How to disable ads in Xiaomi MIUI 12

Xiaomi has been a major player in the smartphone market for several years, rising to the fore in a very short period of time. The Chinese manufacturer is known for the excellent quality / price ratio of its smartphones in general.

But one of the disadvantages of owning a Xiaomi phone is this: the number of ads built into its MIUI interface and native applications.

One of the main reasons why Xiaomi is able to provide a lot of hardware at a lower price than its competitors is this: Xiaomi is basically a data company, where your personal information is the product. Their hardware (smartphone) in this case is just a tool to collect your data.

Hence, the compromise comes at a price. In order to monetize its smartphones without increasing the purchase price, Xiaomi has chosen to expose its users to inappropriate advertisements in its default interface and applications.

However, it is possible to disable these ads even though the number of hops you have to make can be astounding.

Here we have performed all the necessary steps on the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro running on MIUI 12, but this tutorial should be easily applied to older versions, with some differences in their respective menus.

How to disable ads in Xiaomi MIUI 12 by deactivating the MSA application

This should be your top priority as this method can solve many annoying advertising problems that are present on MIUI. Xiaomi doesn't want you to delete its advertisements and has tried to make the process a little frustrating, but with a little patience you can close the MSA (MIUI System Ads) application. 

You will need to make sure that your smartphone is running MIUI and is connected to a Wi-Fi or mobile network before doing so. Unfortunately, you can't do this offline.

1. Go to Settings, then Password and Security.
2. Under Authorization and revocation, you can search for MSA and slide the radio button to disable it.
3. Now, wait 10 seconds, then select Revoke.
4. You may receive a message informing you that the authorization cannot be revoked. Keep trying until the system lets you.

This method should eliminate most of the ads. But these are just the "system" ads in the MIUI interface, other ads may remain in some of the native Xiaomi applications and will need to be disabled individually. Is not it fantastic? 

A good thing is that I believe that only a small percentage of Xiaomi users would rely on native Xiaomi applications such as their web browser and would prefer to use Chrome or DuckDuckGo.

How to disable personal ad recommendations

Now that you have revoked the MSA authorization, you can start deactivating the individual "recommendations" that MIUI will have sent to you. To disable personal advertising advice, which prevents Xioami from recording your usage habits and collecting your data, please follow the steps below.

1. Go to Settings, then Privacy Protection.
2. Under Privacy, look for Advertising services and then Personalized ad recommendations.
3. Turn off personalized ad recommendations and you should no longer see ads based on your behavioral data or personal information.

How to disable ads in Security and in the web browser

Disabling ads in Mi Browser and Mi Security applications is relatively simple from here on out. Go to the Settings menu and follow the steps below.

Disable MIUI Mi Browser Ads:

1. Open the Mi Browser, go to the Profile tab at the bottom right.
2. In the Profile tab, access the settings by selecting the "bolt" in the upper right corner.
3. In the advanced settings, uncheck the “Add Ads” option.

Disable the ads in the MIUI Security app

1. Launch the Security application and go to Settings.
2. In Settings, disable the Get recommendations option.

How to delete ads in Music and Mi Video

To disable ads in the Xiaomi Music and Mi Video applications, the process is largely the same as above, with only a few adjustments needed for Mi Video.

1. Launch the Mi Music application and go to Settings in the top right corner.
2. Then go to Advanced Settings and disable the Get Referrals and Show Ads options.

How to disable ads in Mi File Manager, Folders and Downloads

To disable the ads in the File and Folder Manager menus, including downloads, on Xiaomi's MIUI 10, follow the same procedure as the Mi Web Browser and Mi Security applications.

1. Go to Settings, then System Application Settings.
2. Find the File Manager or Folders & Downloads applications.
3. Disable Recommendations (for Mi File Manager) and Show Recommended Content (for Mi Download).
4. When it comes to folders, you need to click on the single folder for which you want to disable ads and disable sponsored applications.

How to disable ads in MIUI themes

The easiest way to delete the ads in the MIUI Themes application is to directly access the application itself and disable it. Follow the steps below.

1. Open the MIUI Themes application and go to Account.
2. Look for Settings, then disable recommendations.

Let's be honest, it's a boring thing that really ruins the user experience. But once this is done, you will be free from advertising on MIUI 12 and above and you can enjoy your Xiaomi smartphone without being bombarded with advertisements.

Did you find these tips useful? Let us know if you have found an easier way to disable ads in MIUI in the comments below.

Read also: How to reduce the size of a video without losing quality