Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face intrusive behavior from an operating system that regularly suggests installing apps, clicking on links or reading news. These messages, known as push notifications, can come not only from installed programs, but also from websites that a user accidentally subscribed to while surfing the Internet.
The reason lies in the mechanism of modern mobile browsers and the shell itself MIUI or HyperOS. Sites request permission to display notifications, and the user often without thinking, clicks “Allow” to access content faster. As a result, spam appears in the notification curtain, which interferes with work and consumes battery power. You can turn off notifications from sites in several ways, but it is important to understand where the source of the problem is.
In this article, we will discuss all possible methods of blocking ads, from setting up a specific browser to deep system cleaning through the developer menu. You will learn to distinguish between Mi Browser system recommendations and real subscriptions in Google Chrome.
Analysis of the source of notifications in MIUI and HyperOS
Before we take any drastic measures, we need to determine exactly which component of the system generates pop-ups, and in the Xiaomi ecosystem, both third-party browsers and embedded system services such as MSA (MIUI System Ads) can be responsible for this, and a mistake in identifying the source will cause ads to continue to arrive even if you change the settings of the wrong application.
The easiest way to identify the culprit is to wait for the notification to appear and not swipe it right away. Click on the message and hold your finger for 2-3 seconds. A pop-up window will appear on the screen with information about which application sent this signal. If it says Chrome, Yandex or Opera, the problem is solved in the browser settings. If the source is System Services or Security, a deeper cleaning is required.
⚠️ Note: System Notifications from the Service MSA If you see ads that say, "Your phone is slow" or "We recommend clearing your memory," it's probably a built-in shell ad module.
Also, note the frequency of messages, if they come strictly after visiting certain sites, then you are actively subscribed to Push notifications via the FCM protocol (Firebase Cloud Messaging), in which case you just need to revoke permission for a specific domain in the browser settings without affecting the entire system.
Disabling subscriptions in Google Chrome and other browsers
The most common scenario is that the user accidentally allowed the site to send notifications in the popular Google Chrome browser. Fortunately, the permissions control mechanism here is very convenient and allows you to block access for each site individually or completely.
To start, you need to open the browser app and go to the settings menu. The path usually goes like this: click on the three dots in the upper right corner, select Settings, then go to Notifications or Site Settings, and here you will see a list of all the resources that you have ever consented to display messages.
☑️ Checking browser permissions
In the list that opens, find domains with suspicious names or ones you don't recognize. Often these are news, weather or gaming portals. Click on the site name and select the option to Block or Delete and Clear Data. The second option is preferable, as it resets all temporary files and cookies associated with this resource, ensuring that the site will not be able to request access again.
If you use other browsers, such as Yandex Browser, Opera Mini or the built-in Mi Browser, the logic of action is similar.Look for the "Sites", "Content" or "Notifications" section. In Mi Browser, it is also worth checking the "News Feed" section and disabling receiving recommendations, as they often look like system notifications.
Management of system recommendations and MSA service
The MIUI shell and its successor HyperOS have a built-in personalized recommendation mechanism that is often confused with viruses or website subscriptions, and is managed by the MIUI System Ads app, which reduces advertising significantly but requires several sequential actions.
The first step is to disable the ad personalization in your Xiaomi account. Go to Settings → Password and Security → Access to personal data. Find the msa list and turn off the slider. The system will require you to wait 10 seconds, then click “Cancel.” If the first time failed (there was an error “failed to withdraw”), repeat the procedure 3-5 times until the button is active.
| System component | Location on the menu | Action. | Risk of influence |
|---|---|---|---|
| msa | Password and security → Access to data | Withdraw access | Reducing Advertising in the System |
| MIUI Daemon | Password and security → Access to data | Withdraw access | Disabling Analytics Collection |
| Recipient of recommendations | Settings → Password and security → Access | Withdraw access | Removes advice on the menu |
| Analytics | Settings → Advanced settings | Disable data sending | Enhancing privacy |
Next, turn off receiving recommendations in the interface. Go to Settings → Password and Security → Access to personal data and find a service with a name containing the word “recommend” or “advice” (the name may differ on different versions of the firmware, for example, “Recommendee”). Disabling this option will remove pop-ups with a suggestion to install games or applications when you unlock the screen.
What happens if the MSA service returns?
It is important to understand that complete removal of system components is impossible without obtaining root rights, which is not recommended for ordinary users, but revoking permissions makes them inactive, which is tantamount to deletion from the user's point of view.
Set up notifications for specific applications
Often, spam is not from browsers, but from installed apps that use web widgets or have built-in promotion mechanisms. Android 13 and later, and the latest versions of MIUI, have a notification management feature for each specific channel.
When an unwanted notification appears on the screen, pin your finger. In the menu that appears, select Settings (cogs). You will see a detailed list of notification categories from this application. For example, the Weather app can have categories: Forecast, Warnings, News and Advertising. You can leave important categories active, and the slider opposite Advertising or Recommendations can be turned to Off.
This method is much more effective than blocking the application completely, as it allows you to save functionality (for example, alarms or critical alerts), getting rid of information noise. Poco and Redmi owners should pay special attention to system applications like Cleanup, Security and Conductor, since they often have promocions channels.
It’s also worth checking the permissions for newly installed apps.If an ad flash has started after installing a new game or utility, try removing that app or limiting its background activity through the Battery menu and performance.
Use of Do Not Disturb and Blockers
If manually adjusting each setting seems too difficult for you, or you want to be guaranteed to get rid of all audio and visual interruptions for a certain time, use built-in concentration modes. At Xiaomi, this is the Do Not Disturb (DND) feature.
You can activate it through the notification curtain or in the Settings menu → Sound and vibration → Don't disturb. You can set exceptions in this mode to only skip calls from your favorite contacts, but block all notifications from sites and apps.
For more advanced protection, you can use specialized ad blockers that work at the level of the system. DNS or VPN. Apps like AdGuard or Blokada are locally built VPN-You tunnel and filter traffic, so that the ad servers don't upload content to your phone, and not only does that remove notifications, it also speeds up the loading of pages.
⚠️ Note: When using ad blockers through VPN Some sites may stop displaying correctly or require disabling protection.Always have the ability to disable quickly VPN-filter, if necessary.
In addition, you can turn on built-in protection in the settings of the Chrome browser itself. Go to Settings → Privacy and Security → Safe browsing and select advanced protection. This will help block dangerous sites that are often the source of intrusive subscriptions.
Global Resetting and Prevention of Advertising
In extreme cases, when a phone is infected with an adware virus that cannot be removed by standard methods, it may be necessary to reset the browser settings or even the entire device. Before doing so, you should try to clear the cache and data of the problematic application through the Apps menu → All Apps → [Title] → Clear.
If the problem is a system failure, resetting network settings will help. Go to Settings → Connection and Sharing → Reset Wi-Fi, mobile networks and Bluetooth. This action will not delete your personal files, but will return network settings to factory values, which can break the connection to advertising servers if they were registered in the DNS.
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Make it a habit to read pop-ups carefully. If a site asks for "Confirm that you are not a robot" and asks you to click "Allow Notifications" - this is a trap.
For prevention in the future, it is recommended to install a reliable antivirus, for example, built-in MIUI Avast or Tencent, and do regular full system checks (APK-forum files, as they often contain malicious code.
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A comprehensive approach, including revocation of permissions from system services and setting up browsers, eliminates 99% of all unwanted notifications on Xiaomi smartphones.