How to permanently remove YouTube from Xiaomi phone: from shutdown to complete erasure

The YouTube app on Xiaomi smartphones is often pre-installed system software that cannot be removed by standard methods. Users face the problem of taking up space in memory, using battery power in the background and showing annoying ads even if you do not use it. In this article, we will discuss all possible ways from simple disconnection to complete removal with ADB and root rights.

The peculiarity of MIUI (Xiaomi shell) is that even after "deleting" through the settings, many system applications simply hide, but continue to occupy space. We tested all methods on the Redmi Note 12 Pro+, POCO X5 Pro and Mi 11 Lite models with MIUI versions 13-15.

1. disable YouTube without deleting (the safest way)

If you don't have to completely erase an app, you just have to stop it and hide it from the menu, it's the best method. It doesn't require root rights, it doesn't affect warranty.

Instructions:

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Annexes → Application management.
• 🔍 In the search bar, type "YouTube" and select the application from the list.
• ⚙️ Click "Disable" (the button will become active if the application is system-based).
• 🗑️ Confirm the action in the dialog window.

After the shutdown:

• ✅ The icon will disappear from the app menu.
• ✅ YouTube will no longer be updated via Google Play.
• ❌ The application files will remain in memory (take up) ~100–150 MB).
• ❌ When you reset your settings to factory YouTube will return.

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi) 9A or POCO M3) The "disconnect" button may be inactive, which means that the manufacturer has blocked even this action for mission-critical system applications.

2. Uninstall YouTube Updates (release up to 200MB)

The system version of YouTube usually weighs 30-50 MB, but after updating through Google Play, its size can reach 150-200 MB. If you roll back the application to the factory version, you can save space.

How to do this:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → YouTube.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select "Delete Updates".
3. Confirm the action.

After the rollback:

• 📉 The app will return to the factory version (usually 17.36.35 or similar).
• 🔄 Google Play will try to update it when you first connect to the Internet.
• 🚫 To prevent automatic updates, turn off auto-update for YouTube in Google Play settings.

💡

If YouTube stopped opening after you deleted the updates, clear the app cache in the same settings. This will solve the problem 90% of the time.

3. Complete removal of YouTube via ADB (no root rights)

The method for power users ready to work with Android Debug Bridge (ADB) allows you to completely remove YouTube without obtaining root rights, but requires a connection to a PC and enable the developer mode.

Step-by-step:

Enable Developer Mode (7 times press "Version" MIUI" on the telephone")

Activate "Debugging by USB" in the developer settings

Download and install ADB-Drivers on PC (for example, through Minimal) ADB and Fastboot)

Connect the phone to the PC by USB (Select the "File Transfer" mode")-->

1. Open the command prompt (Windows) or terminal (macOS/Linux) in the folder with adb.exe.
2. Enter the command to check the connection: Adb devices must appear serial number of your device.
3. Follow the command to delete YouTube: adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.youtube
4. Reboot the phone.

⚠️ Attention: On some firmware MIUI (The YouTube package may have a different name, such as com.miui.youtube. Check the exact identifier through the command adb shell pm list packages. | grep youtube.

Advantages of the method:

• 🧹 Complete removal without trace (releases up to 250 MB).
• 🔄 Doesn't require root rights.
• 🔒 Does not affect the warranty (unless the bootloader is unlocked).

Disadvantages:

• 🖥️ Requires PC and basic knowledge of working with ADB.
• 🔄 After resetting YouTube will return.
• 🚫 Does not work on some customized firmware (e.g. Xiaomi.EU).

4. Removal with root rights (for advanced)

If you already have root access (like Magisk), you can remove YouTube as a regular user app, which is a method that is as clean as possible, but risky for beginners.

Instructions:

1. Install any file manager with root support (such as Root Explorer or Solid Explorer).
2. Go to /system/priv-app/YouTube or /system/app/YouTube (the path may be different).
3. Delete the YouTube folder and all its contents.
4. Clear the cache and data at /data/data/com.google.android.youtube.
5. Reset the device.

Alternatively, the Terminal Emulator is:

su


mount -o rw,remount /system




rm -rf /system/priv-app/YouTube




rm -rf /system/app/YouTube




rm -rf /data/data/com.google.android.youtube




reboot

Warnings:

• 🔧 Incorrectly deleting system files can make your phone fail.
• 🔄 After updating MIUI YouTube may be back.
• 📱 On some models (e.g. Xiaomi) 12T) YouTube is integrated into Google Play Services, and its removal will disrupt other Google services.

5. Alternative method: hiding the icon through the launcher

If you just want to remove YouTube from the home screen, but leave it to run through search, use the launcher feature. This method doesn't remove the app, but makes it less visible.

How to hide the icon:

• 📱 Hold your finger on the YouTube icon on the home screen.
• 🔍 In the menu that appears, select "Remove from the screen" or "Hide" (in launchers type). POCO Launcher or Nova Launcher).
• 🔒 Nova Launcher can completely hide the app from the menu: Long press → Settings → Hidden applications.

Limitations of the method:

• ❌ The application will remain in the system and will be updated.
• ❌ It can be found through a search by device.
• ✅ It does not require any technical manipulation.

6 What to do if YouTube is back after resetting

After a hard reset, all system applications, including YouTube, are restored, and to prevent this, you need to:

1. Create a backup using MIUI Backup or Titanium Backup (requires root).
2. Delete YouTube by one of the methods described above (better by ADB or root).
3. Block automatic recovery: adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.android.youtube
4. Turn off Google Play Auto Update: adb shell dumpsys package com.android.vending setAutoUpdateDisabled com.google.android.youtube

If YouTube is back,

• 🔄 Repeat the removal procedure through ADB.
• 📵 Turn off the internet before the first start after the reset (this will prevent automatic updates).
• 🔧 Use Debloater scripts for MIUI (for example, Xiaomi ADB/Fastboot Tools).

💡

The only way to permanently get rid of YouTube on Xiaomi is to reflash the phone to custom firmware without GApps (like LineageOS).

FAQ: Frequent questions about removing YouTube from Xiaomi