifier button is located, and clicking on it generates a new random ID, breaking the link with previously collected data about your preferences, and it is recommended to reset this identifier regularly every few months to maintain anonymity.

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Use Do Not Disturb or Work profile to completely isolate notifications from system services at important times, even if the ads are not completely disabled yet.

Managing Notifications and Notifications from MIUI

One of the most annoying forms of advertising is push notifications that appear in the notification curtain without your knowledge, often masquerading as system messages or news, but on closer inspection they turn out to be ordinary banner ads, blocking such notifications requires a personalized approach to each source.

First, check your notification settings for system applications. Go to Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Application Notifications. Go through the list of system services (e.g. GetApps, Mi Video, Mi Community) and turn off notification categories related to Promotions, Recommendations, or Marketing.

You should also look at the lock screen settings. Go to Settings → Lock screen and turn off the wallpaper carousel (or Glance) feature, which not only changes the wallpaper, but also actively broadcasts advertising content to the locked screen, consuming battery power.

Blocking Advertising in the Browser and DNS

If system advertising is disabled but banners continue to appear when surfing the internet or in some third-party applications, it is advisable to use network-level lock. MIUI 12 has a built-in ability to use a private DNS that can filter advertising traffic.

To do this, open Settings → Connection & Sharing → Private DNS. Select the “DNS Provider Host Name” option and enter the address of a trusted blocker, such as dns.adguard.com. Once you save this setting, most ad requests will be blocked even before they reach your device.

This method is the most effective way to block ads in third-party applications and browsers without installing additional software. It works globally for the entire device, but in rare cases it can slow down the load of some sites or disrupt the work of individual services, so after setting up it is worth checking the work-ability of frequently used resources.

Additional settings and hidden functions

Beyond the basic methods, there are less obvious settings that also help clean the interface. For example, many users are unaware that the Mi Pay or Mi Credit app (if installed in your area) can also generate notifications.

Another important aspect is automatic app updates through the GetApps store. Even if you rarely use this store, it can update in the background and return advertising modules. It is recommended to go to the GetApps settings, select “App Auto Update” and set the value “Never” or “Only via Wi-Fi”, and disable store notifications.

Do not forget to check the About Phone → MIUI section periodically. Clicking on the firmware version logo can open a hidden menu where additional debugging options sometimes appear, although in the latest versions of MIUI 12 this feature is more often just used to check for updates. However, if you see the Update Options button there, go to it and turn off the automatic download of updates so that the system does not pull up new advertising modules itself.

⚠️ Attention: Use of third-party DNS-The service may lead to the inability to open some sites if the provider blocks non-standard DNS-In that case, return the settings. DNS in the meaning of “Automobile».

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)