Users of Xiaomi smartphones often face intrusive banner ads that appear in system applications, including the gallery.This is due to the company's policy, which subsidizes the cost of iron through revenue from MIUI advertising services. However, with the rights of the device administrator, you can limit this data flow and return the comfort of use.
Advertising integrations are built deep into the shell, but they are not critical to the Android operating system. By disabling them, you won’t lose the functionality of viewing photos, but you will get rid of pop-ups and suggestions for installing games. In this article, we will discuss proven methods of cleaning the interface.
Before you start settings, it's important to understand that ad modules can be updated with firmware, so if you've had a return to your MIUI, you'll have to do it again, and we'll look at a comprehensive approach that will not only affect the gallery itself, but also the system services that are responsible for targeted content.
Disabling Advertising Personalization in the System
The first step is to disable the mechanism that analyzes your actions to select ads, the MIUI system collects data about which apps you use to show relevant banners, which can be interrupted through the security settings menu.
You go to the device settings section and find the password and security section, and you hide a key switch that formally allows the system to show you personalized ads, and without that, the rest of the actions may be less effective.
Find the Receive Recommendations or Personal Recommendations option on the list, usually at the bottom of the list or in the MIUI subsection. Put the slider inactive. The system will warn you that the recommendations will become less useful, but for a clean interface, this is exactly what you need.
Importantly, once this feature is disabled, it may be necessary to restart the device to apply the changes, and some users also advise waiting about 10 seconds after this step before confirming the action so that the system accurately records the new status.
Setting up the Gallery app
The gallery app itself in the Xiaomi shell has its own content display settings. Ads here can appear as banners at the bottom of the screen or as recommended albums and stories. To remove these elements, you need to go directly to the settings of the application itself.
Open the gallery and find a menu icon, usually represented by three dots or bars. In the drop-down list, select Settings. Here you are interested in the section related to recommendation display or cloud services. Often it is cloud functions that upload third-party content.
Inside the gallery settings, turn off the Receive Recommendations option. It's also worth checking the Mi Cloud settings if you use them. Sometimes banner ads are integrated into the "Detect" or "Tape" section, which can be hidden or completely disabled in viewing settings.
☑️ Checking gallery settings
If you don’t sync with Xiaomi’s cloud, you can disable all related functions, not only will it remove ads, but it can also speed up the app, as it will stop trying to download unnecessary data from the network.
Disconnecting MSA Service
MIUI System Ads (MSA) is the primary agent responsible for displaying ads throughout the system, including the gallery, guide and app menu, and disabling this service is the most effective way to get rid of intrusive banners.
Find the passwords and security section in your phone settings, then go to Data Access. In the app list that opens, find msa. Click on it and turn off the network access slider. The system will try to dissuade you by showing a 10 second countdown timer.
⚠️ Note: If after disabling msa advertising is not lost immediately, repeat the procedure of disabling 3-5 Sometimes it takes a system several attempts to permanently break the connection to the ad server.
After successfully disabling network access for msa, the ads should disappear. However, this service has the property of self-repairing when you reboot or update, so it is also recommended to disable automatic updates of system applications so that the settings do not reset.
What if the MSA is not on the list?
Some users prefer not just restricting access, but completely removing or freezing system applications through ADB, but this requires a computer connection and having some knowledge.
Managing Mi System Applications
Gallery advertising often comes not only from the msa service, but also from other system applications such as MIUI Music, MIUI Video or Security.These applications also have network access and can initiate banner displays on related services.
It is recommended to go through the list of all installed applications and find those that have the Xiaomi or MIUI logo. For each of them, it is worth checking the notification and data access settings. If you do not use a standard player or video player, their access to the network can be safely blocked.
The table below shows the main system applications that are often sources of advertising traffic, and recommendations for setting them up:
| Annex | Function | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Security | Antivirus and cleaning | Disable "Receive recommendations" |
| MIUI Music | Music player | Prohibit access to data |
| Downloads. | Download manager | Disable the display of popular files |
| Topics | Decoration store | Disable personalization |
Pay special attention to the Topic app, which is where ad modules and new banner fonts are often loaded, and the theme settings also have a "Get recommendations" option that you need to deactivate first.
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If you don’t use Xiaomi’s standard apps (music, video, themes) at all, consider removing them via ADB. This will free up space in memory and ensure that advertising sources are removed.
Using DNS to Block Advertising
A more advanced and effective method is to block ads at the network connection level, using a private DNS allows you to filter traffic even before it reaches an application, for example, in a gallery or browser.
To do this, go to the connection settings. The path may differ depending on the version of Android: Settings → Connection and Sharing → Private DNS. If there is no such item, try searching for it by settings by entering “DNS”.
In private DNS mode, select the option “DNS Host Name” (or “Manual”) and enter a trusted filter address. One of the most popular and trusted services is dns.adguard.com, which automatically cuts off requests to known ad servers.
dns.adguard.comOnce you save your settings, your phone can lose your Internet connection for a few seconds, and then restore it. Check the gallery and other apps. The good thing about this is that it blocks ads in all apps, not just in the system.
⚠️ Note: When using a third party DNS Internet speeds may in rare cases decrease slightly, or some specific operator services will stop working. DNS in the initial state ("Auto").
Additional measures and cleaning of the cache
After all the above steps are done, it is recommended to clear the cache of system applications. Advertising banners could be preserved in temporary files, and their removal will help to finally clean the interface.
Go to the storage settings and select cache cleanup. Don't confuse this with data cleanup, because data resets can bring back the factory settings of applications, including permissions to display ads. We're only interested in temporary garbage.
It's also worth checking if you have any questionable apps installed from unknown sources, and sometimes viruses or aggressive widgets generate ads on top of all windows, mimicking MIUI system notifications.
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The comprehensive approach (disabling MSA + DNS + recommendations settings) gives a 99% guarantee of no advertising in the gallery and Xiaomi system.
If you use older firmware versions, the situation can be more complicated because they have fewer privacy controls, in which case installing a third-party launcher may be an alternative solution for the desktop, although the gallery will not be affected.