Today’s Xiaomi smartphones accumulate huge databases, where entries from messengers, social networks and corporate directories flock. Often users are faced with a situation when duplicates, promotional numbers or entries from work SIM cards appear in a common phone book that are not needed for personal use, this creates visual noise and makes it difficult to quickly find the right subscriber.
Fortunately, MIUI and the new HyperOS provide flexible tools to manage the visibility of records. You can easily filter out the extra numbers you use every day. Competent filtering helps not only to clean up the mess, but also to increase privacy by hiding sensitive information from prying eyes when unlocked.
In this guide, we will discuss all available filtering methods: from simple hiding numbers without names to separating contacts by account and by name. SIM-The right organization of the phone book is the first step to making efficient use of your gadget, and we'll look at both the standard features of the system and the hidden features that not all owners of Redmi and Poco know about.
Basic visibility settings in the Contacts app
The standard Contacts app in the MIUI shell has a built-in filter that allows you to instantly change the list of displayed names. To access these settings, open the app and click on the three dots in the upper right corner (or menu button), then select Display Settings. Here you will see the "Phone Numbers Only" switch.
Activating this option instantly removes from the list various system records created by messengers like Viber or WhatsApp, if they are not linked to the number, this makes the list cleaner and clearer, but be careful: if you store important notes or corporate emails without phone numbers, they can temporarily disappear from view, although they remain in the database.
⚠️ Note: Changing the display settings does not permanently delete data. It is only a visibility filter. However, accidentally activating the Remove Duplicates function in the same menu can lead to loss of information, so always check which entries are marked for the merger.
In addition, you can configure sorting in this section. You can choose to display by name or surname, and also set the order: "First name" or "Family name." For the Russian-speaking segment of Xiaomi users, the question of transliteration is often relevant, but the system sorts the records strictly according to the alphabet of the selected interface language.
💡
Use the Favorites feature for the most important numbers. Even if you hide most of your contacts, adding key subscribers to your favorites will allow them to stay in view in a separate tab.
Source-based filtration: SIM-maps and accounts
One of the most useful features for users with two or more SIM-If you use one card for work and another for personal use, mixing all the numbers together is extremely inconvenient. → The contact(s) you can select a specific SIM-map.
When you select SIM 1 or SIM 2, the phonebook will only show records that are physically stored on or tied to the carrier chip in your system settings, which helps avoid confusion when calling, similar to account filtering, if you have multiple Google or Mi Account profiles on your phone, you can only leave one of them visible.
- 📱 All Contacts: Shows a combined list from all sources (by default).
- 💾 Only SIM: displays records stored exclusively on the SIM card (often limited by the length of the name).
- ☁️ Google/Mi Account: It shows the cloud contacts that synchronized and will not be lost. discharged.
- 📵 Phone: Local records stored in the device’s memory without being linked to the cloud.
It is important to understand the difference between SIM and account storage. SIM entries have a character limit for a name and often do not support adding photos or additional email addresses. Cloud sync is a more reliable method of storage, so experts recommend moving important data there.
Hiding contacts without names and system records
Often, strange names appear on the call or contact list, consisting of a set of numbers or technical identifiers. These can be operator service records, short message numbers, or data from applications that were not properly synchronized. To clean the interface, Xiaomi’s display settings include a feature to hide contacts without names.
By activating the Hide Contacts Without Names switch, you'll get rid of most of the junk records, and the system will analyze the database and hide all the entries that have a blank Name field, which is especially useful if you get frequent calls from unknown numbers and you don't want to see them in common after saving.
| Type of record | Default visibility | Filter operation |
|---|---|---|
| Contact with a name | Wieden | Remains visible |
| No name number | Wieden | Hiding. |
| Systems service | Wieden | Hiding (if no name) |
| Duplicate name | Wieden | Remains visible (requires manual fusion) |
It is worth noting that this feature only works with a local address book. If the "nameless" number is blacklisted or marked as spam by the built-in definition, it can appear in a separate category "Spam and fraudsters", ignoring the general visibility filters.
Working with duplicates and combining records
Synchronizing from multiple devices or importing from multiple sources (like old Android and iPhone) often results in duplicates. One person can have two cards: one with a photo from Telegram, another with a working email from Outlook. MIUI has a smart tool to solve this problem that does not require third-party software.
To get started, go to the contact management menu and select Contact Organization (or Management). The system will suggest finding and combining duplicates. The algorithm analyzes matches by phone number or name. Automatic connection is safe for most cases, but complex cases are better checked manually.
☑️ Pre-unification checks
When you manually combine, you choose a master card to which data from others will be attached, which allows you to save the current photo and the full name, adding all the available numbers and addresses to them, and after the process is completed, a log will appear on the number of contacts that you have joined.
⚠️ Note: The process of combining can be irreversible without backup. If the system mistakenly leaks contacts of two different people with the same names (for example, two “Alexei”), it will be difficult to separate them back – you will have to restore data from the cloud.
Using Groups to Structuring a List
For advanced networking, Xiaomi is ideal for groups: you can create your own categories: Family, Work, Sport, Customers. It's not just a visual separation, but a functional tool, for example, you can set up a quiet mode for everyone except the Family group, or quickly send a group message.
The group is created through the Group menu in the Contact App, and by clicking "Create a Group," you give it a name and add members from the list, and then using the display filter, you can select to show only a specific group of contacts, which makes the smartphone an effective organizer.
- 🏠 Home: Access to contacts at any time, bypass the “Do Not Disturb” mode».
- 💼 Business: You can quickly hide the entire group before meeting or handing over your phone.
- 🎉 Party: Temporary event group that can be removed after the event.
Groups are also synced with your Google account, meaning that the structure you create will remain as you upgrade to a new phone, especially for those who change devices frequently or use a tablet and smartphone at the same time.
The secret to quickly set up groups
Hidden contacts and incognito mode
The privacy issue on Xiaomi smartphones is not just about passwords, but about hidden contacts, which allows you to remove certain numbers from the general list, making them visible only after you type in a special code or fingerprint. This is not the same as a blacklist; a hidden contact can call you, but you won't see it in the general ledger.
To activate this feature, open your contact settings and find Hidden Contacts, you'll be asked to set a password or use biometrics, and when you turn it on, you'll see a special section that you're protected from, and moving the contact to this section will keep it from being seen.
It is important to distinguish between concealing contact and blocking.The hidden contact continues to receive your call notifications (unless otherwise configured), but its name is not displayed in the call log for the average user, but is replaced with a "Hidden Number" or similar record unless an access password is entered.
💡
The hidden contacts feature is a level of data protection, not a way to block spam. Use a blacklist to protect against calls, and hide for privacy.