Xiaomi phones now shows ads in Settings: How to turn it off

Xiaomi has found a unique way of making money from its smartphone users - ads. The company has been serving ad banners on its native applications for quite some time. But now these ads appear in more frequently used apps like Settings. Xiaomi's move to show ads within the UI, especially in Settings has irked many users.

First spotted by a Reddit user, the ads in MIUI Setting were appearing in Xiaomi phones like Mi Max 2 and Mi Note LTE.

Later, users on Twitter reported that the ads were being shown in Xiaomi phones running on Android One, which is supposed to deliver stock Android experience with minimum bloatware.

"We would like to inform you that the ads are placed in a manner to avoid any conflict with the actual functioning of the app. However, we will take your feedback into consideration and will always strive to give our customers the best user experience," said Xiaomi in a response to a tweet.

Xiaomi offers a wide range of personalised and exclusive features on its MIUI-based phones. The custom ROM is also quite a hit among the developer community and casual smartphone enthusiasts.

It will not be the first time ads will be part of a customised OS. Many phones show ads in native applications like browser and themes and more. However, this is one of the rare cases when ads are being served within Settings - one of the most frequently used apps on a mobile phone.  

Despite the backlash, ads are unlikely to be removed from Xiaomi's software.

"Advertising has been and will continue to be an integral part of Xiaomi's Internet services, a key component of the company's business model. At the same time, we will uphold user experience by offering options to turn off the ads and by constantly improving our approach towards advertising, including adjusting where and when ads appear. Our philosophy is that ads should be unobtrusive, and users always have the option of receiving fewer recommendations," a Xiaomi spokesperson said in a statement. 

How to turn off ads in MIUI?
Xiaomi is giving the option to turn off these ads, but not entirely. You can go to Settings > Additional Settings > Privacy > Ad services and disable the 'personalised ad recommendations' option. For blocking ads in important app like File Manager, go to Settings > About and disable "Recommendations."