Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face intrusive banners and pop-ups that can appear in system applications or even on the desktop, a consequence of the company’s advertising platform, which allows subsidizing the cost of devices by displaying content.
Fortunately, the modern MIUI shell and the new HyperOS provide flexible tools to fine-tune privacy, so you don't have to be a programmer or get root rights to get back a clean interface, you just have to go through multiple menu items consistently and disable key services that are responsible for targeted content.
In this article, we will take a look at all the known ways to block ad integrations, we will look at both standard system settings and deeper methods for disabling system components. Follow the instructions Step-by-step to completely clear your smartphone of unnecessary visual noise.
MSA Disconnection: The Main Source of Advertising
The centerpiece of Xiaomi’s advertising ecosystem is the service. MSA (MIUI System Ads. It's this process that collects data about your actions and generates personalized offers. Without disabling this service, any other settings will only have a temporary effect.
To access the management of this component, you must first activate the hidden developer menu. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click 7 times on the line MIUI Version or OS Version. Once the notification "You became a developer" appears, return to the main settings menu.
Next, find the section Additional → For developers. In the list of options, look for the item Enable MSA (or MIUI System Ads) and move the switch to the position "Switched off." The system can request confirmation of action several times and offer to wait 10 seconds before trying again - show persistence.
☑️ Checking the shutdown MSA
It is important to understand that after disabling MSA, some system functions may not work properly, but in most cases this does not affect the basic functionality of the smartphone.
⚠️ Attention: When attempting to disconnect the service MSA The system may insist on leaving things as they are, claiming that it will improve your experience. Ignore these messages and insist firmly on deactivation.
Customization and recommendations in the system
In addition to the MSA service, various personalization modules are responsible for displaying content, analyzing your preferences and showing “recommended” articles, videos and applications in standard utilities, and disabling these features will significantly clean up the interface.
First of all, you should go to the password and security section. Go to Settings → Passwords and Security → Privacy. You should find the Advertising Services section and disable the Personalized Advertising option, which will prevent the system from using your data to select ads.
- 📱 Go to the Security settings, select “Receive recommendations” and turn off this function.
- 📁 Open the Explorer app, click on the menu (three bars), go to Settings and disable Get recommendations".
- 🎵 In the Music and Video application, you should also find the settings and remove the ticks from the points about receiving recommendations and autoplay.
Don't forget to check the theme settings. Often, third-party themes contain embedded ads. Go to the Themes app, open a profile and select "Settings." Make sure the "Show Ads" and "Receive Recommendations" options are deaktivated.
Why is the ad coming back?
Removing Advertising in Standard Apps
Even after the basic services are disabled, some embedded applications may continue to display banners, including utilities like Calculator, Scanner, Task Manager, and Downloads, each with their own content display settings.
Consider the example of the Security app. This is one of the main sources of pop-ups. Open the app, click on the settings gear in the top right corner. Find Receive recommendations and turn it off. It's also worth checking the Memory Cleanup section inside the settings to remove ads once the scan is complete.
The situation is similar in the Downloads app. Open the menu, select Settings, then About. Here you need to find the Receive References switch and turn it off. If the switch is missing, try clearing the application data through the application management menu.
| Annex | The path to adjustment | What to turn off |
|---|---|---|
| Security | Settings (cogs) | Receive recommendations |
| Conductor | Menu → Settings | Receive recommendations |
| Topics | Profile → Settings | Showing ads |
| Downloads. | Menus. → Settings → About the programme | Receive recommendations |
Pay special attention to the Music app, which often hides the "Show Ads" or "Use Cellular Data to Download Coverages" option in its settings, which can also trigger advertising requests, and disabling these features will make listening to tracks more enjoyable.
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If you can't find a setting in a particular app, try clearing its data through the application management menu.This often drops the activation flags of ad modules.
Blocking Advertising in Mi Browser
Xiaomi’s standard browser (Mi Browser) is known for its aggressive policy of displaying news and ad units on the homepage, and if you prefer to use it rather than third-party solutions like Chrome or Firefox, you need to carefully adjust.
Open your browser and go to the settings menu (three bars). Select Privacy and Security. Here activate Ad Blocking. This is a built-in filter that effectively cuts off most pop-ups and banners on visited sites.
Then return to the main settings menu and find the Home page. Turn off the display of the news feed and recommended sites, this will allow you to see only the clean search bar when you run, which will significantly speed up the browser and save traffic.
- 🚫 In the Notifications section, prevent sites from asking permission to display notifications.
- 🔒 Activate Incognito mode by default for maximum privacy if possible in your version of the software.
- 🗑️ Regularly clear cache and cookies to reset advertising identifiers.
- 🛡️ Make sure you have fraud protection enabled, which also filters out dangerous ad content.
It’s worth noting that even after all the settings, the Mi Browser may occasionally suggest switching on sync or news. Be careful and consistently reject these offers so they don’t reappear.
Using DNS to block advertising at the network level
The most effective method, which works in all applications (including games and browsers), is to use a private DNS with advertising filtering, which does not require the installation of additional software and works at the network connection level.
To set up, go to Settings → Connection & Sharing → Private DNS (the path may vary slightly depending on the Android version). Select the DNS Host Name (or Manual) option.
In the field, you need to enter the address of the server that blocks known advertising domains, and one of the most popular and reliable options is the AdGuard DNS service.
dns.adguard.comOnce you enter the address, save the settings. Now all your device traffic will go through the filter server, and you will notice that the ads have disappeared not only in Xiaomi system applications, but also in many third-party programs and mobile versions of sites.
⚠️ Attention: Use of third-party DNS This may cause some local services or sites that are blocked by the provider to fail. If you experience problems accessing certain resources, temporarily return your settings. DNS auto-mode.
Specific settings for different versions of MIUI and HyperOS
The interface and location of the settings can vary significantly depending on the version of the shell, and owners of devices with MIUI 12/13/14 and the new HyperOS should consider some nuances.
In recent firmware versions, Xiaomi has begun implementing the “Content Center” feature, which is a news feed to the left of the desktop. To turn it off, swipe right on your desktop, click on the settings (cogs) at the top of the screen, and turn off the Content Center switch.
HyperOS has also changed the location of some privacy points, which are now more often grouped into a single privacy management center, so if you don't find a location, search for the settings by entering the keyword "advertisements" or "recommend".
For older devices that don’t get updates, the methods may not have some switches, and in such cases, the DNS method or the use of third-party launchers that completely replace the standard shell becomes especially relevant.
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A comprehensive approach, including disabling MSA, setting up apps and using DNS, ensures that there is no advertising on any Xiaomi device.