Xiaomi smartphone owners often encounter an intrusive recommendation system that is activated by default on many models, including the popular Redmi Note 8 Pro. This feature, known as the “Recommendation Tape” or “Wallpaper Carousel”, automatically loads news articles and promotional offers directly onto the lock screen or desktop. For users who appreciate minimalism and cleanliness of the interface, this behavior of the system can become a source of irritation, distracting from the main use of the gadget.
Fortunately, MIUI provides flexible personalization tools to eliminate noise altogether. In this detailed guide, we’ll look at several effective ways to turn off your news feed, from standard system settings to deeper configurations through special applications, so you can get your device back to its original appearance and stop receiving unwanted notifications.
Before you start making changes, it’s important to understand that some interface elements may be called differently depending on the firmware version (Global, EEA or China).We’ll try to cover all possible menu names so that the instruction is universal for your Redmi Note 8 Pro. Follow the steps carefully and you’ll quickly clear your screen of excess content.
Disabling the recommendation tape in the Security app
The main source of news feed on Xiaomi devices is the system application “Security”, which is where the switch that is responsible for displaying the news widget when swiping to the right on the desktop is hidden. To access the desired settings, you will need to run a standard application with a shield icon, which is preinstalled on each smartphone of the brand.
Once you start the app, you need to go to the settings section, which is usually indicated by the gear in the upper right corner of the screen. In the menu that opens, you should find the "Recommendation Tape" or "Recommendations" item. This is the parameter that is responsible for integrating the news aggregator into the system interface. If you turn off this switch, you will instantly remove the news feed from your desktop.
It’s worth noting that in some versions of MIUI, the path to this setting can be a little longer, sometimes you need to select General Settings first and then look for the desired option. If you don’t see the switch right away, carefully study all the menu subsections inside the Security app.
Why do news come on after the update?
Setting up the lock screen and wallpaper carousel
Special attention should be paid to the Wallpaper Carousel (or Glance), which is often confused by users with the usual news feed, which replaces the static image on the lock screen with changing images with app logos and text blocks, which are essentially advertising or news, and you can remove this element through the basic settings of the system.
To start, go to the Settings menu of your Redmi Note 8 Pro. Find the Lock Screen or Always Screen and Lock. This menu will have the option Wallpaper Carousel (sometimes called Wallpaper with Ribbon) and click on it and you will see the activation switch. Put it in the inactive position.
Once the carousel is turned off, the system will suggest you choose a static image for the lock screen, which can be a standard MIUI background or any photo from your gallery. It is important to distinguish between regular wallpaper and carousel: the former are static and safe, the latter require an Internet connection to download content.
- 📱 Open the smartphone settings.
- 🔒 Go to the section "Block screen».
- 🎡 Find the item "Carousel wallpaper».
- ❌ Turn off the activation switch of the function.
💡
If you can't find the "Wallpaper Carousel" item in the main settings, try searching by settings. Type the word "Carousel" or "Glance" into the search box, and the system will open the desired section.
Managing the widget Mi Browser and Yandex
Often users install third-party browsers like Mi Browser or Yandex, which by default create widgets with news on the desktop. These widgets can occupy a significant part of the screen and consume traffic in the background. Removing or configuring such widgets is an important step towards cleaning the interface.
To remove the widget, press and hold your finger in the free desktop space until the edit menu appears. Select "Widgets" or just find the news unit on the screen. Click on it and drag it to the top of the screen where the basket icon or cross will appear to delete. This action will not remove the application itself, but remove its display from the main screen.
In the case of Mi Browser, news can come through push notifications, even if the widget is not on the screen. Go to the browser settings, find the Home Page Settings or News Feed section, and turn off the recommendations display, which will allow you to use the browser only for surfing, without a constant flow of information.
⚠️ Note: When removing the Yandex or Mi Browser widget, make sure you don’t delete the app itself if you need it for work. Remove only the widget shortcut from your desktop or disable the Tape feature inside the specific app’s settings.
Hiding widgets through desktop settings
MIUI allows you to manage not only system widgets, but also third-party widgets through desktop settings. If standard methods did not help, it is worth checking the configuration of the launcher itself. This is especially true if the news feed is built into the weather widget or search bar.
Push two fingers across your desktop to open the edit menu, or press the empty area. At the bottom of the screen, click on the Settings button (cog), and you can find options related to widget display, grid size, and in some cases, integration with Google or Yandex services.
Also on this menu, you often find the item "Google Search Bar," and if news appears at the top of the screen as a search bar, you can hide it by selecting "No" or by turning off the display of the Google Discover widget, which will return the top bar to a clean look.
| Interface element | Where to turn off | The result |
|---|---|---|
| Ribbon of recommendations | Security Annex | The left swipe on the desktop disappears |
| Wallpaper carousel | Settings → Lock screen | Static picture instead of advertising |
| Browser widget | Desktop (removal) | The news block is being removed. |
| Search string | Desktop settings | Clean top panel |
Disabling personalized advertising in the system
Even after removing visible news feeds, MIUI can continue to collect data for targeted advertising, and to minimize this process and make the use of the Redmi Note 8 Pro more private, it is recommended to disable advertising personalization in global account settings.
Go to Settings → Passwords & Security → Privacy → Advertising Services (the path may vary slightly in different versions of MIUI). You need to disable the option “Personalized Ads”. It is also useful to reset the advertising ID (ADID) by clicking the appropriate button.
You can also go to the Services and Reviews app (or Mi Credit in some regions), find settings and disable recommendations. This system app often serves as a backend for news notifications, and turning it off will help to finally clean the smartphone of information noise.
☑️ Checklist for complete cleanup of news
Decision and additional advice
Sometimes users are faced with a situation where after all the actions they have done, the news still appears, this can be due to the cache of system applications or the activity of third-party programs that you installed yourself, in which case a deeper cleaning is required.
Try to clear the Security and Services & Reviews app data. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps, find the app you want, select Memory, and click Clear Data. Fear not, it won’t delete your personal files, but it will reset your system services settings to default, which often helps to fix the changes.
Also check the list of installed applications for unknown programs that may have been installed with other software (called bundle). Such programs often have permissions to display on top of other windows and can generate pop-up news.
⚠️ Note: When cleaning system applications, make sure you don’t confuse them with programs that are important to you. Only clear Security, Services, or browsers if you are confident in your actions.
💡
A comprehensive approach, including disabling all types of tapes and cleaning the cache of system applications, guarantees 100% riddance of news on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro.