Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face a situation where the system functions of the camera or gallery begin to behave unexpectedly: pop-up prompts, automatic text or product recognition, as well as the sudden appearance of the “Eye” icon in the interface is the work of Google Lens. For many users, it is a useful tool, but for others it becomes a source of irritation, especially if it is battery resources or interferes with the usual workflow.
The problem is compounded by the fact that Google Lens (as it is called in the Russian interface) is deeply integrated into the Android ecosystem and the shell of MIUI or HyperOS. There is often no easy way to remove it through a standard application manager, since the system considers this component to be critical for camera and search. However, there are proven methods to completely disable the functionality or remove the application with root rights and without them.
In this article, we will discuss all the available ways to solve the problem, from banal disabling notifications to advanced methods through ADB. It is important to understand that the complete removal of the system component can affect the operation of other Google services, so every step should be conscious.
⚠️ Note: Before making any changes to system settings or removing applications through ADB Make sure to create a full backup of data. Incorrect removal of system components can lead to unstable operation of the smartphone.
Why Google Lens Cannot Be Just Deleted
Many users wonder why Settings are in the app's settings menu → Annexes → All applications of the Remove button are inactive or non-existent, because Google Lens is a system app, and Android and Xiaomi design the shell so that visual search functions are always available, even without installing a separate application. APK-file.
The lens functionality is often sewn into the Google Play Services library and Google app, which means that even if you find and remove a separate lens, it is not a good idea. APK-The system can automatically restore the file when it is next updated to Google services, which is why standard deletion methods work poorly or do not work at all.
In addition, newer versions of MIUI and HyperOS have made integration even deeper. The lens can be called long-tap on an image in a gallery or through desktop widgets. Disabling one part of the system does not always guarantee the disappearance of all interface elements associated with pattern recognition.
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If you don’t use augmented reality and image search, it’s safer to simply disable notifications and camera access than to try to completely delete the system file.
Disconnection through Android system settings
The safest and first step to take is to try to disable the application by regular means, which requires no connection to the computer and is safe to guarantee the device, and allows you to freeze the process, preventing it from running in the background.
First, you need to find the hidden application management menu, which is often hidden from the average user to prevent the accidental shutdown of important services.
- 📱 Open the settings of your Xiaomi smartphone and go to the Apps section.
- 🔍 Select All Apps and in the list find Google (G color icon) or separately Google Lens.
- 🛑 Click on the name of the app. If the Disable button is active, click on it and confirm the action.
- 🧹 Please go to Memory and click Clear. → Clean everything to erase the accumulated data.
In some cases, especially on global firmware versions, the disable button may be blocked. Then it's worth trying to disable integration within the Google app itself. Open the Google app, click on the profile avatar in the corner, select Settings → General, and find the switch responsible for Lens or visual search to deactivate it.
☑️ Checking the shutdown
Removal via ADB (without Root Rights)
If standard methods don’t work, the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) toolkit helps, which allows you to remove system applications for the current user (user 0). For the system, the application continues to exist, but for you it disappears completely: the icon disappears, notifications stop coming, and the process does not consume resources.
To implement this method, you will need a computer (Windows, macOS or Linux), USB-You need to activate the debugging mode first. → About phone and quickly press 7 times on the item Version MIUI (or OS), until you become a developer, then in Advanced Settings. → For developers, turn on the debugging by USB.
Once you connect your smartphone to your PC and install the drivers, open the command prompt on your computer. You need to enter a command to delete the packet. The name of the package usually looks like com.google.android.apps.lens or can be embedded in com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox.
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.apps.lensExecuting this command will instantly remove the application from your desktop and from the system. If you want to return everything as it was, just execute the command adb shell cmd package install-existing com.google.android.apps.lens or simply reset the phone to the factory settings.
⚠️ Be careful when removing packages through ADB. Removing critical system components (such as a system launcher or Google Play services) can make the phone unusable without flashing it.
Use of System Managers (Root Rights)
For advanced users who have superuser (Root) rights, the deletion process becomes trivial. Having Root access (obtained through Magisk, for example) gives full control over the file system, but obtaining these rights is insecure and can disrupt banking applications.
There are many application managers, such as System App Remover, Titanium Backup, or the likes of the app. SD Maid. They allow you to see hidden system processes that you can't see in a standard controller, and they allow you to not just turn them off, but physically remove them. APK-Google Lens file from the section /system/priv-app.
The process is as follows:
1. Install an application manager with Root rights.
2.Look for Google Lens or com.google.ar.lens.
3. Select the "Delete" option (not just freeze).
4. Reset the device.
The main advantage of this method is to free up space in the system partition /system, which is often crowded on Xiaomi smartphones. However, if you plan to sell the phone or return it under warranty, you will have to restore the original state of the system, which can be difficult without full flashing.
Risks of obtaining Root rights
Comparison of removal and disconnection methods
To make it easier for you to choose the right option, we have prepared a comparative table that will help you weigh the risks and benefits of each method in the context of your situation and level of technical training.
| Method | Difficulty | Security | Efficiency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disconnection in settings | Low. | 100% | Partial |
| Removal via ADB | Medium | Tall. | Complete (for the user) |
| Root + Manager | Tall. | Average (risk of error) | Absolute. |
| Blocking through a firewall | Medium | Tall. | Just locking the network. |
As you can see from the table, ADB is the middle ground, and it provides almost complete removal without having to break the system’s protection (Root), which keeps Warranty and banking applications stable. Firewall blocking (like NetGuard) is also a viable option if your goal is to simply prevent an application from transmitting data to the Internet but leave it functional locally.
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The optimal solution for 90% of users is to disable via settings or ADB. Getting Root rights to remove one application is excessive and risky.
Solution: The lens itself is switched on
A common complaint of Xiaomi owners is that even after the lens is turned off, the lens functions continue to pop up, for example, when the camera is getting stuck over the text, the Translate button appears, or the gallery suggests when viewing a photo, Search for goods. This is because the functions of Google Lens are built into the system camera and gallery.
To get rid of this, you need to dig deeper into the settings of specific applications.
First, open the Camera app, click on the menu (three bars) and find the Google Lens settings or Visual Search. There should be a switch that you need to turn off.
Second, check the settings of the Google Photos app. Go to the settings, select Google Lens, and turn off integration.
Also worth checking permissions. Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps → Google. Press Permissions. Try denying Camera access to the Google app itself (not for the system camera, but for the search app), which can disrupt the voice assistant, but it will definitely kill the ability to activate the lens through search.
⚠️ Warning: If you have lost the Live Photos function or the camera interpreter after all the manipulations, that's OK. You've removed the component responsible for those functions. You can only return them by restoring the remote package.
Sometimes cleaning up Google Play Services data helps. Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps → Google Play Services. Click Clear → Clear all data. This will reset your sync settings and may remove intrusive prompts as the service will “forget” about your previous interactions with the lens.
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After clearing the Google services data, it may take some time (between 10 minutes and an hour) to re-synchronize contacts and settings.Don't panic if the phone runs slower in the first minutes.