Constant pop-ups with ads, notifications about “win” or offers to go to dubious sites are a scourge of many users of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones. Most often, the source of irritation is not the browser itself, but the permissions that the user carelessly gave to sites in the process of surfing. Device owners often confuse the system advertising MIUI and intrusive push notifications from web pages, which leads to attempts to remove system applications that are not to blame.
In this article, we will take a closer look at how the HyperOS shell and older versions of MIUI work, where hidden permissions are hidden, how to distinguish a system service from a malicious script, and what steps to take if standard blocking methods don’t work. Your device’s security depends on controlling which applications have access to sending messages.
Before we start taking any drastic measures, it’s important to understand that the browser is just a display tool, and notifications are generated by sites you’ve allowed to do so. Disabling this feature will bring you peace of mind and cleanliness of the desktop. We’ll look at settings for both the standard Mi Browser browser and third-party solutions like Chrome or Yandex.
Reasons for Intrusive Notifications in the Browser
The main reason for spam is not a virus in the classical sense, but the permissive policy of web browsers. When you visit a news portal or a movie site, a window pops up asking "Allow notifications." By pressing "OK" or even simply closing the window in a hurry, the user gives the site the right to send push messages at any time, even when the browser is closed.
The second reason may be the installation of questionable optimization applications or “accelerators” that masquerade as system processes, often implementing ad modules that mimic system notifications, which, unlike regular sites, require more in-depth verification and possibly complete removal.
It is also worth considering the features of the shell. MIUI. It has a built-in recommendation mechanism that can overlap with browser activity, and it's key to delineating these streams of information.
⚠️ Note: If notifications appear with a characteristic sound of the system even when the screen is turned off, this may indicate the presence of advertising software (adware), and not just about the browser settings.
Setting up the standard Mi Browser browser
The standard Mi Browser app is pre-installed on most of the company's devices and has its own privacy settings. First, you need to open the app and go to the settings menu, which is usually hidden behind three dots or the profile icon in the lower right corner, and here we are interested in the Privacy and Security section.
Inside the settings menu, find the notification item, which can be called Site Notifications or Permissions in different versions of the firmware, and it shows a list of all the web sites that are allowed to send you messages, and it's recommended that you not just turn off the global switch, but go through the list and manually delete suspicious domains.
☑️ Checking the Mi Browser settings
Once the list is cleared, you should enable Ad Blocking or Tracking Protection if it is available in your browser version, which will help prevent requests from reappearing on aggressive sites, and browser-level content filtering is the most effective prevention method.
Hidden features of Mi Browser
Managing Application Permissions in MIUI and HyperOS
The system approach to solving the problem is to manage permissions at the operating system level. Regardless of which browser you use, Android and MIUI allow you to control application access to the notification function centrally. Go to Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Notification management.
In the list that opens, find your browser (e.g. Chrome, Mi Browser, Opera) and click on it to see the detailed settings, where you can not only completely disable notifications, but also configure their categories, for example, you can leave important notifications about downloading files, but block advertising mailings.
Pay particular attention to the “Other Notifications” or “Recommendations” section. In the HyperOS shell, these categories are often separated and can be a source of so-called “junk” content. Disabling personalized recommendations will significantly clean the interface.
| Type of notification | Where to turn off | Effects of disconnection |
|---|---|---|
| Sites | Browser settings | No more messages from web pages will come |
| Systemic | Settings → Notifications | The browser will stop reminding the news |
| MIUI commercial | Services and feedback | Banner ads in the system will disappear |
| Downloads. | Categories of notifications | You will not see the progress of downloading files |
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Centralized management through Android settings gives a more reliable result than the settings inside the browser application itself.
Blocking Ads and Pop-ups in Chrome
Since Google Chrome is the most popular browser on Android, let’s look at its settings separately. Open the app, click three dots in the corner, and select Settings → Site Settings → Notifications. Here you’ll see the “Show Notifications” switch, which will prevent all sites from asking permission to send messages.
If you have previously allowed notifications to specific sites, they will be displayed here. Click on each suspicious site and select the Block or Delete option. This action will immediately stop the spam flow from that resource.
Also on the Site Settings menu, check the Pop-ups and Redirects section. Make sure this item is blocked. This will prevent new tabs from opening with ads when you click on page elements.
For advanced users, there is a possibility of using DNS with ad filtering, for example dns.adguard.com. This is configured in the Settings section → Confidentiality and security → Use the safe one. DNS-This approach blocks ads at the connection level without requiring additional applications to be installed.
Search and Remove Malware Applications
If disabling notifications in the browser did not help, and ads continue to appear on the desktop or in other applications, malware is likely installed on the phone. Often such programs do not have an icon and are hidden in the application list. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps and carefully study the list.
Look for apps without a name, with a transparent icon, or with suspicious names like "Update Service," "Wi-Fi Helper," or just a character set. If you find one, click on it immediately and select Delete. If the delete button is inactive, first revoke the device administrator rights in the security menu.
⚠️ Warning: Never grant device administrator permissions to applications where you are not 100% sure of their origin, which may block the ability to delete them using standard methods.
To check the device, you can use the built-in Security antivirus from Xiaomi or install a trusted third-party scanner, for example, Malwarebytes. Run a full scan of the system. Even if the antivirus found nothing, but the symptoms persist, try to remember after installing which application the problem began, and delete it.
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Periodically check the list of apps with "Above Other Windows" rights. Malware often uses this permission to display ads on top of other running programs.
Reset browser settings to factory
In cases where manually cleaning the settings is not working, you can perform a complete browser reset, which will return it to the post-purchase state by removing all accumulated data, cache and, most importantly, erroneous permissions. Keep in mind that this action will also delete the history of visits and saved passwords if they are not synchronized with the account.
To perform the reset, go to Settings → Applications → All apps, find your browser and select Storage. Press Clear and select All Data (or "Reset"). Confirm the action. After that, the browser will start with the original settings, and you will have to reconfigure the sync.
This method is especially effective if the browser has started to work unstable or if a script has settled in its configuration files that cannot be deleted in the usual way. After reset, it is recommended to immediately go to the settings and turn off notifications from sites so that the problem does not recur.