How to remove unnecessary apps on Android Xiaomi: from standard methods to hidden features

Xiaomi smartphones out of the box come with dozens of pre-installed apps, many of which users never run. These programs take up precious memory, consume battery power in the background and can even collect data about your activity, but just remove them is not always possible — some applications are protected by the system, and some after uninstallation come back after the MIUI update.

In this article, we will look at all possible ways to clean your smartphone from unnecessary software, from standard methods through settings to hidden features for power users. You will learn which applications can be removed without risk to the system, and which are better to simply disable so as not to disrupt Android. We will also tell you how to prevent automatic recovery of remote programs after updates and what tools will help control installed software.

It's important to understand that not all apps are equally useful or harmful. For example, com.miui.analytics does collect data about device usage, and com.xiaomi.midrop can be useful for fast file transfer, so before you delete, you should figure out what each application is responsible for, which will also be discussed below.

Why are there so many unnecessary apps on Xiaomi?

Smartphone makers, including Xiaomi, pre-installed not only basic Google and Android services, but also their own apps, which often duplicate the features of the standard ones. For example, instead of Google Chrome, you will find Mi Browser, and instead of Google Play Music - Mi Music.

• 💰 Partnering agreements: Xiaomi works with developers (like Facebook, Netflix, LinkedIn) to get paid to pre-install their apps, and even if you don't use those services, they take up space.
• 📊 Data collection: Applications like com.miui.analytics or com.xiaomi.ab monitor user activity to improve MIUI and target ads, and they cannot be removed in standard ways.
• 🔄 Xiaomi ecosystem. The company is promoting its services: Mi Cloud, Mi Video, Mi Remote, which are integrated into the system and are sometimes necessary for the device to work properly.
• 🌍 Regional features: Depending on the market (China, Europe, India), the set of pre-installed applications may vary, for example, in Indian firmware, Mi Pay and local services are often found.

According to the study Appfigures, on Xiaomi smartphones, on average, 40-60 applications are pre-installed, of which users actively use no more than 15-20. The rest are either removed or remain “dead load”, occupying up to 1-3 GB of memory and consuming up to 5-10% of battery power per month due to background activity.

⚠️ Warning: Some applications (e.g., com.android.phone or com.miui.home) are critical to the system. Deleting them can lead to loss of functionality or even a device blink (unloadability). Always check the program's purpose before uninstallation.

Method 1: Standard removal through settings

The easiest and safest method is to remove settings through the settings menu, which is suitable for custom applications (installed by you from Google Play) and some pre-installed programs that Xiaomi allows to uninstall.

Instructions:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select the tab “All applications” (the default may be “Downloaded”).
3. Find the desired application in the list (you can use the search at the top).
4. Click on it and select “Delete” (if the button is active).

If the Remove button is inactive, the application is protected by the system, in which case you can:

• 🔄 Disable it (disable or remove button) This will stop background activity and hide the icon from the menu, but does not free up memory.
• 📉 Limit Rights: Go to Permits and disable access to contacts, location, camera, etc.
• 🚫 Freeze with ADB (discussed below).

Examples of applications that can normally be removed in the standard way:

⚠️ Warning: After deleting some applications (e.g., Mi Browser), the system may automatically restore them the next time you update MIUI. To avoid this, use the methods from Method 4 (disable via ADB).

Method 2: Remove via Google Play (for custom applications)

If you installed the app from Google Play, you can remove it directly through the store, which is convenient when you need to clean the device of unnecessary software en masse.

How to delete:

1. Open the Google Play Store.
2. Click on the profile icon in the upper right corner → “Apps and Device Management”.
3. Go to the “Manage” tab → select the apps you want to remove.
4. Click on the basket icon ("Delete") in the top menu.

Advantages of this method:

• 🔍 Easy search and filtering by installation date.
• 📊 Size-sorting capability (to remove the heaviest programs first).
• 🔄 Automatically remove cache and application data.

However, there are limitations:

• ❌ You can’t uninstall system applications (they just won’t show up in the list).
• ❌ Some preinstalled apps (e.g. Mi Pay) may not be available on Google Play, even if they are installed.

💡

To find all the apps you don’t need faster, sort them into Google Play by “Long unused” and automatically show the apps you haven’t run in months.

Method 3: Using Developer Mode and ADB

Removing system applications that cannot be uninstalled by standard methods requires enabling developer mode and using the Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a method that is suitable for experienced users, as improper actions can disrupt the system.

Step 1: Enable the Developer Mode:

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Find the MIUI version and click on it 7 times in a row until the notification “You are a developer!” appears.
3. Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers.
4. Activate the “Debugging by USB” switch.

Step 2: Connect your smartphone to your PC and use ADB:

1. Download and install Platform Tools (includes ADB).
2. Connect your phone to your computer through USB-cable (select the "File Transfer" mode»).
3. Open the command prompt (cmd) in the folder with ADB and type:

adb devices

(Your device name should appear as a confirmation of your connection.)

adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 title.package

For example, to remove the Mi Browser:

adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.android.browser

List of popular removal packages:

• 📱 com.miui.analytics — statistics collection (can be deleted).
• 🎵 com.miui.player — Mi Music.
• 📺 com.miui.videoplayer — Mi Video.
• 🔍 com.miui.bugreport - error reports.
• 📊 com.xiaomi.ab — A/B testing (can be removed).

⚠️ Warning: Deleting some packages (e.g., com.miui.home) will cause the interface to fail. Before experimenting, look at the purpose of each package on forums (e.g., 4PDA or XDA Developers).

Method 4: Disabling Auto-Recovery Applications After Updates

One of the most common problems with Xiaomi is the automatic recovery of remote applications after the MIUI update, which is because the system stores a list of “system” packages and restores them when it first starts after the update.

To avoid this, you need to:

1. Remove the application via ADB (as in Method 3).
2. Then freeze it so that the system can’t recover:

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 title.package

Example for Mi Browser:

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.android.browser

You can also use special applications for packet management, for example:

• 🛠️ App Inspector – shows all packages installed and their statuses.
• ❄️ Ice Box – allows you to freeze applications without ADB (requires root).
• 🔧 Package Disabler is an alternative to disabling system applications.

If you deleted the application through ADB, but it returned after the update, check for its APK- file in the /system/priv-app/ folder or /system/app/. In this case, you will need to delete the file manually (you need root) or use patches for MIUI blocking recovery.

💡

Disabling auto-recovery through ADB is the only reliable way to get rid of unnecessary system applications forever, but it requires re-use after each major MIUI update.

Method 5: Use of third-party utilities (without root)

If you don’t want to mess with ADB, you can use third-party utilities that make it easier to manage applications. Most of them don’t require root rights, but some features (such as uninstalling system applications) will be limited.

Popular utilities:

An example of working with Debloater:

1. Download the utility with XDA Developers and unpack it on PC.
2. Connect the phone in debugging mode via USB.
3. Run Debloater.bat and select Read device packages.
4. In the list, tick off unnecessary apps and click “Apply”.

The advantages of third-party utilities:

• 🔍 A user-friendly interface for packet management (no need to remember ADB commands).
• 📋 Ability to massively disable applications.
• 🔄 Automatic backup before changes.

Disadvantages:

• ⚠️ Risk of installing malware (download utilities only from verified sources).
• ❌ Not all programs run on the latest versions MIUI.

Which apps can be removed and which ones can’t?

Before you delete or disable applications, you need to understand what they are responsible for, and here is a list of safe to remove and critical packages.

You can remove (or disable):

• 📱 com.miui.analytics — analytics collection (Xiaomi uses this data to improve MIUI).
• 🎵 com.miui.player - Mi Music (can be replaced by Spotify or YouTube Music).
• 📺 com.miui.videoplayer — Mi Video.
• 📡 com.xiaomi.midrop - Mi Drop (unless you use Wi-Fi file transfer).
• 🔍 com.miui.bugreport - error reports.
• 📊 com.xiaomi.ab — A/B testing.
• 💬 com.facebook.appmanager, com.facebook.katana — Facebook and its services.
• 🌐 com.android.browser - Mi Browser (if you use Chrome).

Cannot be removed (critical for the system):

• 🏠 com.miui.home — launcher (remove — lose desktop).
• ☎ com.android.phone — phone calls.
• 📶 com.android.settings – System settings.
• 🔋 com.miui.powerkeeper - battery management.
• 🔒 com.miui.securitycenter is a security center.
• 📱 com.miui.system is a system process.
• 🔄 com.android.updater — system update.

If you are not sure if you can remove a particular application, check it on specialized resources:

• 🌐 AppBrain is an Android application database with descriptions.
• 📝 4PDA is a packet parsing theme MIUI.
• 🔧 XDA Developers — Model-specific discussions.

💡

Before you delete a system application, always check its purpose. For example, com.miui.analytics can be safely deleted, but com.miui.home can not, even if it takes up a lot of space.

FAQ: Frequent questions about removing apps on Xiaomi