Yellow Pages on Xiaomi: Hidden Phone Book or Unnecessary Rubbish?

What is Yellow Pages and why does it appear on Xiaomi?

If you own a Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO smartphone, you’ve probably noticed the mysterious Yellow Pages on your app list. At first glance, it’s a regular phone directory, but its origin and necessity raise a lot of questions. Unlike standard contacts or Google Contacts, this app isn’t removed through menus, it’s not updated through the Play Market, and it often runs in the background without apparent benefit.

In fact, Yellow Pages is a system application from Xiaomi, integrated into the firmware MIUI. It is designed to store contacts and quickly access them, but with a number of features. First, it duplicates the features of the standard application Contacts. Second, its interface and capabilities are far inferior to modern alternatives like Google Contacts or Truecaller. Third, it actively consumes resources even if you do not use it. So why is Xiaomi still not removing it?

The answer lies in MIUI’s history, where Yellow Pages used to be a key element of the ecosystem, especially in China, where it was used to integrate with local services (e.g., search for organizations by numbers), but with the release of global firmware and the expansion of other applications, its relevance has faded, and today it is more of a rudiment of the past, which remains in the system due to legacy code and possible dependencies on other MIUI services.

Yellow Pages: What does this app do?

Despite its archaic nature, Yellow Pages still performs a few basic functions, and here are its key features:

• 📞 Contact Storage: Duplicates the list of the phone book, but without syncing with Google or other cloud services.
• 🔍 Number search: Allows you to search for contacts by name, number, or partial data (only locally).
• 📇 Fast access to frequently used contacts: displays favorite numbers on the home screen (the feature is poorly customized).
• 📊 Call log: Keeps a history of incoming/outgoing calls, but without analytics (unlike Truecaller).
• 🔗 Integration with MIUI: may interact with other system applications (e.g., Messages or Phone), but this often leads to conflicts.

In practice, most users are unaware of these features because the app is hidden from view, has no desktop shortcut, sends no notifications, and offers nothing unique compared to modern counterparts, and even looks outdated even against the background of standard MIUI 14/15 applications:

As you can see from the chart, Yellow Pages is losing on all fronts, and its only advantage is its low traffic consumption (because it doesn’t sync with servers), but in the age of unlimited rates, this is no longer the case.

⚠️ Warning: If you notice Yellow Pages actively consuming battery or mobile traffic, it may be a sign of a malfunction MIUI. Normally, the application should be in sleep mode and not affect performance.

Can you delete Yellow Pages from Xiaomi?

Technically, it is possible to remove Yellow Pages, but with reservations, since it is a system application, it will not be uninstallable by standard methods (through Settings → Applications), but there are several ways to get rid of it:

Disable via ADB (no root)

Remove with Magisk (requires root)

Hide from the application menu (without deleting)

Remove to the factory version (if updated)-->

Method 1: Disconnect via ADB (without root)

The safest method is to disable the application without physically removing it.

1. Enable USB Debugging in Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (click 7 times on the line with the version, then go back to Settings → Additional → For Developers).
2. Connect your phone to your PC and open the command line (Windows) or terminal (macOS/Linux).
3. Enter the command: adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.android.yellowpages
4. Reset the device.

After that, the app will disappear from the menu and stop working in the background. To return it back, use the command:

adb shell pm enable com.android.yellowpages

Method 2: Remove with Magisk (requires root)

If you have root rights, you can delete Yellow Pages in its entirety:

1. Install Magisk Manager and App Systemizer.
2. Search in the list of com.android.yellowpages and select the option "Delete".
3. Reset the device.

⚠️ Warning: Deleting system applications may result in unstable performance MIUI, especially if they are associated with other services (e.g., calls or messages). Before deleting, back up through Settings → System → Backup.

Method 3: Hiding from the menu (without deleting)

If you don’t want to take risks, but the app gets in the way, you can just hide it:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find Yellow Pages on the list.
3. Click Hide (not available on all versions of MIUI).

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Before you manipulate your system applications, check whether the basic functions (calls, SMS) are affected by them. For example, on some Redmi models, disabling Yellow Pages can reset your contact settings.

Does Yellow Pages affect smartphone performance?

One of the big questions is, should you even worry about Yellow Pages if it doesn't bother you? Let's look at how it affects your device.

• 🔋 Battery consumption: In normal condition, the application uses almost no charge (0.1-0.3% per day).However, if it wakes up due to a failure, consumption can rise to 2-5%.
• 📶 Mobile traffic: Does not use the Internet, as it only works with local data.
• 🖥️ RAM: Takes ~10-20MB of RAM in the background (uncritical for today’s 6+GB smartphones RAM).
• 📁 Storage: Weighs about 5–15 MB (depending on version MIUI).
• 🔄 Conflicts with other apps: May interfere with Google Contacts or Truecaller if both apps are trying to manage the same contacts.

To check the impact on your device:

1. Open Settings → Battery → Battery Use and find Yellow Pages in the list.
2. Check the Settings section → Applications → Yellow Pages → Memory.
3. Use ADB for detailed diagnosis: adb shell dumpsys meminfo com.android.yellowpages

If an app consumes more than 1% of its battery per day or takes up more than 50MB of RAM, it is a reason to turn it off.

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On devices with MIUI 13+ Yellow Pages, performance is almost not affected, but on older models (for example, Redmi Note 5 or Mi A2), turning it off can give an increase in 5-10% of free RAM.

Yellow Pages Alternatives: What to Replace?

If you've decided to get rid of Yellow Pages, it's logical to choose a replacement.

• 📱 Google Contacts: Full sync with Google account, integration with Gmail and other services, automatic backup. Minus - requires the Internet to work properly.
• 🔍 Truecaller: Spam recognition, unsolicited call blocking, cloud sync. Minus — collects data about your contacts (privacy issues).
• 📞 Simple Contacts: Minimalist app with no extra features, open source (privateness). minus — there are no advanced features like a spam filter.
• 📊 Drupe: Easy gesture interface, integration with instant messengers. Minus — premium paid version for some features.
• 🔒 Nextcloud Contacts: For those who use their own cloud. Complete control of data, but require a server setup.

For most Xiaomi users, Google Contacts is the best choice – it is pre-installed on global versions of MIUI and completely replaces the functionality of Yellow Pages. If privacy is important to you, pay attention to Simple Contacts or Nextcloud.

To move contacts from Yellow Pages to the new app:

1. Export contacts to.vcf via Settings → System → Import/Export.
2. Import the file to the selected application (e.g., Google Contacts via contacts.google.com).

Yellow Pages and Security: Should You Worry?

One of the common questions is, is Yellow Pages spyware or backdoor?

• 🔐 Data Access: The app has permission to read contacts, call logs, and SMS (like any other phone book application), but it doesn't transfer that data to external servers -- it's only done locally.
• 🌍 China Connection: Since Xiaomi is a Chinese company, the app could theoretically send data to servers in China, but analysis of traffic (e.g., via Packet Capture) shows that Yellow Pages does not use the Internet.
• 🛡️ Vulnerabilities: Like any legacy software, it may contain unpatched bugs, but there are no open source exploits for Yellow Pages.
• 📱 Interaction with MIUI: The application is integrated with system services, so removing it may disrupt other functions (e.g., quick dialing from the desktop).

For complete confidence, you can check the activity of the application:

1. Install NetGuard or GlassWire to monitor network activity.
2. Check the permissions in Settings → Apps → Yellow Pages → Permissions.
3. Use ADB to analyze logs: adb logcat | grep yellowpages

⚠️ Attention: If you are using MIUI on Chinese firmware (for example, on Xiaomi for the domestic market), the risks are higher – in such versions, system applications can interact with Chinese ones. For global firmware.MIUI Global or EEA) this risk is minimal.

Next PostNext Yellow Pages: Will it be removed in new MIUI versions?

With each update, MIUI Yellow Pages becomes less visible, with recent firmware versions (starting with MIUI 14) barely mentioning it in the official documentation, and its functionality being duplicated by other applications, suggesting a few conclusions:

• 📉 Gradual Obsolescence: Xiaomi does not develop Yellow Pages, but does not remove it due to possible dependencies in older models.
• 🔄 Replacement with MIUI Contacts: In newer devices (e.g., Xiaomi 13/14 or Redmi Note 12), the main contact app is MIUI Contacts, which has a modern interface and sync with the cloud.
• 🚀 Firmware Cleanup: In MIUI 15/16 (expected in 2026–2026), the Yellow Pages as an outdated component may be completely removed.
• 📱 Save for legacy devices: On older smartphones (such as Redmi 4X or Mi 6), the application may remain for compatibility.

If you upgraded your Xiaomi to the latest version MIUI And you don't see Yellow Pages in the app list, it's probably already disabled or hidden by default. ADB:

adb shell pm list packages | grep yellowpages

If the command does not return results, the application is removed from your firmware.

For owners of new models (Xiaomi 13T, Redmi Note 12 Pro+ and newer), Yellow Pages is no longer relevant – its functions are completely overlapped by MIUI Contacts or Google Contacts.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Yellow Pages on Xiaomi