How to see how many hours spent in applications on Xiaomi: the complete guide

Monitoring smartphone time is becoming increasingly important in the digital age, and owners of Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO devices often wonder how to know how many hours I spent on an app? This information is useful not only for self-monitoring, but also for optimizing battery use, identifying voracious programs, and even for parental control.

MIUI (Xiaomi’s branded shell) has some built-in tools for monitoring activity, but they are not always obvious. Moreover, after updates, the interface may change, and some functions may move to other sections of the menu. In this article, we will analyze all the available ways to check the time of use of applications, including hidden settings, third-party utilities and even development commands, you will learn how to get detailed statistics for both individual programs and general screen time, and learn how to export this data for analysis.

Important: methods may vary slightly depending on the version of MIUI (12, 13, 14) and the model of the smartphone (Xiaomi 13 Pro, Redmi Note 12, POCO F5, etc.).If you do not find the desired item in the menu, check the alternative paths indicated in the article.

1.Inline statistics in MIUI: "Digital well-being"

The easiest way to do this is to use the built-in Digital Wellbeing tool that is available in all modern versions of MIUI (starting with the 10th), which not only shows the total screen usage time, but also details it by application and allows you to set limits.

To open up the statistics:

1. Go to Settings → Digital Well-Being and Parental Controls.
2. Slip the chart at the top of the screen (usually showing the total use time per day).
3. Scroll down to the Application Use block – here will be a list of programs indicating the activity time.

Additional functions are also available in this section:

• 📊 Daily/weekly/monthly reports – switch periods at the top of the screen.
• ⏰ Application timers – you can set a daily limit for specific programs (for example, for social networks).
• 👁️ Focus Mode – Temporary disabling of distracting notifications.
• 📈 Comparison with past periods – analysis of usage dynamics.

⚠️ Note: If you don't see the Digital Well-Being section, it may be hidden due to regional settings or modified firmware.

Alternative path: “Battery statistics”

If the Digital Well-being section is not available or does not show detailed information, you can use the battery consumption data, which is less accurate (it shows the time of the processor, not the screen), but works on all Xiaomi devices.

Instructions:

1. Open Settings → Battery and Performance → Battery Consumption
2. Slap the icon. ⚙️ (gear) in the upper right corner and select Battery Use.
3. Scroll down to the list of apps – each will be marked with Activity time (in hours and minutes).

Note that this shows the time when the app started processes (including background work), not just when you were actively using it. For example, the messenger can show 3 hours of activity, although you spent only 30 minutes on it - the rest of the time it worked in the background, checking messages.

🔹 Useful Lifehack: To separate background activity from actual use, compare the data in this section with the statistics from Digital Well-Being. The difference will be the background time.

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If the battery consumption list does not have the desired application, try to run it for at least 1-2 minutes - after that it will appear in the statistics.

Hidden statistics: “For developers”

MIUI has a hidden developer section that collects detailed information about application run times, including exact start and close timestamps, which is suitable for advanced users because it requires developer mode activation.

How to turn on and use:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone and tap on MIUI Version 7 times.
2. Return to the main settings menu and open a new section → For developers.
3. Scroll down to the Monitoring block and select Application Time.
4. Here you will see a list of all installed programs with an indication of: 🕒 Total operating time (including background activity). 📱 Time in the foreground (when the app was opened on the screen). 🔄 Number of launches.

This method provides the most detailed and accurate statistics, including nighttime usage and short sessions, but note that after a phone reboot, the counters can be reset (depending on the version of MIUI).

Third-party monitoring applications

If Xiaomi’s built-in tools don’t suit you, you can use third-party tools that offer advanced features like weekly reports, app categorization, data export, and even time-locking.

Top.-3 activity tracking applications:

⚠️ Warning: Third-party monitoring applications require permission for User Access, without which they will not be able to collect data:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Special Access → Access to Use.
2. Find the desired application (for example, StayFree) in the list and turn on the switch.

1. Check the reviews and rating of the app on Google Play

2. make sure the application has a privacy policy

3. to provide access to the use (Usage Access)

4. Set exceptions for critical applications (calls, SMS)-->

5. How to export data for analysis

If you need to save statistics on application usage (for example, for introspection or reporting), it can be exported in a convenient format, depending on the method, the data can be uploaded to CSV, JSON or even screenshots.

Modes of export:

• 📄 From Digital Well-Being: Open usage statistics (like in the first section). ⋮ (three dots) in the upper right corner. Select Data Export - the file will be saved in the Download folder.

Through ADB (for Advanced)

If you need to get raw data directly from the system, connect the phone to the PC and execute the command:

adb shell dumpsys usagestats --json

This will display the full stats in JSON format, which can be saved and processed in Excel or Google Sheets.

Screenshots + OCR

If export is not available, take a screenshot of the statistics and process them through text recognition services (e.g. Google Lens).

🔹 Example of data processing: Import CSV-Google Tables, then use formulas to calculate average time by category (games, social media, work). =SUMIF(B2:B100; "Games"; C2:C100) count the total time spent on the games.

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Exporting data is useful for long-term analysis, such as comparing statistics over several months and identifying trends (increased time on social media before exams, etc.).

Frequent problems and their solutions

When you look at the usage statistics, Xiaomi users often encounter common mistakes, and let’s look at the most common ones and how to fix them.

🔧 Issue 1: No Digital Well-Being Section.

• 🔹 Reason: An outdated version MIUI (10 below) or regional firmware (e.g. for China).
• 🔧 Solution: Update your firmware to the latest version via Settings → The phone. → System Update: If the update doesn't work, install global firmware via the Mi Flash Tool (instructions are available on the forum) XDA Developers).

🔧 Problem 2: Statistics are reset after rebooting.

• 🔹 Reason: In some versions MIUI counters are reset when rebooting.
• 🔧 Solution: Use third-party applications (e.g. StayFree) that store data independently of the system. export statistics manually once a week (as described in Section Five).

🔧 Problem 3: The time in battery statistics does not match the actual use.

• 🔹 Reason: Battery consumption takes into account all processes, including background activity.
• 🔧 Solution: Compare data to the Digital Well-Being section or use the adb shell dumpsys usagestats command for accurate metrics.

7. Comparison of methods: which one to choose?

Each of these methods has its pros and cons. To choose the best one, focus on your goals:

💡 Recommendation:

• For quick checks, use Digital Well-Being.
• For technical analysis (for example, battery debugging) – the developer mode.
• For long-term monitoring (weeks/months), third-party apps like ActionDash are used.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions