Xiaomi’s modern smartphones have become powerful hubs of entertainment and work, quietly consuming the clock of our time. Often we don’t even notice how we’re stuck in social media feeds or playing for the second hour, even though we only planned to check notifications. Digital well-being is becoming a key aspect of owning a device that allows you to control addiction.
Fortunately, the MIUI shell and the newer HyperOS offer built-in tools to monitor activity. Usage statistics help you understand real-world user behavior patterns. In this article, we’ll look at all the ways you can get detailed information about how much time you spend on a particular app.
We're going to look at not only the standard settings, but also the hidden features that are available through the engineering menu or special commands, and we're going to look at situations where the standard meter doesn't work or shows incorrect data, and time control is the first step to a more productive life.
Standard Functionality of Digital Wellbeing
Starting with MIUI 10 and up, the Digital Wellbeing app is built into the system, the primary tool that automatically collects data on program launches and session durations, does not require third-party software installation and is deeply integrated into the system.
To access the full statistics, you need to go to system settings, and the path is usually: Settings → Digital Well-Being and Parental Controls. Here's a pie chart showing the time distribution between different application categories.
Clicking on a specific sector of the chart or selecting Show All Data at the bottom of the screen will show you a detailed list that shows app names, launches and total usage time for the current day, updated in near real time, but may have a slight latency.
⚠️ Note: If you have forced applications to close through the menu of running tasks, the statistics may be interrupted.
It is important to note that this module requires an active Google account and an enabled activity history to function properly, without which the analytics collection may be limited or completely disabled by the security system.
Setting limits and notifications
Just knowing the numbers isn't enough, it's important to be able to manage them. Digital Wellbeing allows you to set time limits for specific applications. When the limit is exhausted, the app icon will turn grey and the launch will be blocked.
To set up, go to the statistics section, select an unnecessary app (like Instagram or TikTok) and click on the hourglass icon. Here you can set a daily limit. There is also a feature called Sleep Mode, which restricts access to your phone at night.
- 🕒 Application timers: Automatic locking after a predetermined time has expired.
- 🌙 “Alone” mode: disables notifications and limits functionality in specified hours.
- 📊 Daily report: late-day notification with final usage statistics.
You can also turn on a notification that you're over the threshold of use, for example, if you're on social media for more than 30 minutes, it helps you consciously interrupt your content consumption.
☑️ Set up digital well-being
Using Developer Mode for Detailed Statistics
If you don't have a standard interface, you can take advantage of the advanced developer experience, and the debugging menu has Usage Stats, which shows you more technical data about how processes work.
To activate this mode, you need to click seven times on the build number in the About Phone menu. Once you have become a developer, a new option will appear in the main settings menu, "Additional" or "Extended settings", and you will find the "Developers" section there.
Inside this section, you'll find Usage Stats, and you'll click on it to list all processes to within a second, and you'll see the last access, the number of launches, and the time you've run in the background.
adb shell dumpsys usagestatsThis command, entered through ADB (Android Debug Bridge), will output an even more detailed log in text form that can be analyzed on a computer, which is useful for identifying hidden processes that consume battery life.
Why do we need ADB for statistics?
Third-party time-recording applications
Xiaomi's built-in tools are good, but sometimes you need more flexible settings or cross-platform synchronization. There are many time-tracking apps on the Google Play Store that often provide more beautiful visualization and social features.
One of the most popular solutions is ActionDash, which is actually an improved version of standard digital well-being, and it can chart, compare your productivity to other users, and even lock the screen when you reach a limit more rigidly than the system means.
| Annex | Substantive function | Paid version | Compatibility with MIUI |
|---|---|---|---|
| ActionDash | Full copy of Digital Wellbeing with extension | Got (Pro) | Tall. |
| QualityTime | Deep Analytics and Lockdown | Got it (Premium) | Medium |
| StayFree | Control of use and blocking of advertising | There (Unlimited) | Tall. |
| Forest | Gamification (growing trees) | There is. | Tall. |
Another interesting option is StayFree, which not only counts minutes, but also blocks notifications from selected programs, which helps to combat not only time in the application, but also constant distraction.
When you install these programs, MIUI can aggressively unload them from memory, and to get the meter to work properly, you have to go to the battery settings, find the app you installed, and select No Limits mode, and you also have to put it on your running list.
Problems with statistics on older versions of MIUI
Owners of devices running older versions of the shell (such as MIUI 9 or early builds of MIUI 10 Global) may experience a lack of built-in meter, with digital well-being functionality either missing or hidden in these versions.
In this case, the only way out is to install third-party software, as described above. However, there is a caveat: on very old versions of Android (below 7.0), applications do not have access to system usage statistics without root rights. Obtaining superuser rights on modern devices is difficult and dangerous.
⚠️ Please note: Do not try to install modified system applications (Digital Wellbeing) APK) This can lead to a cyclic reboot of the device (bootloop).
If you have an old phone but you have a fresh version of MIUI installed through air updates, the features can come automatically. Check for updates in the Settings menu → About the phone. Often new features come with security patches.
💡
If the time counter shows 0 minutes, try restarting the device. the statistics service sometimes freezes after a system update or reset.
Frequent Questions and Decisions (FAQ)
Users often face the same problems when trying to analyze their screen time, and the following are answers to the most popular questions that will help you understand the nuances of the system.