How to watch activity in Android applications Xiaomi: hidden MIUI features and third-party tools

Xiaomi’s MIUI-based smartphones offer users advanced tools to monitor the activity of installed applications, from screen time to hidden background work. However, many owners of Redmi, POCO or Mi devices do not suspect that standard system settings allow them to track not only obvious metrics like battery consumption, but also detailed statistics of launches, mobile traffic use, or even real-time geolocation access.

In this article, we’ll look at all the ways you can do it, from built-in MIUI 14/15 features to professional utilities like Digital Wellbeing and Greenify, and focus on hidden menu sections that Xiaomi doesn’t advertise in the standard interface, but that provide the most complete information about app behavior, and learn how to identify programs that consume resources in the background, disable unnecessary permissions, and optimize device operation without root rights.

1. Built-in MIUI statistics: basic activity metrics

The easiest way to get the big picture is to use standard MIUI tools, which are available on all modern Xiaomi devices (starting with the Redmi Note 10 and later) and do not require additional software installation.

• 📊 Use time: Shows how many minutes each app was active on the screen.
• 🔋 Battery consumption: Ranks programs on energy consumption, including background activity.
• 📶 Mobile traffic: displays the amount of data transmitted by each application over the cellular network.

To open up this statistic:

1. Go to Settings → Battery and performance.
2. Select Battery Use (for uptime) or Application Management (for traffic).
3. Slip the chart at the top of the screen to unfold the detailed report.

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MIUI 15 has a feature called Activity Analysis in the Digital Well-being section, which shows not only the time of use, but also the frequency of application launches per week.

Note the Background Use column in the battery section: this shows programs that continue to work after closing. For example, Facebook or TikTok often consume up to 15-20% of the charge in the background due to constant data synchronization. If you see an unknown application here, this is an excuse to check it for viruses through Google Play Protect.

2. Hidden MIUI Tools: Advanced Monitoring

Beyond the obvious sections, MIUI has hidden features for deep activity analysis, designed for developers, but also available to regular users.

• 🔍 Launch log: Shows the exact time and duration of each application session.
• 📡 Network Monitor: Records all network requests (including background) with an indication IP-address.
• 🛡️ Real-time resolutions: Tracks when and which application requested access to the camera, microphone, or geolocation.

To activate these tools:

1. Open the Settings. → The phone.
2. Tap 7 times on the MIUI version to turn on the developer mode.
3. Go back to the main settings menu and select a new section for developers.
4. Activate the Application Launch Log option (reboot required).

Warning: Turning on the launch log may slightly increase battery consumption (by 2-3%) due to the constant log entry.If you notice lag when you open the Latest Apps menu, disable the feature through the same developer section.

3. Digital Wellbeing: Controlling Digital Health

Google’s Digital Wellbeing app has been integrated into MIUI since version 12, offering more visualization of activity than standard tools, and allowing you to set limits on the use of individual programs.

Key opportunities:

• 📈 Day/weekly reports by category (social media, games, work).
• ⏱️ Application timers: Automatic blocking after exceeding the limit.
• 🌙 "Sleep Time" mode: disables notifications and turns the screen into black and white mode.
• 👁️ Mindfulness Monitor: Shows how often you check your phone.

How to set up:

1. Open Settings → Digital Well-Being and Parental Controls.
2. Slip on a pie chart to see detailed statistics.
3. To set limits, select the application → Hourglass → set time.

Enable daily reports | Set limits for social networks (max. 1 hour) | Activate "Sleep Time" mode at 23:00-7:00 | Turn off notifications from games | Check statistics once a week-->

Interesting fact: Digital Wellbeing can show usage times even for system processes (e.g., com.miui.home – MIUI launcher). If this value exceeds 4-5 hours a day, it is worth checking the device for viruses or resetting the launcher settings through Settings → Applications → Application Management → Launcher.

4. Third-party utilities: deep analysis and optimization

If built-in MIUI tools aren't enough, use specialized applications that offer advanced features like CPU/GPU load monitoring, network packet analysis, or even geolocation-based screen time recording.

Greenify is especially useful for Xiaomi devices, as it allows you to “sleep” applications that MIUI does not block by default (for example, Mi Push or Mi Cloud system services).

1. Start Greenify and give you access to special features.
2. Choose hibernation apps (we recommend starting with Facebook, Instagram and instant messengers).
3. Activate Aggressive Mode (requires ADB).

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Greenify can increase battery life by 15-30% by blocking background processes, but some apps (such as instant messengers) will no longer show notifications in real time.

Use NetGuard to analyze network activity, which shows which apps are transmitting data in the background even when you're not using it. For example, Mi Video or Mi Browser can send analytics to Xiaomi servers every 10-15 minutes, to block this:

1. Open NetGuard and go to the App tab.
2. Find a suspicious app (e.g. com.miui.video).
3. Turn off Wi-Fi switches and mobile data.

5. ADB-Teams: Professional Monitoring

For users who are ready to work with Android Debug Bridge (ADB), commands are available that allow you to get real-time data on application activity. This method is suitable for Xiaomi on any version of MIUI, including Redmi 9 or POCO X3.

Major teams:

• 📌 List of running processes: adb shell ps -A | grep -i "com\. Shows all active applications with PID and memory consumption.
• 📊 Battery usage statistics: adb shell dumpsys batterystats --charged Reveals the energy consumption report from the last charge.
• 🔄 Latest Launch log: adb shell dumpsys usage-stats Detailed information about the time of each application.

To use these commands:

1. Install ADB on your PC (for example, through Google’s Platform Tools).
2. Enable USB debugging in the developer settings on Xiaomi.
3. Connect your phone to your PC and execute commands in the terminal.

⚠️ Attention: Use ADB Incorrect commands (e.g., adb shell pm uninstall) can delete system applications and cause the device to fail. Always check the syntax before running.

6 Permissions Analysis: Who and When Is Watching You

One of the most important aspects of application activity is permission control. Many programs (especially Chinese ones like UC Browser or APUS Launcher) request access to a camera, microphone or geolocation for no obvious reason. MIUI has tools to track such requests.

How to check:

1. Go to Settings → Privacy → Permissions Manager.
2. Select a category (e.g. Camera or Location).
3. See the list of applications with the date of the last use of the permission.

Pay special attention to applications that:

• 🚨 Requesting access to SMS (risk of interception of confirmation codes).
• 📍 Use geolocation more than 1 time per hour (for example, Mi Fit or Google Maps).
• 🎤 Turn on the microphone in the background (check WeChat or Likee).

If you find suspicious activity:

1. Open the permission settings for the application.
2. Turn off unnecessary options (such as Location for the Lantern).
3. Use the Prohibit Change of System Settings section Special Access.

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Applications like Clean Master or DU Battery Saver often request permissions to “optimize” but actually collect data for targeted advertising, and removing such programs can improve performance and privacy.

7. Activity optimization: how to reduce background work

Excessive application activity not only consumes battery, but also slows down the device. On Xiaomi, there are several ways to limit background processes without root rights:

• ⚡ Battery Limitation: C Settings → Battery. → Consumption Management Select Strict Restrictions for the App.
• 🚫 Prohibit Auto Start: C Settings → Annexes → Application management → Auto-Start Disable Unnecessary Programs.
• 🔄 Cache Cleanup: Remove the cache regularly through Settings → Warehouse → Clear the cache.
• 🛡️ Block notifications: in notification settings, turn off alerts from underutilized apps.

For devices with MIUI 13+, Deep Optimization is available:

1. Go to Settings → About Phone → Additional → Deep Optimization.
2. Activate the option and wait until the process is completed (it takes 5-10 minutes).
3. After optimization, check the Battery section - the energy consumption of background processes should decrease by 20-40%.

⚠️ Note: On some models POCO (for example, POCO F3) Deep optimization can reset Magisk or Xposed settings. Before you run, back up through TWRP.

FAQ: Frequent questions about app activity on Xiaomi