Many Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners are faced with a situation where a swipe to the right of the first icon opens an additional news feed: this is the so-called “Google Discover” or “Widget Ribbon”, which is built into the MIUI shell by default. For some users, this is a convenient tool for quick access to the weather and news, but for others, an extra load on RAM and battery, as well as just visual noise that interferes with navigation.
You can remove this screen, but the procedure may vary slightly depending on the firmware version and regional settings of your device. In some cases, a standard switch may not be on the menu, and you will have to resort to deeper system settings or using third-party launchers. In this article, we will discuss in detail all known ways to deactivate the left panel and return a clean desktop.
Before making changes, it’s worth noting that disabling this feature won’t affect the performance of the main applications.You’ll still be able to receive notifications, but the news feed widgets will stop updating in the background.This could be a useful step to extend the battery life of older Redmi models, which are sensitive to background synchronization processes.
Standard settings of the MIUI desktop
The easiest and safest way to remove the left panel is to use the built-in shell settings. In current versions of MIUI 12, 13 and 14, developers often hide this option in the desktop control menu. You do not need root rights or a computer connection.
First, you have to go to the interface editing menu, you have to pinch it with two fingers on any free spot on the main screen, or you just press the empty area with your finger for a few seconds. The screen will shrink and control buttons will appear at the bottom. Find and click the Settings button (the gear icon), which is usually located in the lower right corner.
In the menu that opens, look for "Widget Ribbon" or "Google Discover." If you have a global firmware version installed, there might be a "Show Widget Ribbon" switch. Turn it to "Off." Then try swiping to the right -- the extra page should disappear, and the lock screen will be the first.
⚠️ Note: In some Chinese versions of the firmware (CN ROM) This item may be called "App Vault" or "Content Services." If the switch is missing, it's possible that your shell version doesn't support standard shutdown.
Configure through the “Security” application
If you can’t find the right setting through your desktop settings, you should check the system application Security. In the Xiaomi ecosystem, this system module often manages the permissions and behavior of services, including news feeds.
Open the Safety app (green zipper icon). In the upper right corner, click on the gear icon to enter the settings. Scroll down to the "Additional Settings" or "Special Features" section, and there may be a switch responsible for "Recommendations" or "Personalized Recommendations" on the list.
It's also worth checking the Notifications section inside the security settings, and sometimes the tape on the left works as a separate application service, and disabling its notifications or accessing its location can stop it from being active, a less effective method, but it helps reduce resource consumption if complete removal is not possible.
☑️ Checking settings MIUI
Use of third-party launchers
When MIUI is not working or the interface is too shortened, the only reliable solution is to install an alternative launcher, which completely replaces the standard desktop, providing new features and customization capabilities.
Popular options are Nova Launcher, Microsoft Launcher or Lawnchair. Once you install such an app from Google Play and choose it as the default default, Xiaomi’s standard left panel is guaranteed to stop showing as it’s part of a native launcher.
However, it is worth considering that third-party launchers can consume more battery power than an optimized system interface. Also, some features, such as MIUI gestures or design themes, may not work correctly or be available.
| Launcher | Memory consumption | Flexibility of setting | Stability |
|---|---|---|---|
| MIUI Standard | Low. | Medium | Tall. |
| Nova Launcher | Average. | Very high. | Tall. |
| Microsoft Launcher | High. | Tall. | Medium |
| Lawnchair | Low. | Medium | Tall. |
How to install a launcher without Google Play?
Disabling Google Discover Services
Often, the launcher itself is not responsible for the left panel, but a specific Google app or service. Even if you remove the widget, the process can continue to hang in memory. To (fundamentally) solve the problem, you need to find and disable the culprit in the list of applications.
Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps. You can find an app called Google Play or Google Discover, depending on the Android version and region, the name varies. Go inside the app and find the “Disable” or “Stop” button.
If the "Disable" button is inactive (gray), try first clicking "Clear Data" and "Clear Cache" and this will reset the feed settings to factory ones. Then, when you first start, Google may again ask for permission to display news - refuse. In some cases, it helps to remove updates to the Google app through the menu in the upper right corner (three dots).
There is a caveat: a complete shutdown of Google services can disrupt maps, voice input and contact sync. So be careful. If Gmail or the navigator stops coming after the shutdown, the service will have to be turned on again, choosing a less radical method of removing the tape.
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Before you turn off Google system services, back up your contacts and important data. While the risk of data loss is minimal, it is never superfluous to be safe when it comes to system settings.
Solving problems with regional versions
Users who have bought a Xiaomi or Redmi smartphone in the Chinese market (CN version) or re-flashed globals often find the left panel behaving aggressively. Chinese firmware may have its own Mi Video or Glance tape installed instead of Google Discover, which is harder to remove.
In such cases, standard methods may not work. Often, you need to change the region in your phone settings. Go to Settings → Additional settings → Region and select any European country, such as Germany or the Netherlands. This will force the system to rebuild the set of pre-installed services and can automatically disable Chinese news widgets.
If changing the region didn't help, you can try resetting your desktop settings. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps, find Desktop (or Launcher), click Clear → Clear Everything. The icons can go back to their original state and the extra widgets will disappear. However, all shortcuts will have to be re-posted.
⚠️ Warning: Changing the region may affect some local apps and change the list of themes available in the theme store.
What to do if nothing helps
There are situations where a software bug or a specific firmware modification blocks the ability to disable the left panel, in which case you can use a "crutches" that will not remove the panel, but make it invisible and useless to the system.
The method is to fill the widget tape with a “heavy” blank widget or stub widget that blocks news loading. You can also restrict the background activity of the application responsible for the tape through the Battery → Energy Saving menu by selecting “No Limits” mode (paradoxically, but sometimes this allows the system to more aggressively kill the process when folding), or vice versa, severely restrict background work.
Another option is to install a Blank Widget, if you have one in your launcher or themes, and if you stretch it across the left screen, you'll block access to news, which is not the perfect solution, but it visually removes annoying content.
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If the software methods don’t work, installing a third-party launcher (Nova, Lawnchair) is the only 100% way to get rid of Google’s left-hand panel on Xiaomi.