How to turn off app recommendations on Xiaomi: the full guide

Modern Xiaomi smartphones, which are powered by MIUI shells or the new HyperOS, often offer users personalized content that many perceive as intrusive advertising. Device owners face pop-ups, folder apps and locked-screen recommendations, not a bug, but part of the company’s marketing strategy to keep the cost of devices low by displaying advertising content.

But the user experience is greatly improved by configuring the system and disabling unnecessary services. The deactivation process requires attention to detail, as settings are scattered across different menus, and in this article, we will detail how to remove annoying sentences and make the interface clean.

This does not require superuser rights or complex software, but is done using the operating system's regular tools, and it is important to understand that some of the system components that are responsible for advertising are hidden from the average user and require a special approach to disable them.

Management of MSA Service and System Advertising

At the heart of Xiaomi’s advertising ecosystem is the MSA (MIUI System Ads) service, which collects data about your actions and generates personalized offers, and the first step to cleaning up your smartphone should be to turn off this service through authorization settings.

First, you go to the settings menu and find the password and security section, and there's a key switch that controls data collection, and then you go to Privacy and then Authorize and Restore, and in the app list that opens, you find msa and uncheck it.

⚠️ Warning: The system may ask for a shutdown confirmation several times, claiming that it will affect the operation of certain functions.

Once the MSA is disabled, it is also recommended to disable Internet access for this service through traffic settings.This will create an additional barrier to prevent data transmission even in the event of a failure of authorization settings. Find in the msa application list and turn off data transfer for both Wi-Fi and mobile networks.

Customize personalization and recommendations in folders

One of the most noticeable forms of intrusion is the application recommendations that appear inside the folders on your desktop, and when you open a folder with games or utilities, the system often suggests you download something new based on your profile, and you can remove this element through personalization settings.

Go to Settings and select Password and Security, then go to Privacy and find Advertising Service, where you need to turn off the Receive References option, which will stop most of the targeted offers in the system interfaces.

You also need to check the settings of the folder itself. Press and hold your finger on the empty desktop, select Settings (or the gear icon), and this menu often has a "Receive recommendations" switch, which should also be deactivated, which will return the folders to their original, clean appearance.

• 📱 Open the desktop settings with a long press.
• 📱 Find the "Recommendations" or "Carousel" section».
• 📱 Remove the box from the item "Receive recommendations».
• 📱 Check the Tools folder for advertising widgets.

💡

If the folders remain empty or disappear after disabling the recommendations, try clearing the Explorer or Security app cache through the memory settings.

Disabling recommendations in the Security app

Xiaomi’s Security app is another source of noise, and at the bottom of the screen of a virus scanner or memory cleaner, there are often banners with news or suggestions to install other applications, which can be turned off directly in the settings of the app itself.

Launch the Security app and click on the gear icon in the top right corner. In the menu that opens, look for General Settings. Here you are interested in Receive recommendations. Put the switch to an inactive state to remove ad units from the scanner interface.

Also on the menu, you should pay attention to the Clean Master feature, which, if it is active, can offer acceleration or cleaning in the background, accompanied by notifications, and disabling this feature will not only remove advertising, but can also positively affect the autonomy of the device, as background activity will decrease.

⚠️ Note: Do not completely disable the Security app, as this may disrupt the call notification system and SMS. Disable only recommendations and news functions.

Management of MIUI Notifications and Notifications

Even after the core services are disabled, some apps may continue to send advertising notifications, often system services such as Mi Video, Mi Music or GetApps. To fine-tune the rights of each application separately.

Go to Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Notification management. scroll through the list and find suspicious system applications. For example, GetApps (Xiaomi app store) often sends suggestions. Once inside, turn off all types of notifications, except critical ones, if any.

The MIUI folder in the app list deserves special attention if it is present in your firmware version. Analytics services may be hidden inside. Also check the settings of the Mi Browser browser if you use it. In its settings in the Privacy and Security section, be sure to turn off "Get news" and "Personal recommendations."

Setting up the lock screen and wallpaper carousel

The wallpaper carousel feature changes the image on a locked screen and often shows advertising or offers to unlock the phone for a reward. For many users, it is a useful feature, but for those who want silence, it is a source of irritation.

To disable the Carousel, go to Settings → Always on screen and Lock screen. Find the Wallpaper Carousel item and turn it off. If you have a theme installed that forcibly returns this feature, you may need to change the theme to a standard or third-party from the directory.

In some versions of HyperOS, settings can be hidden deeper, so try to find the Carousel Wallpaper app in the list of all programs, go to its settings and disable auto-start and network access, and this is guaranteed to stop downloading new content.

Specifics of working with the HyperOS shell

With the release of the new HyperOS shell, the menu structure has changed somewhat, although the principles have remained the same. The new system has increased the emphasis on the ecosystem, so recommendations can come not only from the phone, but also from related IoT devices.

In HyperOS, the path to disabling ads can look like Settings → Additional → Special Features → Advertising Services. Here you need to disable personalization. It is also worth checking out the Explorer app, which in new versions actively promotes cloud services and news.

If standard methods don’t work, you can use a more radical but effective way – disabling ads via DNS. This requires entering a special address into network settings, which blocks requests to ad servers at the connection level.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

💡

Complete removal of ads requires a comprehensive approach: disabling MSA, customizing personalization and managing notifications for each system application separately.