Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphone owners often experience intrusive content that appears directly on the home screen. Instead of a clean interface, users see folders with names like "Recommended," "Popular," or "You may like," not viruses, but regular features of the MIUI and HyperOS shells designed to monetize the device.
But for most people, these elements are just a little space and distraction, and fortunately, the developers have left the option to completely clean the interface, you don't have to get root rights or scour the phone to get the system back to normal, you just need to configure a few hidden switches in the menu.
In this article, we will look at all possible sources of desktop debris, touching on the launcher settings, the MSA system application and Glance widgets, and follow the instructions consistently to ensure that the screen is perfectly clean.
Disabling the recommendations folder in the launcher
The most visible source of intrusive content is a special folder that automatically appears on the first screen, which downloads apps and news from the Internet, and to remove it, you need to log into the launcher settings, not the general system.
Press and hold your finger on an empty portion of your desktop until the edit menu appears. In the lower right corner, select the gear icon or settings. Here you are interested in the recommendation section. Different versions of your firmware may have different names for it.
Find the Receive References or Recommended Content switch, turn it to Turn it off, and then the ad folder should disappear instantly or after the launcher reboots, and if you just close the folder without turning off the feature, it may reappear after a while.
- 📱 Click the empty space on the screen to enter the menu.
- ⚙️ Go to the launcher's Settings.
- 🚫 Turn off the option "Receive recommendations".
- 🔄 Check the results by returning to the desktop.
⚠️ Warning: If you have a folder left after you turn it off, try removing it in the standard way (drag it to the cart) and then restarting the device.
It's worth noting that new versions of HyperOS have made content selection algorithms more aggressive, and if the standard shutdown didn't work, maybe an additional analytics service, which we'll talk about in the next sections, is activated, and don't ignore this step, because it blocks the mainstream ad data stream.
Configuring the MSA system application
The MIUI System Ads (MSA) process is often responsible for collecting data and displaying ads in the system, and it runs in the background and is responsible for personalizing offers, and it can't be simply removed, but you can limit its activity.
Go to the Settings menu of your smartphone, find the Password and Security or Advanced Settings section, and you're interested in accessing data or accessing special features, and you'll find the msa process and deny it access to the network.
A more effective method is to turn off the login menu. Go to Settings → Password & Security → Data Access. Go to msa and turn off the Wi-Fi and mobile data sliders. The system will alert you to a 10 second timer, which is protection against accidental shutdown. Wait until the countdown is over and confirm the action.
☑️ Checking the shutdown MSA
After this procedure, ads in system applications should disappear. However, if you are actively using Xiaomi services, some features may work less correctly, for example, personalized themes in the store may stop updating automatically.
Management of widgets and cards Glance
Glance (or Lock Screen Magazine) turns the lock screen into a news feed with pictures and banner ads, often confused with desktop recommendations, as it is also part of the ecosystem.
To turn off this feature, go to Settings → Always on screen and lock screen. Find wallpaper carousel or Glance. You need to turn off the service completely. Just changing the picture is not enough - you need to remove the tick from activation of the service.
Also check the widgets on your desktop. The News or Browser widget can broadcast advertising headlines. Click on the widget, select Delete, or find the Show News switch in its settings.
| Interface element | Where to turn off | Risk of impact on the system |
|---|---|---|
| Folder of recommendations | Launcher settings | No. |
| MSA Service | Access to data / Special Opportunities | Medium (targeted advertising will disappear) |
| Glance/Carousel | Lock screen | No. |
| Widget News | Settings of a specific widget | No. |
Cleaning up these elements will make the interface work much faster, with fewer active widgets meaning less RAM consumption, especially for low-end Redmi and Poco models with less RAM.
Disabling Advertising Personalization
Even after you turn off the main sources, the system can continue to collect data about your activities to generate an advertising profile, this is done through a personalization service, and turning off this feature will not completely remove the ads, but will make them less intrusive and relevant.
Go to Settings → Password & Security → Privacy → Special Opportunities. Go to Ad Services or Ad Personalization. There's a Personalized Ads switch.
It is also recommended to reset the advertising ID. In the same menu, there is a button "Reset the ad ID" which generates a new random ID, breaking the link with previously collected data about your preferences.
It's important to understand the difference between turning off desktop recommendations and turning off in-app ads: the first removes visual debris from the interface, the second restricts data collection, and both actions must be performed to maximize effect.
Hiding folders and organizing space
Once you've disabled the automatic recommendations, you may need to clean up the remaining folders, and MIUI allows you to rename folders, giving them an empty name, which visually clears the space.
To do this, click on the folder name, delete the text, and click "Done." The folder will remain, but it will look like a group of icons without a signature, which helps create a minimalist desktop design.
Use the screen grid for optimal placement. In the launcher settings, select the 5x6 or 6x6 grid size to accommodate more applications without using folders. The fewer elements on the screen, the better the rendering performance of the interface.
- ✂️ Remove unused weather and news widgets.
- 📐 Change the size of the grid in the launcher settings.
- 🏷️ Rename folders by removing the text of the titles.
- 🎨 Use static dark tone wallpaper to save energy.
⚠️ Note: When removing system widgets (calendar, weather) make sure they are not critical to your daily work, as it can be difficult to restore their widget functionality without installing third-party apps.
Use of third-party launchers
If Xiaomi’s standard settings seem too confusing and the ads continue to annoy, a radical solution is to install a third-party launcher: these are apps that completely replace the desktop and menu.
Popular options like Nova Launcher, Microsoft Launcher or Lawnchair offer a clean Android experience without built-in advertising. Once you install such a launcher and assign it to the main one, all MIUI recommendations will no longer appear physically.
Launcher installation:
1. Download APK- launcher file.
2. Install the app.
3. Press the home button.
4. Select "Always" for a new launcher.However, this method has its nuances: Third-party launchers may not support some MIUI gestures, such as swipes to call the app menu or double taps to turn on the screen (although this is often customized separately), and they may consume slightly more battery due to the system’s optimization features.