Smartphones Xiaomi Mi 8, despite its age, remain popular due to balanced performance and quality. AMOLED-However, it is the brightness and saturation of the display that often leads users to spend significantly more time behind the device than originally planned. Controlling digital well-being is becoming a key challenge to keeping your eyes productive and healthy in today’s rhythm of life.
Android, and MIUI, have powerful tools for monitoring activity, not only to know how many hours you’ve spent on social media, but also to analyze the frequency of unlocks in detail, and understanding this data is the first step towards conscious use of the gadget.
In this guide, we’ll take a look at all the available ways to get statistics on the Xiaomi Mi 8. You’ll learn where to look for hidden reports, how to interpret charts, and what settings will help limit smartphone addiction without losing important notifications.
Digital Wellbeing at MIUI
Starting with certain versions of the MIUI shell (usually versions 10 and later, based on Android 9 Pie and higher), the native Digital Wellbeing service is built into the system. On the Xiaomi Mi 8, which was officially updated to Android 10, this functionality is often available out of the box or installed as a system application.
To find this section, go to Settings → Digital Well-Being and Parental Controls, and you can see a pie chart showing the time distribution between the apps, and update the statistics in real time to track your current session of use.
If there is no standard clause in the settings, it may mean that your version of MIUI firmware does not include this component by default, in which case the system may suggest installing the Digital Wellbeing app from the Google Play Store, which is a standard situation for global firmware versions.
Importantly, data collection may have a slight impact on device autonomy, as the system needs to constantly lock active windows. However, on the Snapdragon 845 processor installed in the Mi 8, this load is almost invisible to the user.
Use of built-in battery statistics
If for some reason the digital well-being module is unavailable or malfunctioning, the most reliable source of information is the standard power section. The logic is simple: the longer an application uses the screen, the more power it consumes, and this method provides an indirect but highly accurate estimate of screen time.
To get the data, go to Settings → Battery and Performance (or simply Battery). At the top of the screen, you'll see a discharge graph. If you flip through below, you'll find a list of applications sorted by energy consumption.
⚠️ Note: Battery statistics show energy consumption, not net usage time. background processes (e.g. file downloads or navigation) GPS) They can be charged even if the screen is off.
Click on the specific app in the list to see the details. The system will show how long the application has been active (with the screen on) and in the background. For the Xiaomi Mi 8 with its capacious battery, this method is especially relevant for detecting “gluttonous” programs.
- 🔋 Active mode – the time when the application was opened on the screen and interacted with the user.
- 📡 Background mode – application operation in a folded state (music, navigation, instant messengers).
- ⏱ Screen time – the total time the display spent on.
Using this data, you can calculate the approximate screen time for each app, and if Instagram consumes 15 percent of its charge per day and the total screen time was 6 hours, it's easy to estimate the app's share of your digital life.
Third-party applications for accurate tracking
When built-in MIUI tools aren’t enough, Google Play’s dedicated tools come to the rescue, often providing more flexible reporting settings and the ability to sync data across devices. Xiaomi Mi 8 is great for apps like QualityTime, ActionDash or StayFree.
Once you install an app, you'll need to give it special permissions, and Android will request access to Usage Access, and without that permission, it won't be able to see which apps you're running or how much time you're spending on them.
☑️ Setting up a time tracker
The main advantage of third-party solutions is that you can set strict limits, you can set up a lock on apps after a certain time of use, for example, limit social networks to 30 minutes a day, after the limit expires, the application will be blocked until the next day.
But privacy is a good thing to remember: Third-party apps have full access to your history of action, and only select trusted developers with a good reputation to prevent personal data from leaking.
| Annex | Type of license | Key function | Impact on the battery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Wellbeing | Systemic | Basic statistics | Minimum |
| QualityTime | Freemium | Detailed reports | Average. |
| ActionDash | Freemium | Focus mode. | Low. |
| StayFree | Free of charge. | Blocking sites | Average. |
Set up parental controls and restrictions
The parental controls feature in the Xiaomi and Android ecosystem allows not only to restrict children, but also to control their own habits. On the Xiaomi Mi 8, these settings are integrated into the overall security menu or brought into a separate subsection of digital well-being.
You can create a restricted user profile or set timers for specific applications, such as setting up automatic game locks after 22:00, which helps to adjust sleep patterns and reduce the effect of blue light on the body before rest.
The hidden capabilities of the “Do Not Disturb” regime
To activate restrictions, go to Settings → Digital well-being → Parental control. You'll need to create a parental control. PIN-code that will protect your settings from change, which is especially important if you want to prevent yourself from accidentally undoing your own limitations in a moment of weakness.
Also available is a function called "Sleep Mode" or "Rest Time", during which the screen can turn black and white (Grayscale mode), which makes using a smartphone less attractive to the brain and helps you fall asleep faster.
Analysis of the frequency of unlocks and notifications
Screen time is not just about the length of sessions, but also the frequency of sessions. The Xiaomi Mi 8, with its fast under-screen fingerprint scanner (or in the button, depending on the modification), promotes very frequent but short unlocks. Statistics show that users can pick up a phone up to 100 times a day.
In the usage statistics section (Digital Wellbeing or third-party apps), you can find the Unlock chart, which shows what time of day you are most distracted, and activity peaks often during work hours or late evenings.
- 🔔 Notifications received – the number of pop-up messages that could have triggered the unblocking.
- 🖐 Number of unlocks – how many times the screen was turned on during the selected period.
- ⏳ Average duration – how long did one session last.
⚠️ Attention: High unlock rates with low total screen time indicate fragmented attention, often more harmful to productivity than one long session of use.
Reducing notifications is an effective way to reduce screen time: disable notifications from less important apps in Settings → Notifications and Status bar. Leave only calls and messages from loved ones.
Optimizing screen performance for health
After analyzing the statistics, it is important to take care of physical comfort. Xiaomi Mi 8 is equipped with a special feature. AMOLED-The matrix, which, in contrast to IPS, It doesn't use pulse-width modulation (PWM) at low brightnesses to the same extent, but still requires attention.
It's recommended to turn on Reading Mode, which adds a warm yellow filter to reduce the strain on the retina, you can set it up in Settings → Screen → Reading Mode, and there's a Scheduled option available that activates the filter automatically after sunset.
💡
Use the Auto Brightness function with caution. On AMOLED screens, sharp jumps in brightness can be noticeable. It is better to adjust the comfortable level manually and change it less often.
It’s also worth paying attention to the refresh rate of the screen, although the Mi 8 has a standard 60Hz. If it were a 90 or 120Hz model, reducing the frequency would help save battery life, but in this case brightness and color reproduction are more important.
Take regular breaks. The 20-20-20 rule says, every 20 minutes, look 20 feet (6 meters) away for 20 seconds, which helps relieve the spasm of eye muscle accommodation.