Xiaomi has become one of the world's most popular Android brands by selling phones cheaply, but the trade-off is an unusually heavy ad load. According to Engadget, Xiaomi offsets hardware costs by injecting ads throughout the user experience — at one point even inside the Settings app, though that particular placement was later rolled back.
For users who want to reduce the clutter, Engadget's main recommendation is to disable the MSA (MIUI System Ads) app, which powers much of the ad delivery. From there, turning off personalized ad recommendations, resetting the advertising ID, and switching off notifications for ad-heavy apps can help, though the guide warns that commercial content will still appear in some places.
Individual apps each need their own opt-outs. Engadget walks through separate settings toggles for Downloads, Themes, Music, Mi Browser, Security, and File Manager, with slightly different steps depending on whether the phone runs older MIUI or newer HyperOS. Because this is a single source, there are no conflicting reports to compare, but the instructions are detailed and device-specific enough to serve as a practical starting point.