How to Turn Off Recommendations on Xiaomi: A Complete Guide to Cleaning the Interface

Xiaomi’s current smartphones, which run on MIUI shells or the new HyperOS, offer users many useful features but are often accompanied by intrusive advertising. Device owners are facing the emergence of banner ads in standard applications such as Music, Explorer or Downloads. This is not just visual noise, but a system feature called MSA (MIUI System Ads), which requires manual shutdown for comfortable use of the gadget.

Many users mistakenly believe that getting rid of pop-ups is only possible by installing third-party launchers or flashing the device. In fact, engineers have left the ability to deactivate most ad modules through the standard settings menu, although the path to these is sometimes not obvious. It is important to understand that the process requires several steps in sequence, since there is no single “Stop All Ads” button in the system.

In this article, we will discuss a detailed algorithm of actions that will allow you to remove recommendations on the home screen, disable personalized advertising in the browser and stop the work of system services that collect data about your preferences. Following this instruction will make use of your Redmi or POCO much more pleasant and safer.

Disabling MSA System Advertising

The centerpiece of Xiaomi’s advertising ecosystem is MSA, which is responsible for analyzing user behavior and selecting promotional offers that are then displayed in different parts of the system. The first and most important step is to deactivate this component, and to do this, you need to go to the settings menu of your device and find the section responsible for passwords and security.

Inside the security menu, you'll need to find System Advertising Services or Advertising Services, and there's a master switch that controls how you receive personalized ads, but the system can try to keep you on track by showing a countdown timer or warning that a shutdown will affect the relevance of the offers, and you just have to wait until the timer ends and confirm the action.

⚠️ Attention: After pressing the switch off button MSA, If you see an error message or the timer just resets, try again. 2-3 This is the standard defense behavior of the system, not a mistake.

In parallel with the MSA shutdown, it is recommended to limit the collection of data for personalization. In the same settings section, the item “Get recommendations” is often found. Disabling it will prevent prompts from appearing in application folders and on the desktop. This action does not affect the functionality of the phone, but makes the interface cleaner.

Removing recommendations in the "Security" appendix

The standard “Security” app on Xiaomi smartphones is one of the most crowded advertising modules. Every time you run a scan or clean up your memory, users often see banners offering to install games or buy subscriptions. To remove this, you need to log into the app itself and open the settings menu hidden in the top right corner (usually three dots or a gear).

In the settings menu, find the About section or simply scroll down to Get Recommendations, which is responsible for the news feed and the ad units inside the antivirus, and once it is disabled, the application will only perform its direct functions of protecting the device and speeding up its work without distracting the user.

Also worth paying attention to the Memory Cleanup settings: Some firmware versions have a separate switch to display ads after the cleanup process is complete, and make sure that all the improvements and recommendations items in this menu are deactivated.

Setting up the desktop and application folders

One of the most visible forms of advertising is recommendation in the desktop app folders, and when you open a folder with a few icons, a line called "Recommended" and a list of apps you're supposed to download may appear at the bottom, which annoys many users, especially given that a random click can lead to a switch to the app store.

To remove this block, open any folder on your desktop. Click on the folder name to enter the name editing mode. Next to the name input field, you will see the Recommended Apps switch (or just an icon like a zipper or list) and put it inactive.

Also, check the launcher settings. Go to Settings → Desktop (or by long-term tapping on the blank space of the screen) and you can turn off the Wallpaper Carousel feature, which also often contains advertising integrations and news widgets. Replacing the carousel with a static image will significantly reduce information noise.

Cleaning Standard Applications: Explorer, Music, Downloads

Xiaomi’s standard suite of apps also includes built-in content promotion mechanisms, such as the Music or Video app, which often displays a banner on the start screen offering to subscribe or watch a popular video.

For each application, the algorithm is similar: you need to open the application, find the menu corner (usually three bars or dots), go to Settings and find Receive recommendations or Show ads. In some cases, such as Downloads, this item may be called Recommended Content.

The Mi Browser browser deserves special attention. It is set to aggressive data collection and news feed display by default. In the browser settings (Privacy and Security), you should turn off Personal Guidelines and clear the history. It is also recommended to select Empty Page or My Sites in the start page settings to avoid the news flow.

⚠️ Note: After updating the HyperOS operating system or MIUI Some ad settings may be reset to factory values. Check key settings periodically, especially after major software updates.

Disable personalization in Google and Mi Account

Advertising on Xiaomi smartphones comes not only from the shell manufacturer, but also from Google services, which are deeply integrated into Android. To clean the device as much as possible, you need to set up a Google account, which will help reduce the amount of targeted advertising in the search of YouTube, Google Play and other services of the company.

Go to Settings → Google → Advertising. You click Reset Ad ID and turn off Ad Personalization. This action will not remove ads completely, but will make them less intrusive and tied to your interests.

You can do the same thing with your Mi Account. In the privacy section of your website or phone settings, look for the Ads and Privacy section. Disabling personalization here will prevent you from using your location and app activity to generate promotional offers within the Xiaomi ecosystem.

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Use DNS to block ads at the network level. In your Wi-Fi or mobile network settings (Private DNS), write dns.adguard.com. This will help cut off ad servers in many applications and browsers without installing additional software.

Additional measures: Debugging by USB and ADB

For advanced users who want to achieve perfect system cleanliness, there is a method of disabling system components through USB debugging, which requires connecting a smartphone to a computer and using the tools of ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which allows you to remove or freeze system applications that cannot be disabled by standard methods.

To start, you need to activate the developer mode. To do this, quickly click on the build number in the About Phone section 7 times. Then, in the Developer menu that appears, turn on Debugging via USB. After connecting to the PC and installing the drivers, you can use commands to remove advertising packages.

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.msa.global


adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.analytics




adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.personalassistant

The first command removes the MSA service, the second one removes the system analyzer that collects statistics, and the third one removes the widget tape on the left (Mi Dash), which requires caution: removing critical system components can lead to unstable operation of the device.

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Use of the ADB-commands are the most radical method of cleaning, but it requires technical literacy. The standard privacy settings described in the previous sections are sufficient for the average user.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)