How to hide or remove messages on the lock screen Xiaomi: all ways

The lock screen on Xiaomi smartphones is not just a security against unauthorized access, but also a notification center that can give away too much personal information. The messages shown here from WhatsApp, SMS, Telegram or system alerts often contain sensitive data: confirmation codes, correspondence fragments or even financial information. If you want to remove notifications from the lock screen on the Redmi Note 10, Poco X5, Mi 11 Ultra or any other model running MIUI 12/13/14, this article will help to configure your display so that your data remains private.

Compounding the problem, MIUI defaults to display full notifications on a locked screen, including codes sent from banking applications or two-factor authentication, which poses risks when a phone is lost or used by third parties. Fortunately, the system offers multiple levels of customization, from completely disabling notifications to selectively hiding content for individual applications, and we'll look at all the current ways, including hidden features that are not obvious to most users.

Why notifications are displayed on the lock screen and how it is dangerous

By default, MIUI is set to be as informative as possible: the lock screen serves as a bulletin board that displays all incoming notifications, which is convenient if you want to quickly see an important message without unlocking your phone.

  • πŸ”“ Data Breach Risk: Anyone who takes your phone will be able to read it SMS with confirmation codes, notifications from messengers or email.
  • πŸ’³ Financial threat: Banking applications often send push notifications with transfer amounts or the last card digits.
  • πŸ‘€ Disruption of privacy: Colleagues, friends or relatives may accidentally see your correspondence.
  • πŸ“± Screen congestion: dozens of notifications from games and social networks make the interface confusing.

This is particularly critical for users who use a phone in public or share it with family members, for example, if you hand a smartphone to a child to play, they may accidentally see a paycheck or private messages, and even if you trust others, the minimum sufficiency principle says that only the most necessary information should be displayed on the lock screen.

πŸ“Š How often do you check notifications on the lock screen?
Constantly.
Only when I wait for an important message
Rarely.
Turned off all notifications.

Method 1: Completely disabling notifications on the lock screen

The most radical, but also the most reliable, method is to remove notifications from the locked screen completely, which means you won't see any alerts until you unlock the device, and is suitable for those who value privacy over convenience.

To do this:

  1. Open Settings β†’ Notifications and Status bar.
  2. Go to the Notifications section on the lock screen.
  3. Select the option to not show notifications.
  4. Confirm the changes (if required).

After that, the lock screen will become "clean" - without any hints about new messages.

Check if there are any important notifications you will miss.|Keep emergency contact information in quick access|Set up vibration or sound for critical applications|Make sure you have push notifications enabled in the apps themselves.-->

Method 2: Hiding the contents of notifications (without completely disabling)

If you have to leave notifications but hide their content, MIUI offers an intermediate option: display only the app icon and name, without text message, which allows you to see where the notification came from (for example, WhatsApp or SberBank), but not to disclose its essence.

How to set up:

  1. Go to Settings β†’ Notifications and Status bar.
  2. Select Notifications on the lock screen.
  3. Activate Hide the contents of notifications (in some versions of MIUI it is called Show without details).

Now, the lock screen will only display app icons and the line "New message" or "You have 1 notification." To read the text, you will need to unlock the phone, which is ideal for balancing privacy and convenience.

What if the β€œHide Content” option is not available?
In some firmware (e.g. Poco F3 with MIUI 13), this item may be called differently or hidden in additional settings. Try: 1. Go to Settings β†’ Applications β†’ Application Management, select the desired application (e.g. Telegram) and in its notification settings enable the option to β€œHide on the lock screen.” 2. Update MIUI to the latest version – in new builds, the notification interface is often improved.

Method 3: Set up notifications for individual applications

Not everyone needs the same degree of privacy. For example, you might want to hide notifications from Sberbank or VK, but leave alerts from WhatsApp or Mail visible. MIUI has a tool to customize each application.

Instructions:

  1. Open Settings β†’ Applications β†’ Application Management.
  2. Select the application you want to change your settings for (e.g. Telegram).
  3. Go to the Notifications section.
  4. Find the Lock Screen option and select one of the options: πŸ”• Show - full text of the notice; πŸ”’ Hide contents – only icon and title; 🚫 Do not show – notifications of this application will not be displayed.

This method takes longer to set up, but gives you maximum control. For example, you can leave notifications from Google Authenticator visible (to see the codes), but hide everything else. Note that some system applications (such as Calls or Messages) may have additional settings in their own menus.

Type of applicationRecommended settingReason.
Banking (Sberbank, Tinkoff)Hide content or not show itContains financial information
Messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram)Hide the contentsPersonal correspondence
Mail (Gmail, Yandex.Mail)Display (unless it contains confidential data)Often needed for rapid response
Social media (VK, Instagram)Don't show up.Usually not urgent notifications
Calls and SMSShow (but hide the text of the SMS)It is important not to miss the incoming call

Method 4: Use of the Privacy Mode (for MIUI 14 and later)

The latest versions of MIUI 14 have a special privacy mode that automatically hides sensitive notifications, which analyzes the content of alerts and blocks those that contain potentially dangerous information (for example, confirmation codes or card data).

How to turn on:

  1. Go to Settings. β†’ Confidentiality.
  2. Select Notification Protection (or Notification Privacy).
  3. Activate the Hide Sensitive Notifications switch.
  4. If necessary, add apps manually through Set up an application list.

This method is convenient because it doesn't require manual configuration of each application, because it determines which notifications to hide, but it doesn't work perfectly: it sometimes skips important alerts or hides innocuous ones. If you notice that the codes from the SMS are not displayed, check this settings section.

πŸ’‘

If notifications from banking applications stop coming after the privacy mode is turned on, add them manually to the exceptions. To do this, find the "Exclusions" option in the privacy settings and select the desired programs.

Method 5: Disable notifications via ADB (for power users)

If you don't like standard MIUI settings, you can use the ADB (Android Debug Bridge) deep customization tool, which is suitable for Redmi or Poco with the bootloader unlocked and USB debugging enabled, and allows you to completely disable notifications on the lock screen even for applications that ignore system settings.

Instructions:

  1. Turn on Developer Mode (7 times click on the MIUI version in Settings β†’ About Phone).
  2. Activate Debugging by USB in Settings β†’ Additional β†’ For developers.
  3. Connect your phone to your PC and execute the command: adb shell settings put global lock_screen_show_notifications 0
  4. To return to standard settings, use: adb shell settings put global lock_screen_show_notifications 1

This is a way to maximize control over notifications, but it requires technical skills. If you use ADB incorrectly, you can crash your system, and if you're not sure what you're doing, you'd better use standard MIUI settings.

πŸ’‘

Team team. ADB lock_screen_show_notifications 0 disables ALL notifications on the lock screen, including system (e.g. low battery charge.

Next Post:How to Make the Lock Screen Even Safer

Beyond hiding notifications, there are other ways to boost lock screen privacy on Xiaomi:

  • πŸ” Turn off quick answers: in Settings β†’ Notifications β†’ Quick answers can be prevented from responding to messages directly from the lock screen.
  • πŸ“± Use it. PIN or pattern lock: fingerprint is convenient, but less protected from forced unlocking.
  • 🌐 Set up. VPN For notifications: some apps (e.g. Telegram) allow you to hide IP-address.
  • πŸ”„ Clean up notification history regularly: C Settings β†’ Notifications β†’ Notification history can be deleted from old notifications.

You also have to look at the widgets on the lock screen, and by default, MIUI can display the weather, calendar or music, which also reveals extra information, to remove them:

  1. Swipe left on the lock screen.
  2. Click on the gear (Settings) at the bottom of the screen.
  3. Disable unnecessary widgets or completely remove them.

πŸ’‘

If you often pass your phone to colleagues or children, turn on Guest Mode in Settings β†’ System and Device β†’ Multiplayer Mode, which will hide all personal data, including notifications.

Frequent problems and their solutions

When setting up notifications on the lock screen, Xiaomi users often face typical difficulties, and here are the most common ones and ways to fix them:

⚠️ Note: If after disabling notifications on the lock screen you have stopped receiving SMS With the confirmation codes, check the Messages app settings, it may have been added to the hidden list by mistake. β†’ Annexes β†’ Communications β†’ Notifications and return standard parameters.

Problem 1: Notifications are hidden, but the lock screen still shows "1 new notification".

Solution: This is a MIUI system alert. To remove it, you need to completely disable the notifications on the lock screen (Method 1) or use ADB (Method 5).

Problem 2: After the MIUI update, the notification settings reset.

Solution: Unfortunately, this is a well-known feature of Xiaomi firmware. After major updates (e.g., from MIUI 13 to MIUI 14), some settings are reset. Check them manually after the upgrade.

Problem 3: Some notifications (such as those from Viber) ignore settings and show up completely.

Solution: Go to the settings of a particular application and manually turn off the display on the lock screen (Method 3). If that doesn't help, try reinstalling the application.

⚠️ Note: Some models (e.g. Redmi) 9A POCO M3) Due to performance limitations, there may be no option to hide the content of notifications, in which case only a complete shutdown (Method 1) or use of the notification will help. ADB (Method 5).

Can you hide notifications only for certain contacts?
No, MIUI doesn't support disclosing notifications at the individual contact level. You can only configure the display for entire apps (e.g., hide all notifications from WhatsApp, but not from a particular person). A workaround: create a separate chat for confidential contacts in the messenger and turn off notifications for it on the lock screen in the app settings.
Why do notifications show up again on the lock screen after resetting settings?
When resetting to factory settings, all personal settings (including notification settings) return to default values. After resetting, you will have to reset the lock screen according to the instructions in this article. Tip: Before reset, take screenshots of the current settings to restore them faster.
How to hide notifications from system applications (e.g., System Update)?
System notifications are managed separately. To remove them: Go to Settings β†’ Applications β†’ Application Management. Click on three dots in the upper right corner and select Show System Processes. Find an application (e.g. System Update or Security). Disable notifications or configure them on the lock screen.
Will the notification cover-up work if the phone is connected to the Mi Band smartwatch?
Yes, lock screen settings and sync settings with Mi Band or Xiaomi Watch are independent of each other. However, if you have hidden notifications on your phone, they will also not duplicate on the clock (since the source is a smartphone). To receive alerts on the Mi Band, but not see them on the lock screen, configure the cover-up only on the phone (Method 2 or 3).
Can I return the old version of the notification display after the MIUI update?
No, after the firmware update, the notification interface changes without the possibility of rollback. If you don't like the new logic, you can try: Use ADB for deep customization (Method 5). Install an alternative launcher (for example, Nova Launcher), but this will not affect the lock screen. Reverse to the previous version of MIUI (not recommended due to security risks).