Xiaomi’s Built-in Advertising: What It Is, Where It Comes From, and How to Disable It

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices often encounter intrusive content that suddenly appears in system interfaces.This phenomenon is known as embedded advertising, and it has become a hallmark of the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS. Users notice banners in standard applications, recommendations in desktop folders and pop-ups when they unlock the screen.

Many people mistakenly believe that it is a virus that came from third-party sources, but in most cases the source is the system itself, which thus monetizes the affordable cost of gadgets, and understanding the nature of these notifications is the first step to making a smartphone comfortable without unnecessary information noise.

In this article, we will take a closer look at how ad units work, learn to distinguish between system recommendations and third-party software, and provide step-by-step instructions for cleaning the interface completely, and learn which services are responsible for displaying content and why it may be undesirable to completely disable them.

The Nature of Advertising Integrations in MIUI and HyperOS

At the heart of Xiaomi’s ecosystem is a business model that sells hardware at a minimal margin, and to offset costs and make money from software, the company is introducing special services into its firmware, most notably MSA (MIUI System Ads), which oversees the display of advertising materials in regular utilities.

Ads can be native, that is, organically embedded in the interface, or intrusive, overlaid content. For example, in the Security or bootloader app, you can see banners offering to install games or subscribe to services. This is not an accident, but a planned feature that is activated by default when the device is first launched.

It’s important to understand that HyperOS and later versions of MIUI offer more flexible privacy settings, but require careful attention, and ignoring these settings will result in constant collection of data about your preferences for advertising targeting.

⚠️ Note: Complete removal of system components through ADB-commands without proper preparation can lead to unstable phone operation or loss of warranty.Use disabling methods through settings.

The system analyzes your actions to offer relevant offers. If you use the camera often, the ads may offer cloud storage or photo accessories, which makes the ad integrations less annoying, but still take up space on the screen and consume traffic.

The main sources of advertising traffic

To effectively combat unwanted content, you need to know the enemy in the face. Ads on Xiaomi smartphones are generated by several key services and applications, which can be divided into system analytics services and preinstalled services.

The first and most important source is msa, which is the process that collects statistics and displays ad units, and without it, the system will not be able to generate personalized offers, but some users prefer to remove it completely, risking functionality.

The second important element is the Mi Video and Mi Music service, which often contain built-in banners and recommendations that appear even when using other programs, if the settings allow display on top of other windows.

• 📢 The msa service is the main demon of advertising modules throughout the system.
• 🎵 Mi Music / Mi Video – Multimedia centers with aggressive monetization.
• 📂 Explorer – often shows file and news recommendations at the bottom of the screen.
• 🔒 Lock screen – the service “Carousel of wallpaper”, broadcasting sponsored content.

Also worth mentioning is GetApps, a branded app store that constantly reminds itself of updates and promotions, and disabling notifications from this service significantly reduces the number of pop-ups.

Step-by-step: disabling advertising in settings

The safest and most effective way to get rid of intrusive banners is to use built-in customization tools, so you don't need super-user rights or complex computer programs, just go through the menu items carefully.

Start by turning off ad personalization. It won't remove banners completely, but it will make them less relevant and reduce data collection. Go to Settings, then select Password and Security, and find Personal Data Access, where you need to find msa and disable the access slider.

After that, the system will ask you to wait 10 seconds and confirm the action, which is a critical step, as it breaks the connection between your device and the company's ad server.

Then you turn off the recommendations in the system folders. Go to any folder on your desktop, click on the folder name (or three dots/cogs), and find the Recommended Toggle, which is active and causes you to have icons of apps you haven't installed.

Also remember to set up your Mi Account. In Settings → Mi Account → Advertising (or Advertising Services) you should disable the Personalized Advertising option, which will prevent your interest data from being used to select ads.

Setup of system applications and widgets

After global settings, you should go through the individual applications that are most often sinned by the display of ads, each of which has its own hidden switches, which are not always obvious when you first get acquainted with the device.

In the Security app, go to the settings (cog in the corner) and find "Get recommendations." Turn it off. Here, check the Cleanup section and remove the tick from the "Recommendations" item so that when cleaning the cache, you are not shown news or game suggestions.

For the bootloader app, the algorithm is similar: open the menu, go to settings, and uncheck the "Recommended Content" box, which removes banners that often appear immediately after downloading files.

The Theme app deserves special attention. Even if you don't use third-party designs, it can work in the background. Go to the user profile (human icon), click on the settings and disable all items related to personalization and recommendations.

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Tip: After disabling ads in each application, force them to close through the menu of running tasks so that the changes take effect immediately.

Control of the lock screen and wallpaper carousel

One of the most annoying features of embedded advertising is the Wallpaper Carousel, a service that changes images on a locked screen and often adds brand logos, news or slogans.

To disable this feature, go to Settings → Always On Screen and Lock Screen. Find Wallpaper Carousel and switch the slider to an inactive position. The system will warn you that you will lose access to beautiful pictures, but get rid of advertising junk.

If you want to leave beautiful wallpapers but no ads, that's possible, but requires finer customization. In some versions of HyperOS, you can choose the source of the images, eliminating sponsorship categories, but completely disabling the service is a more reliable solution for saving battery life.

Also check the desktop widgets. The News or Google Discover widget (the tape to the left of the desktop) often includes ad inserts. These can be removed from the desktop with a long tap, although it can be difficult to completely disable Google feed without third-party launchers.

Advanced Methods: ADB and Third-Party Launchers

For advanced users who are not comfortable with standard methods, there are more radical ways to clean the system, using ADB (Android Debug Bridge) debugging allows you to remove or freeze the system packages responsible for advertising at a deep level.

To do this, you need to turn on the developer mode (7 times click on the build number in About Phone), activate debugging over USB and connect the phone to the computer. With the adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.msa.global, you can completely deactivate the advertising service.

⚠️ Attention: Use ADB-Disabling critical system services (e.g., those related to security updates or Mi accounts) may cause the device to “brickle” or fail to reset settings.

An alternative and safer way is to install a third-party launcher, such as Nova Launcher or Microsoft Launcher, which completely replaces the desktop by removing the built-in directories with recommendations and Xiaomi news feeds, but system advertising in applications (Security, Downloads) will continue if you do not follow the settings from the previous sections.

Another method is to use ad-filtered DNS (e.g. AdGuard DNS) in private DNS settings (Settings → Connection and Sharing → Private DNS). Entering dns.adguard.com allows you to cut off ad requests at the network level, which is effective for many embedded services.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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An integrated approach combining disconnection MSA, Set up individual applications and use DNS-This filter eliminates 99% of all advertising in Xiaomi smartphones.