How to remove notifications from the lock screen on Xiaomi: all ways for MIUI

The lock screen on Xiaomi smartphones is not just a protection against random clicks, but also a window into your digital life. Every pop-up notification of a new message, a missed call or an app update can be helpful, but often becomes a source of annoyance or a threat to privacy, especially if you leave your phone on the table during a meeting or hand it over to a colleague to show a photo.

The problem is that by default, MIUI shows the content of notifications even on a locked screen, from Telegram chats to track titles on Spotify, which is not only distracting, but also creates risks: anyone can see personal information without unlocking the device. Fortunately, the manufacturer has provided several ways to manage the display of notifications, but not all of them are obvious. In this article, we will examine all the available methods, from standard settings to hidden features for advanced users.

Why notifications on the lock screen can be dangerous

At first glance, notifications on a locked screen seem harmless, but they do contain a few hidden threats:

• 🔍 Sensitive data leak: Even if the screen is locked, outsiders can see excerpts of correspondence, contact names or subject lines, such as a notification from a bank with a confirmation code or a message from a colleague with a trade secret.
• 📱 Social engineering: Scammers can use screen information (such as the sender's name or the subject of a message) to target attacks, and knowing that you're waiting for an email from Alice, they can send a phishing message on her behalf.
• 🔋 Battery consumption: Constantly updating notifications on the lock screen increases energy consumption, especially on the back of the battery. AMOLED-display.
• 😤 Psychological discomfort: Research shows that constant notifications increase your cortisol (stress hormone) by 12 to 18 percent, even if you don’t actively check them.

In MIUI 14 and later, Xiaomi has added additional security measures, but by default they are disabled, for example, the feature “Hide sensitive content” can automatically mask notifications from banks or messengers, but it needs to be configured manually.

Method 1: Disable notifications for all applications

The most radical, but also the most reliable, method is to completely hide notifications on the lock screen, which is suitable for those who value privacy over convenience, the instruction is relevant for all Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices based on MIUI 12-14:

1. Open the settings (cog icon on the desktop).
2. Go to the Notifications and Status bar section.
3. Select Notifications on the lock screen.
4. Activate the option to not show notifications.

After that, only notification icons (if any) will remain on the lock screen, but without text, and to see the content, you will have to unlock the device.

Whether "Settings" are open»?|Selected section "Notifications and status bar»?|Activated mode "Do not show notifications»?|Rebooted smartphone to apply changes?-->

⚠️ Note: Some models (e.g. Xiaomi 13 Pro or X-ray) POCO F5) post-update MIUI 14 this item may be called Notification Privacy. If you don't find the right option, use the search bar in the settings (the magnifying glass icon at the top).

Method 2: Hiding notification content (without completely disabling)

If you want to see notifications but not their content, you can turn on the hidden text mode, in which case the lock screen will display only the icons of the applications (such as WhatsApp or Gmail), but not the messages themselves.

How to do this:

1. Go to Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Notifications on the lock screen.
2. Select the option to Show Notification icons (in some versions of MIUI – Hide content).
3. Additionally, you can enable sensitive notifications hiding – this hides notifications from banks, messengers and other applications marked as confidential by the system.

This is a useful method if you want to keep yourself informed about new events, but you don't want them to be read by others, for example, you'll see a message on Telegram, but you won't know who's talking about what until you unlock your phone.

Method 3: Set up notifications for individual applications

Not all notifications are equally important. For example, you may not mind displaying weather or news, but you want to hide messages from your work chat. MIUI has a flexible notification management system for each application separately.

Instructions:

1. Go to Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Notification management.
2. Select the app you want to change your settings for (for example, Viber or Instagram).
3. Turn off the switch Show on the lock screen.
4. Optionally, click Notification Categories to more accurately configure what types of alerts to show (e.g., hide only group chats but leave private messages).

This method takes longer to set up, but gives you maximum control, for example, you can leave a notification about missed calls, but hide the contents of the SMS.

Method 4: Use Do Not Disturb for Emergency

If you need to temporarily turn off all notifications — for example, during a meeting or sleep — use Do Not Disturb (DND) mode. It not only hides notifications from the lock screen, but also turns off sounds and vibrations.

How to turn on:

1. Open Settings → Sound and vibration → Do not disturb.
2. Activate the Do Not Disturb switch.
3. Set up exceptions (for example, allow calls from selected contacts).
4. In the Display Notifications section, select Hide Notifications.

You can turn on the mode quickly through the notification bar (swipe down from the top edge of the screen → bell icon). You can also set up automatic turn on on on a schedule (for example, from 23:00 to 7:00).

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If you need to leave the option to take important calls in Do Not Disturb mode, add the desired contacts to Exceptions → Allow calls from and select Favorites or Contacts.

Method 5: Reset notification settings (if nothing works)

Sometimes, after updating MIUI or resetting your phone, the notification settings get lost. If previous methods didn't work, try resetting the notification settings to factory:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Reset App Settings.
3. Confirm action. This will return all permissions and notification settings to default.

Once reset, you will have to reconfigure notifications for each application, but this is guaranteed to fix software failures. If the problem persists, check if third-party launchers (such as Nova Launcher or Apex Launcher) are installed on the phone - they may conflict with the system settings of MIUI.

⚠️ Note: Resetting your application settings does not delete data (photos, messages, files), but resets all permissions, including camera, microphone, and geolocation. After the procedure, check your privacy settings for mission-critical applications (banks, instant messengers).

Additional measures: Encryption and data protection

Disabling notifications on the lock screen is only part of the solution, and for full protection of personal data, we recommend:

• 🔐 Enable device encryption: Settings → Additionally. → Confidentiality → Encrypting the phone, it'll protect the data even if someone retrieves the memory card.
• 👤 Use a reliable unlock method: fingerprint or facial recognition is less secure than PIN-code or pattern lock. MIUI You can configure a combination of letters and numbers up to 16 characters long.
• 📱 Activate the “Secure Folder”: in Settings → Additionally. → Confidentiality → A secure folder can hide files that shouldn’t be visible even when the screen is unlocked.
• 🔄 Update regularly MIUI: In new versions of the firmware Xiaomi closes vulnerabilities associated with data leakage through notifications.

If you often hand over your phone to colleagues or leave it unattended, consider using a second Dual Apps, which will allow you to create a separate profile with a limited set of applications and notifications, for example, in the main space you can leave only the camera and gallery, and all messengers and banking applications to move to the second.

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Even with the notifications turned off on the lock screen, the data remains vulnerable if the phone is unlocked. PIN-Biometrics and code for maximum protection.

FAQ: Frequent Notification Questions on Xiaomi