Monitoring your time spent on your smartphone has become a challenge for most users. Xiaomi offers a few built-in tools to monitor activity, but not everyone knows where to look for these statistics. Depending on the version of MIUI and device model (Redmi Note 12, POCO X5, Xiaomi 13T, etc.), the paths to access data may vary. In this article, we will examine all available methods, from standard features to hidden settings and third-party solutions.
Many users are faced with a problem: the statistics of app usage suddenly disappears after updating or resetting settings, we will explain why this happens and how to restore data, and you will learn how to turn off the collection of statistics if you are concerned about privacy.
If you want to not only view the time in the apps, but also limit it – at the end of the article there is a guide to adjust parental controls and screen time limits for yourself or your child.
Let’s start with the obvious one: the built-in Digital Well-Being tool that is available on most Xiaomi devices with MIUI 10 and later.
1.The standard Digital Well-Being tool at MIUI
The easiest way to see app usage statistics is to use the Digital Wellbeing feature, which has been built into MIUI since version 10 and runs on all modern Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones.
To open up the statistics:
- Go to Settings. → Digital well-being.
- Click on the Control Panel tab (or Usage Statistics in some versions).
- Choose a period: Today, Yesterday or Week.
This will show:
- 📊 Total screen usage time for the selected period.
- 📱 Top applications by activity time (with hours and minutes).
- 🔄 Number of phone unlocks.
- 📈 Timetable of activity by hour (peak periods of use).
On some devices (such as the Xiaomi 12 Pro with MIUI 14), statistics can be hidden behind an additional menu. If you don’t see the Digital Well-being tab, try typing “use time” in your settings search, the system will tell you the right way.
2. Hidden statistics in the "Security settings"
If there is no Digital Well-Being feature (e.g., on older versions of MIUI or after resetting), you can find the statistics in the Safety menu, which works even on devices with MIUI 9 and MIUI 8, where there was no separate section for digital well-being.
Instructions:
- Open Settings → Memory and device → Security settings.
- Go to Application Usage Statistics (or Application Activity) section.
- Select the app from the list to see the detailed time of its use.
Please note that this menu may reset statistics after restarting the device or clearing the cache. If the data is not displayed, try:
- 🔄 Reboot your smartphone.
- 📱 Enable statistics collection in privacy settings (Settings) → Confidentiality → Special permits → Usage statistics).
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If the statistics are not updated, check if data collection is enabled in Settings → Accounts and Sync → Mi Cloud → Sync usage data.
3.Use Mi Account to synchronize statistics
If you logged in to your smartphone with a Mi Account, your app usage data can be synced to the cloud, allowing you to view statistics even after you reset your phone or change your device.
To enable synchronization:
- Go to Settings → Accounts and Sync → Mi Cloud.
- Make sure that the Sync of Usage Data option is enabled.
- Back to Digital Well-Being – now statistics are stored in the cloud.
Advantages of this method:
- 🔄 Data is not reset when updating the firmware.
- 📱 You can view the statistics on several Xiaomi devices under one account.
- 📊 Details are available by day and week.
Important: If you log out of Mi Account or reset your phone without backing up, your usage history will be lost. To avoid this, check your sync settings regularly.
4. Third-party applications for detailed analysis
Xiaomi’s built-in tools provide basic statistics, but if you need advanced data (such as usage times by category, comparisons to previous periods, or notifications of exceeding limits), it’s worth looking at third-party apps.
Top.-3 screen time monitoring applications:
| Annex | Features | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Digital Wellbeing (Google) | The official solution from Google, integrated with MIUI, shows time in categories (social networks, games, work). | Play Market |
| ActionDash | Detailed schedules, comparisons with previous weeks, notices of exceeding limits. | Play Market |
| StayFree | Minimalist design, timer application lock, export statistics to CSV. | Play Market |
To install any of these applications:
- Download it from Play Market.
- Give permission to access the usage statistics (a pop-up will appear when you first start).
- Set notifications and limits in the app menu.
Enable statistics collection in the application settings |
Set daily limits for social media |
Set up time-excess notifications |
Synchronize data with Google Drive-->
One of the key benefits of third-party solutions is the ability to block apps after reaching a set limit. For example, in StayFree you can set up automatic disabling of TikTok or Instagram after 2 hours of use.
5. Viewing the time of a particular application through settings
If you need to know the time you use just one app (like YouTube or WhatsApp), you don't have to look at the general statistics. MIUI has a quick way to do this through the App menu.
Instructions:
- Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
- Select the desired application from the list (or use the search).
- Go to the section Usage Statistics or Working Time.
Here you'll see:
- 📱 Total activity time for today/week.
- 🔄 Number of application launches.
- 📊 Use of mobile data (if applicable).
This is a useful method if you want data on one or two applications, not complete statistics. However, note that on some devices (for example, POCO F4 with MIUI 13), this section may be hidden.
Why don’t statistics show time for some applications?
6. How to Reset or Disable Statistics Collection
If you're concerned about privacy, or if you just want to start collecting data from scratch, you can reset the usage statistics.
- 🔄 Start tracking the time from a new day/week.
- 📱 Planning to sell or transfer your phone to another person.
- 🛡️ Worry about collecting excess data by the system.
To reset the statistics:
- Open the Settings. → Digital well-being.
- Click on the three dots in the upper right corner and select Reset data.
- Confirm the action.
To completely disable the collection of statistics:
- Go to Settings → Privacy → Special permissions.
- Find the Usage Statistics section and turn it off.
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Disabling statistics collection can cause some MIUI functions to fail, such as optimizing the battery for frequently used applications.
If you turn off data collection, you will lose access not only to usage statistics, but also to features such as:
- 🔋 Adaptive Battery Optimization (MIUI Considers the activity of applications to save charge).
- 📱 Smart notification blocking (the system analyzes which apps distract you).
7.Setting limits and parental controls
If you want to not only look at statistics, but also limit the time you use certain apps, MIUI has built-in tools for doing this, which is useful for both self-monitoring and limiting children's screen time.
To set limits:
- Open Settings → Digital Well-Being → App Timer.
- Select an app from a list (such as Instagram or PUBG Mobile).
- Set a daily limit (for example, 1 hour).
- Enable the option to lock after the time has expired.
For parental control:
- Create a child profile in Settings → Accounts and Sync → Family.
- Link your child’s device to your Mi Account.
- Set time and content restrictions in the Parental Controls menu.
Advantages of built-in limits:
- 🔒 Block applications after exceeding the limit (unblocking is possible only by password).
- 📊 Weekly activity reports (notifications are received).
- 👨👩👧👦 The ability to set up different profiles for several children.
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To bypass the application lock after exceeding the limit, you can temporarily disable Digital Well-Being in the settings, but this will reset all the statistics.