Owners of Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones often encounter intrusive banner ads that appear in system utilities. Especially annoying is the advertising in the Security app, which runs automatically when cleaning memory or scanning for viruses. Instead of the expected acceleration of the device, the user sees offers to install games or subscribe, which significantly reduces the comfort of using the gadget.
Fortunately, aggressive marketing is built into the shell. MIUI And the new HyperOS is software-level, so you can turn it off without getting super-user rights. IT-It's enough to change several settings in the menu of the device in a sequence and turn off the specialized recommendation service.
In this guide, we will look at all known methods of removing ads, from standard switches in settings to more advanced methods through DNS. The effectiveness of these methods is tested on current versions of firmware. Follow the instructions carefully to permanently clean the interface of your smartphone from visual noise.
⚠️ Note: Before making changes to system settings, it is recommended to back up important data. While the described actions are safe, accidental resetting of other parameters may affect the operation of some applications.
Disabling the MSA Recommendation Service
The main source of advertising content in the system is the system application msa (MIUI System Ads), which is responsible for collecting data on user behavior and displaying targeted ads in various sections of the shell, the first and most important step will be to deactivate this service through the authorization menu.
First, you need to go to the basic settings of the smartphone. Find the password and security section and select Access to personal data. In the application list that opens, find msa and switch to the "Switched off" position. The system will warn you of the consequences and start a countdown of 10 seconds, after which you will need to confirm the action.
- 📱 Go to Settings. → Password and security.
- 🔐 Choose Access to Personal Data.
- 🚫 Find the msa list and turn off access.
- ⏳ Wait for the timer to end and press Disconnect.
Often, the first time you can not turn off the service is not possible due to software errors or unstable connection. If the shutdown button is inactive or an error message appears, just repeat the procedure 3-5 times. Xiaomi servers can temporarily block the request, but persistence usually leads to success. After a successful shutdown, advertising in most system applications should disappear.
Setting up the Security Application
Even after disabling the msa global service, the Security app itself can store remnants of ad integrations, and you need to manually check its internal settings to ensure that the interface is completely clean when you start Cleanup, which is a critical step, as this is where banners appear most often.
Open the Security app and click on the gear icon in the top right corner of the screen. Here you are interested in General Settings. Find an option called Get Recommendations and make sure the slider is off. This setting is responsible for the promotional material at the bottom of the scan screen.
☑️ Checking security settings
Next, look for other menu items that can stream content: some versions of MIUI have separate switches for news or special offers, go through all available items in the app settings menu and turn off anything related to notifications or recommendations.
⚠️ Warning: Don't confuse disabling ads with disabling virus notifications. It's important to keep real-time protection features active so that the device's security level doesn't decrease.
Blocking Advertising Through DNS
The most effective method, which works at the level of the entire Android operating system, is the use of a private DNS. This method allows you to block advertising requests before they reach your screen.
Go to the Settings menu and select Connection and Sharing (in some versions of Wi-Fi). Find Private DNS (or Private DNS). The default is Auto or Disabled. You need to select the DNS Host Name mode and enter the address of the dedicated server.
dns.adguard.comEnter that line in the input box and save the changes, and then all requests to known ad networks will be blocked at the network level, not only removing banners in the Cleanup app, but also clearing ads from the Chrome browser and many embedded applications.
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Use of the DNS-filtering also speeds up the loading of pages in the browser, as heavy ad scripts and trackers are blocked.
Disabling personalization in the system
MIUI and HyperOS actively collect your preferences to generate personalized content, and to minimize the number of targeted offers, you need to turn off personalization services, which will reduce the amount of data transferred to the manufacturer's servers.
In the settings menu, look for the Password and Security section, then go to the Privacy section. Here you will find the Advertising Services (or Advertising Services) item. Inside you will see the Ad Personalization switch that you need to deactivate.
You should also check your Mi Account settings. Go to Settings → Mi Account → Privacy. Make sure that your participation in user experience improvement programs is disabled. This will prevent you from sending statistics about how often you use the Memory Cleanup feature.
| Parameter | Location on the menu | Action. |
|---|---|---|
| Personalization of advertising | Password and security → Privacy | Turn it off. |
| Automobile video | Downloads → Settings | Turn it off. |
| Receive recommendations | Security → Settings | Turn it off. |
| msa | Password and security → Access to data | Banned |
Cache cleanup and application resetting
Sometimes changes to your settings don't take effect immediately because of cached data. If you've followed all the previous steps, but the ads in Cleanup still appear, you have to force the system application data to be updated, which will reset temporary files containing information about advertising campaigns.
Open Settings, select Apps, and go to All Apps. Search the Security app in the list. Click on Clear (or Memory) and select Clear All Data. Don't worry, your files, photos, and contacts won't be affected, only the settings of the app itself will be reset.
A similar procedure is recommended for the Services and Feedback application (in some firmware it is called MIUI Daemon or Analytics), a system component that can also store data for targeting. Once the data is cleaned, it is advisable to restart the device so that the changes take effect fully.
What to do if the Security Application does not open?
Use of third-party launchers and antiviruses
A radical but effective way to get rid of advertising is to abandon the standard MIUI launcher.Installation of an alternative shell, for example, Nova Launcher or Microsoft Launcher, completely changes the interface and eliminates the use of standard Xiaomi widgets, which often contain advertising modules.
And you can also replace the standard Cleanup app with third-party solutions, and applications like Files by Google or SD Maid can clean up garbage and cache much more efficiently and without intrusive advertising, and once you install it, you can just stop using the built-in utility.
When using third-party antiviruses, Xiaomi's system virus scanner can also be ignored.However, it's worth remembering that the built-in antivirus uses Avast or AVL databases and is quite effective. If you decide to remove or disable a standard security application, make sure you have a reliable alternative to protect against malware.
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Replacing system applications with third-party counterparts is the most reliable way to avoid advertising, but requires getting used to a new interface.