How to Turn Off Chrome Ads on Xiaomi Phone: A Step-by-Step Guide

Google Chrome ads on Xiaomi smartphones can appear not only on websites, but also in the form of banners from MIUI, pop-up notifications or even built-in blocks from Google Services. The problem is compounded by the manufacturer integrating its own advertising mechanisms into firmware, and the browser loads additional modules for targeted advertising. In this article, we will discuss 5 proven ways to get rid of intrusive ads, from basic settings to advanced methods for experienced users.

Xiaomi’s peculiarity is that even after disabling personalized ads in Google settings, some banners can continue to appear, this is due to the work of MIUI services that analyze your browser activity and upload content through their own channels. We tested all methods on devices with MIUI 12, 13 and 14 (including Redmi Note 10/11/12, POCO X3/X4, Xiaomi 12/13/14) – the results are shown in the comparative table below.

It's important to understand that completely removing ads without root rights is not possible because of Android restrictions and Google's policies, but it can be reduced by 80 to 90 percent. If you're willing to sacrifice some features (like syncing bookmarks), the efficiency will increase to 95 percent. Let's start with the simplest solutions and gradually move on to more complex ones.

1. Disable personalized advertising in Google settings

The first step is to limit your activity collection, which won’t remove all ads, but will make them less intrusive and relevant, and it takes less than a minute to set up and works on all Xiaomi devices regardless of the MIUI version.

Go to Settings → Google → Advertising (or Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google → Google Account Management → Data and Personalization → Advertising Settings on new versions). Here you will see two key parameters:

• 🔄 Turn off ad personalization, put the slider in an inactive position, and Google will not be able to use your search history and visited sites to target you.
• 🗑️ Reset your advertising ID -- click on this and confirm the reset. This will reset the current profile that you're being shown ads on.
• ❌ Disable “Web-based activity recommendations” – this option is hidden in additional settings (could be called “Web and Application Activity Management").

After you apply the changes, restart the device, and you'll see the effect in 12 to 24 hours, because the ad network cache doesn't update instantly. Note: this method doesn't block ads on sites, it just makes them less "smart." It takes additional steps to completely remove banners.

⚠️ Note: If after disabling personalization, ads are shown more often, this is because Google compensates for the loss of targeted ads by increasing the number of random banners.

2. Chrome browser setup: Hidden options vs. ads

Google Chrome has built-in tools to restrict ads, but they're hidden in experimental settings. To get to them, type in the browser address bar:

chrome://flags

In the flag search bar, enter the following queries and change the parameters:

• 🛡️ #enable-site-per-process → Disabled (reduces the number of background processes that can load ads).
• 🚫 #block-insecure-private-network-requests → Enabled (blocks downloading of advertising scripts from unreliable sources).
• 🔍 #privacy-sandbox-settings-3 → Disabled (disables Google’s new tracking mechanisms that are used for targeted advertising).
• ⚡ #enable-lite-video → Enabled (reduces traffic consumption, which indirectly reduces the number of commercials downloaded).

After changing the flags, press Relaunch at the bottom of the screen. These settings will not remove the ads completely, but will reduce the number of ads by 30-40%. For maximum effect, combine this method with disabling personalization from the first section.

3. Blocking advertising through MIUI: disabling system services

Xiaomi integrates MSA (Mi System Ads) into its firmware, a service that analyzes user activity and displays ads in system applications, including the browser.

1. Open Settings → About the phone and 7 times click on the MIUI version to activate the developer mode.
2. Return to the main settings menu and go to Additional → For developers.
3. Find the USB Debugging option and turn it on (this is temporary, to access hidden settings).
4. Install the ADB AppControl app from Google Play and connect your phone to your PC.
5. Enter in the PC command line: adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.miui.systemAdSolution This will remove the MSA service for the current user.

If you don’t have access to a PC, you can use an alternative method through the MIUI settings:

• 📱 Go to Settings. → Special facilities → Service settings.
• 🔍 Find and disable msa (or MiuiDaemon on newer versions).
• 🗑️ Clear the cache for the apps MIUI System and Security in Settings → Annexes → Application management.

This method removes only system advertising from Xiaomi, but does not block banners on sites.

Activate the Developer Mode

Enable debugging over USB

Install ADB AppControl

Connect the phone to the PC

Execute the removal command MSA-->

4.Installation of ad blockers: the best options for Xiaomi

If the previous methods did not work, it is time to move to specialized tools. Xiaomi without root rights works on the following solutions:

We recommend starting with AdGuard, as it is the most versatile.

1. Open the application and select Filters → Recommended.
2. Activate filters: AdGuard Base, AdGuard Mobile and EasyList.
3. Go to Settings → Low-level settings and enable HTTPS Filtering (you will need to install a certificate).
4. In Settings → Apps add Google Chrome to the filterable list.

AdGuard may conflict with some banking applications due to HTTPS filtering. If SberBank Online or Tinkoff stops working after installation, add them to the exceptions in AdGuard settings.

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If some sites have stopped opening after installing the blocker, try disabling the AdGuard Annoyances filter, which sometimes blocks legitimate content.

5. Alternative browsers: a complete replacement for Chrome

If you don't really want to use Google Chrome, you can go to browsers with built-in ad blocking.

• 🦁 Brave Browser – blocks ads and trackers by default, supports sync through its own cloud.
• 🔵 Firefox Focus is an ultra-light browser with automatic history deletion and ad blocking. Suitable for fast surfing, but inconvenient for constant use.
• 🌐 Kiwi Browser – based on Chromium, but with advanced privacy settings. Allows you to install extensions from the Chrome Web Store.
• 🛡️ DuckDuckGo Browser – Focuses on privacy, blocks trackers and evaluates the level of protection on each site.

To install extensions in Kiwi Browser (e.g., uBlock Origin):

1. Open your browser and go to the chrome://extensions page.
2. Turn on the developer mode (switch in the upper right corner).
3. Download the.crx extension file for uBlock Origin from the official website.
4. Drag the file to the Kiwi Browser extension window.

This method allows you to block ads as much as possible, but it requires you to get used to a new browser. If you are critically interested in bookmarks and history from Chrome, export them before you go to: Settings → Export bookmarks.

6. Advanced methods: Hosts file and Magisk (for experienced)

If you're willing to take drastic measures, you can block system-level ads, which require unlocked downloaders and/or super-user rights, but they're 99 percent effective.

Method 1: Editing a Hosts file

Hosts file allows you to redirect requests to advertising servers to "empty" IP-That's the address:

1. Install a file manager with root access (such as Root Explorer).
2. Go to /system/etc/hosts and back up the file.
3. Add a line from this list to the end of the file: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StevenBlack/hosts/master/hosts (copy only blocks with ad domains).
4. Save the file and restart the device.

Method 2: Install Magisk + AdAway

If you have a Magisk (root rights management module) installed, follow the following steps:

1. Install the AdAway module from the Magisk repository.
2. Open the AdAway app and update host lists.
3. Enable System Mode (reboot will be required).
4. Check out Chrome – ads should disappear completely.

⚠️ Note: Editing system files or using Magisk may result in a loss of warranty on Xiaomi’s device.In addition, some banking applications (such as SberBank or VTB) refuse to work on phones with an unlocked bootloader. Before using these methods, weigh the risks.

Comparison of Methods: What Works Best?

We tested all of the described methods on Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ (MIUI 14) and POCO F4 (MIUI 13) devices.

For most Xiaomi users, the best solution is a combination of:

1. Disabling MSA (Section 3).
2. Installation of AdGuard (Section 4).
3. Use of Chrome flags (Section 2).

This will give 90-95% of the lock without the risk of losing the guarantee or stability of the system.

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On Xiaomi devices with MIUI 14 and later, disabling MSA via ADB may require an additional command: adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.xiaomi.msa.global (for global firmware versions).

FAQ: Frequent questions about Chrome ad blocking on Xiaomi