How to turn off recommendations on Xiaomi: the complete guide

Modern Xiaomi smartphones are famous for their value for money, but one of the frequent complaints of users is the intrusive advertising and recommendations that the MIUI or HyperOS system offers at every turn. These notifications appear in application folders, on the desktop, in the notification curtain and even inside the system utilities. For many owners, this becomes an annoying factor that distracts from the main work with the device.

Fortunately, the developers have left it to users to customize their own personalization level and remove most of the advertising content. The process of disconnecting does not require superuser rights or flashing the device. It is enough to go through several settings menus consistently to significantly clean the interface of unnecessary information noise. In this guide, we will examine all the available methods.

Managing personalization in folders and on the desktop

The first place that users notice "recommended apps" is when they open folders on the desktop, and the system analyzes your habits and suggests you download games or utilities that the algorithms think you might like, and to remove that block, you need to change the folder display settings, open any folder with apps on the desktop and click on its name to reveal the settings.

In the menu that appears, you will see the Recommended Apps (or Promoted Apps) switch. MIUI often hides this option in submenu, so be careful. Once you turn off this slider, the ad block will disappear instantly. It is important to note that settings can reset after a major system update, so it makes sense to check this item again after the update.

You also have to look at desktop widgets, some of which, like Music or Video, can stream banner ads in their interface, and removing those widgets or replacing them with standard ones helps make the screen cleaner.

• 📱 Click on the folder name to open the settings menu.
• 🚫 Find the Recommended Apps switch and turn it off.
• 🔄 Check the widget settings for the presence of advertising blocks.
• 🧹 Remove unused widgets from the main screen.

⚠️ Note: After the operating system update, folder display settings may return to factory values. MIUI.

Disabling the MSA service, the main source of advertising

The most effective way to combat intrusive offers is to disable the MSA (MIUI System Ads) service, which is responsible for collecting user data and displaying advertising content in the interface. Without disabling this service, other measures may not be effective enough. The deactivation process requires care, as the system will try to keep the service active.

To start, go to the settings menu, then select Password and Security. In the list, look for Access & Revocation. This list shows all the apps that have access to the Internet. Find the msa list and turn off the switch next to it. The system will alert you to the consequences and start a countdown timer for 10 seconds.

Settings → Password and security → Data access → msa (off)

When the timer is up, press the "Cancel" button, often not possible to turn off the service the first time because of server or timeout errors, and experts recommend repeating the procedure 3-4 times in a row until the switch turns gray and stops turning back on, a critical step for a complete cleanup of the system.

• 🔒 Go to the "Password and Security" section in the settings.
• 📜 Select the option “Access to data” (Authorization & revocation).
• ⏳ Find the msa service and uncheck the tick while waiting for the timer to end.
• 🔄 Repeat the action several times if the system is making an error.

⚠️ Note: If the msa service is disabled, or if the system notifications are no longer working, simply turn the service back on. In some regions, disabling this component may disrupt the standard functions.

Adjustment of widget tape (App Vault) and wallpaper carousel

A swipe to the right of the first desktop screen opens a widget tape known as App Vault. By default, it displays news, app recommendations, and other information husks. To turn that off, pinch the empty space on your desktop and select Settings, then go to More or Widget Tape.

You can turn off the tape completely or customize the contents by removing news sources, and the Wallpaper Carousel is a feature that changes the wallpaper on the locked screen and often shows advertising images with sponsor logos, and it turns off under Always On and Lock.

Inside the carousel settings, uncheck the "Get content" and "Recommendations" boxes, which will stop ads from loading and free up traffic, and a clean, banner-free lock screen looks much more aesthetic and loads faster.

• 🖼️ Press the empty area on the desktop to enter the settings.
• 📰 Turn off or adjust the widget tape (App Vault).
• 🔒 Go to the lock screen settings and find “Wallpaper Carousel».
• 🛑 Remove the marks from the points of content and recommendations.

Personalization of advertising in system applications

Even after the core services are disabled, individual Xiaomi apps can continue to display personalized ads using your data. To prevent this, you need to find a global ad setting, which is usually hidden under Password & Security -> Privacy -> Advertising Services (or Special Features -> Advertising Services in older versions).

In this menu, you need to activate the "Limit Ad Tracking" switch, which will not remove the ads completely, but will make them less relevant and stop collecting data about your interests for targeting, and it is also useful to go through the settings of specific applications: "Security", "Downloads", "Conductor" and "Music".

In each of these apps, in the top right corner, there's a three-point menu where Settings is located. Inside, look for the "Get Recommendations" option and turn it off, for example, in Explorer, this will remove a block of popular videos, and in Downloads, it will remove ads for apps.

Cleaning the Mi Browser browser and apps Topics

The built-in Mi Browser browser and the Theme Store are some of the most aggressive sources of advertising. The browser defaults to the news feed on the home page. To remove it, click on the profile icon or menu, go to the settings and find the News Feed or Home Page option by selecting Classic mode or simply turning off the news display.

In the Themes app, ads are ubiquitous, so go to profile (a person icon), click on settings (cogs), and turn off Personal Guidelines and Show Ads, which will significantly reduce the number of pop-ups when looking for new designs.

Also worth checking is the notification settings for these apps. Often they ask for permission to (push) discount and new product notifications. In the Apps menu, find your browser and theme store, select Notifications, and ban all categories except critical ones (though there are almost none for these programs).

• 🌐 In Mi Browser, go to settings and turn off the news feed.
• 🎨 In the “Themes” application, remove personalization through the profile.
• 🔔 In the application settings completely ban push notifications.
• 🧹 Clear the browser cache periodically to reset advertising identifiers.

⚠️ Note: Disabling system components and services may affect some features that depend on Xiaomi’s Internet services. If you are actively using the Mi Home ecosystem or cloud, check if they are working after making changes.

💡

Use alternative apps. Xiaomi’s built-in browsers and conductors are often overloaded with ads. Installing third-party counterparts (Chrome, Firefox, Solid Explorer) will completely solve the problem of advertising in these categories of applications.

Additional measures and resetting of advertising identifier

To secure the result, it is recommended to reset the device’s advertising ID. This action will break the link between your device and the accumulated profile of advertisers. You can find this option by: Settings → Password and Security → Privacy → Advertising Services → Reset Advertising ID.

Also, check the permissions for Getting Recommendations (if it’s in the app list) and some firmware versions have a separate service that can be simply removed or forcibly disabled. Go to All Apps, find the appropriate item, and select Remove Updates.

If you use Google Assistant or Google Discover, their personalization settings are set separately in your Google account, and disabling your personal history on your Google account will also help reduce the amount of targeted ads across your Android system, not just your MIUI shell.

Settings → Google → Advertising → Delete the advertising ID

A comprehensive approach, including disabling MSA, configuring system applications and resetting IDs, allows you to turn Xiaomi smartphone into a clean tool without unnecessary visual noise. Regularly checking settings after updates will help to save the result for a long time.

💡

Turning off ads completely requires a holistic approach: you can’t just limit yourself to one setting, you need to go through all system applications and services.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)