How to reduce shortcuts on Xiaomi: a complete guide with photos and videos

Xiaomi’s MIUI desktop is often overloaded with app shortcuts, widgets, and folders — especially after the first smartphone or system update is turned on. The excess icons not only spoil the look, but also complicate navigation: you have to flip through multiple screens to find the right one. Fortunately, you can reduce the number of shortcuts on Xiaomi in several ways, from basic concealment to deep customization of system parameters.

In this article, we’ll take a look at all the current 2026 techniques, including the official MIUI 14/15 features, hidden launcher settings, and even alternative shells for advanced users. Instructions are suitable for all Redmi, POCO, and Xiaomi models (from Redmi Note 10 to Xiaomi 14 Ultra).

1. Basic ways: how to remove labels manually

Let’s start with the simplest of things that don’t require changing system settings, and these methods work on any Xiaomi smartphone, regardless of the MIUI version.

The most obvious way is to remove unnecessary shortcuts from the desktop.

• 📱 Press your finger on the app icon you want to remove.
• 🗑️ Drag it to the top of the screen where it says "Delete" (or basket) appears.
• ✅ Release your finger - the label will disappear, but the app itself will remain on the menu.

If the shortcut belongs to a system application (e.g. Camera or Phone), it cannot be removed completely, but it can be hidden:

1. Press the icon and select “Application Information”.
2. Tap “Disable” (not available for all system applications).
3. Confirm the action - the label will disappear from the desktop.

💡

To return a hidden app, go to Settings → Apps → Application Management → Disabled and turn it back on.

Another lifehack is to combine icons into folders, and it doesn't physically reduce the number of icons, but it reduces visual clutter.

• 📂 Drag one icon to another and a folder will appear.
• 🔤 Name it (e.g., "Social Media" or "Games").
• 🔄 Repeat for other application groups.

2.Setting up the MIUI launcher: hidden features

The standard MIUI launcher has hidden options that allow you to automatically reduce the number of shortcuts or change their display. These settings are not obvious, but very useful.

The first thing you should do is disable app recommendations. MIUI often adds shortcuts to your desktop for games or services (such as Mi Video or Mi Browser) that you haven't installed to stop it:

1. Go to Settings. → Desktop.
2. Select “App Recommendations” and turn off the slider.
3. In the same menu, deactivate “Show new apps”.

Next, you set up the desktop grid, and by default, the screen displays 4×5 icons, but you can increase the density so that more shortcuts are placed on one screen (and, accordingly, reduce their number on others):

• 📐 Press the empty space on the desktop → “Desktop settings.”
• 🔢 Select Desktop Grid and set a maximum value (e.g., 5×6).
• 🔄 Apply the changes, and now the icons will become smaller and you can remove the extra screens.

If you don’t like weather, calendar, or step widgets, you can remove them too:

• 🌡️ Press the widget and drag it to the basket (as with shortcuts).
• 🔕 Or turn off in Settings → Desktop → Widgets.

3. Use of the light desktop mode

MIUI has a little-known Lite Mode that simplifies the interface and automatically removes all unnecessary elements, which is designed for older people or beginners, but is great for those who want a minimalist screen.

To activate it:

1. Open the Settings. → Special facilities.
2. Select "Lite Mode" (Lite Mode).
3. Click "Enable" and confirm the action.

After activation, you will receive:

• ✅ Only one screen with major icons of major applications (phone, messaging, camera).
• ✅ There are no widgets, folders or additional shortcuts.
• ✅ Simplified menu with large buttons.

The downside to this mode is limited functionality: you can't add your shortcuts or change your wallpaper. To return to the usual interface, repeat the same steps and turn off Lite Mode.

💡

Light desktop mode is the most radical way to get rid of unnecessary labels, but it is suitable only for those who are willing to sacrifice customization.

4.Resetting launcher settings to factory

If you’ve been experimenting with your desktop for a long time and it looks chaotic, you can reset the launcher to the standard settings, which will return the original location of the icons and remove all user changes (but won’t affect the applications or data themselves).

Instructions:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the list of “Luncher” (or “MIUI Launcher”) and tap it.
3. Select "Storage» → «Clear the data».
4. Confirm the action - after the restart, the desktop will return to the factory settings.

⚠️ Warning: This method will remove:

• 📱 All folders you've created.
• 🔄 User sorting of applications.
• 🎨 Wallpaper and widget settings.

If you want to save some settings (for example, wallpaper), before reset, take screenshots of the screen or record the location of important icons.

Take screenshots of the current desktop

Write application names in folders

Save wallpaper to the gallery (if custom)

Ensure that important labels are not lost after resetting-->

Installation of a third-party launcher (Nova, Apex, Lawnchair)

If you don't like the built-in MIUI, you can install an alternative launcher, which is a special application that completely replaces the desktop interface, offering flexible settings, including:

• 🔍 Hiding any icons (even system ones)
• 📏 Changes in size, shape and style of labels.
• 🎭 Themes and animations.
• 🔒 Blocking random changes.

The most popular launchers for Xiaomi:

To install a third-party launcher:

1. Download the selected application from Google Play.
2. Open it and follow the setup instructions.
3. When requesting, select “Always” to use by default.

After installation, you will be able to:

• 🔍 Hide any icons (in Nova: long press → Hide).
• 📦 Group applications into folders or tabs.
• 🎨 Change the style of icons (e.g., Pixel-style).

💡

In Nova Launcher, you can create a gesture to quickly hide all icons: Settings → Gestures and inputs → Swipe gesture up → Hide applications.

6. Disable system applications via ADB (for advanced)

If you’re ready to dive into technical details, you can completely remove system shortcuts (e.g. Mi Pay, Mi Community, GetApps) using ADB (Android Debug Bridge), a technique that requires connecting your smartphone to your computer and basic command-line knowledge.

⚠️ Warning: misuse of ADB may cause system instability.

Steps to disable system applications:

1. Turn on USB debugging: Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (tap 7 times until “You’re a developer”) Settings → Additional → Developers → Debugging over USB (enable)
2. Connect your smartphone to your PC and install it ADB-driver.
3. Open the command line (Win + R → enter cmd) and execute: adb devices (you should display your device).
4. To disable an unnecessary application (e.g., Mi Browser), type: adb shell pm uninstall-k --user 0 com.android.browser (replace com.android.browser with the desired application package).

List of popular removal packages:

• 🌐 Mi Browser: com.android.browser
• 💰 Mi Pay: com.mipay.wallet
• 📦 GetApps: com.xiaomi.mipicks
• 🎮 Mi Game Center: com.xiaomi.gamecenter.sdk.service
• 📺 Mi Video: com.miui.videoplayer

To return the application, use the command:

adb shell cmd package install-existing com.android.browser

7 Automation: Scripts and Tasker

For those who want to automate the process of managing shortcuts, Tasker is a good application, which allows you to create scripts that will, for example, hide icons at a certain time or change their location on a schedule.

Example of a task to hide labels:

1. Install Tasker.
2. Create a new task (+ → Plugin → Nova Launcher if you use it).
3. Select the “Hide App” action and specify the apps.
4. Set up the trigger (for example, by time or when connecting to Wi-Fi).

You can also use MacroDroid, a simpler analogue of Tasker:

• 🤖 Create a macro with a condition (e.g., "When you start the lock screen").
• 🔄 Add the action "Run shell command" with the code to hide the icons.

For advanced users, you can write your own script in Python or Bash that will interact with ADB and manage shortcuts remotely.

#!/bin/bash


adb shell am start -n com.android.launcher3/.Launcher3




adb shell input swipe 500 1500 500 200 Swipe up to open the menu




adb shell input tap 500 #Tap by icon (coordinates may differ)



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FAQ: Frequent questions about shortcuts on Xiaomi