Xiaomi News app: what it is and how to disable

Owners of MIUI-based smartphones and the new HyperOS often face a baffling process called Xiaomi News, which is responsible for creating a personalized feed of content that is displayed on the desktop when swiped to the right or in a separate widget, which many users perceive as an obsessive element consuming resources and collecting data.

It's not actually a virus, it's a full-time information aggregator integrated into the manufacturer's ecosystem, but it's often over-utilized for those who are used to pure Android, and in this article, we'll go into detail about why an app is needed, how it affects the autonomy of the device, and how you can completely limit its activity without losing warranty.

It's worth noting that removing the system component completely requires caution.The wrong actions can lead to unstable launcher operation.Removal of Xiaomi News via ADB-The command is the only way to (completely) get rid of the process, as standard button removal is not provided.

Functional purpose and working principle

Xiaomi News (often known as com.mi.android.globalappgallery or similar variations depending on the region) is designed to deliver news content, promotions and app recommendations, and analyzes your preferences, search history and location to shape personalized results, as part of the company’s strategy to monetize budget devices through advertising integrations.

The aggregator works by connecting to the company's servers in the background, and even when you don't open the news feed, it can be activated periodically to update headlines or geolocate, to synchronize the weather widgets, currency rates and hot news, and for some users, it's a convenient tool, for others, a source of irritation.

Technically, this system application has advanced access rights, it can request permissions to read a list of installed programs, access to a microphone (for voice search), and exact location, and understanding these mechanisms is important for the proper privacy setting of your Xiaomi or Redmi.

• 📱 Data Collection: Aggregates information about your interests for targeted advertising.
• 🌐 Background Activity: Uses Internet traffic to preload feed content.
• 🔔 Notifications: Can send push messages about.breaking news even if the browser is closed.

⚠️ Attention: Disabling system components through the developer settings may cause the Global Search widget to disappear. If you want to quickly find applications and contacts, do not completely disable related services.

Impact on productivity and battery

Many users wonder why the battery is running out even when the phone is idle. Often the culprit is background activity of MIUI services, including the news feed. Xiaomi News process can consume up to 5-10% of the charge per day if not configured correctly, this is especially noticeable on models with small batteries.

In addition to power consumption, the application takes up RAM: on devices with 4 GB of RAM or less, every megabyte counts. The constant operation of background scripts can cause micro-freezes of the interface when switching between heavy tasks. Optimizing the service is the first step to speeding up an old smartphone.

Keep in mind that the load depends on the number of widgets placed in the tape. If you have activated widgets weather, promotions and sports, resource consumption will be higher, while minimalist setting minimizes the impact.

• 🔋 Energy consumption: Background content update prevents the processor from going into deep sleep.
• 📉 Traffic: In the absence of Wi-Fi, mobile Internet can be used to download media.
• 🧠 RAM: Takes up space in the cache, which can lead to other applications being unloaded from memory.

Set up notifications and personalization

Before you go for radical measures, try fine-tuning, allowing you to limit the flow of information without removing the component itself, and this is true for those who use weather or quick search widgets built into the same shell.

You first need to go to the settings of the feed itself, and this is usually done by long pressing from an empty desktop or swiping to the right and selecting the settings (cogs), where you can turn off categories of news that you don't care about, like "Sports," "Technology" or "Entertainment."

It is also important to check permissions for notifications. From the Settings menu → Notifications and Status bar → Notification Management, find the News app or Mi Browser app (often linked). Turn off all sliders except critical ones, if any.

The way to disable advertising in MIUI:


Settings → Passwords and security → Access to personal data → Advertising → Disable “Receive recommendations”

Remember that some settings may be reset after a major firmware update, and checking these settings periodically will help keep the interface clean.

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Use No Sound or Do Not Disturb mode with your schedule so that news doesn’t wake you up at night, even if notifications are formally enabled.

Methods of limiting background activity

If simple configuration doesn't work, you can limit the application's system-level rights, it won't delete it, but it won't run without your knowledge, it's safe and reversible at any time.

Go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Find the "News" (or Mi News) list. Click on "Battery" and select "No restrictions" (to allow work) or vice versa "Energy Saving" / "Limit background activity" to prevent working in the background. Different versions of MIUI may have different names.

You also need to turn off auto-start. In the same app settings menu, find "Start" and make sure the switch is off, which will prevent the process from starting immediately after the phone is turned on.

Using built-in energy saving is the most gentle way, and the system will decide when to freeze the process based on your usage habits.

Removal via ADB (for Advanced)

To completely remove system debris that cannot be removed by standard means, USB debugging (ADB) is used. This method requires a connection to a computer, but gives full control over Android packages.

First, activate the developer mode. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click on the build number (MIUI Version) 7 times. Then, in advanced settings, turn on "Debugging by USB".

Connect your smartphone to your PC, install drivers and the Android SDK Platform Tools. In the command line, type a command to delete the news packet. Be careful: removing the wrong packet can "brick" the phone.

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.mi.android.globalminusscreen

If the command is successful, the application will disappear from the installed list. To return the functionality will require a full reset to the factory settings (Wipe Data), so check the name of the package three times.

⚠️ Note: After removing system packets through ADB automatic firmware updates (OTA) You can stop working or you can end up with a mistake.

Alternative solutions and widgets

After disabling or removing a standard feed, many users feel empty. Fortunately, the Google Play store offers great alternatives that don't impose ads and respect privacy.

A popular solution is to use third-party launchers such as Nova Launcher or Microsoft Launcher, which allow you to customize the left screen (Google Discover) to your liking, leaving only useful widgets.

You can also install lightweight weather and news widgets from independent developers, which consume minimal resources and do not require deep integration into the system, which returns the smartphone to the speed comparable to pure Android.

• 🌤 Weather: Use Today Weather or Overdrop widgets instead of standard ones.
• 📰 Install Google News or Flipboard for easy reading.
• 🚀 Google widget completely replaces search functionality MIUI.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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The optimal balance between functionality and cleanliness of the system is not a complete removal, but competent limitation of background activity and disabling unnecessary notifications through the standard menu.