How to hide applications on Xiaomi mobiles

Whether we want to hide WhatsApp so that no one knows who we are talking to or to safeguard our gallery in a better way than with the lock pattern, there are possibilities. In addition, we are going to be able to hide the direct access on the screen so that no one can reach that series of tools that will require advanced security, even by chance. Everything is to feel safe.

Use MIUI settings

Whether we have a Xiaomi, Redmi or Poco smartphone, we will be able to benefit from these tools, although not always all of them, as we will explain later. All of them are focused on the same purpose, to ensure that our mobile is protected, and can even be loaned to friends or family without fear that they will end up in the wrong place.

App Security

The first of the options that we have at our disposal in MIUI is the simplest and most intuitive to use. Its many advanced functions will allow us to adapt it at all times to what we need. To ensure that our smartphone is safe, we just have to rely on the Security application , where we have to follow these steps.

The first step is to enter the well-known and full of options Security app. Once inside, we touch on the option called Application Lock. Which will show us through an animation how this system will work to keep gossips away from our mobile. In the configuration process we will have to do the following:

• We access the Application Blocking section and a series of animations will present the tool.
• Then, we choose a pattern or a password that is different from that of the smartphone.
• We’ll have to add it a second time to confirm. For added security, it will be saved linked to the Mi account, which is helpful in case we ever forget it.
• Later, MIUI will recommend some apps to protect, the ones that users choose the most.
• It will ask for our protection again, which can be through the fingerprint to make sure it is us.
• To finish the process, it will take us to a new tab where we can choose any app to protect.

After finishing these steps we will have managed to hide the apps and they are not accessible to anyone. Only we or whoever we provide the application key in Xiaomi will be able to consult them. Something very important to keep in mind is the security of this measure, because if we share it, MIUI will not be able to save us from unwanted glances.

extra lock

Previously, we have already achieved that nobody can access the applications on the smartphone, but the thing does not stop there. The customization layer of the Chinese firm has accustomed us to offering us many solutions on Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones. In this case it is no different and we will be able to make the notifications private in the apps that we have protected. To do so, we repeat this process:

• We enter the Security App .
• We choose App Lock .
• We’ll have to put the protection pattern back on.
• Click on the upper settings wheel.
• In the Lock Settings option we will touch.
• To, finally, choose that they cannot be seen at will.

With this, Xiaomi tries to prevent anyone from reading the messages they send us or the notifications that do not concern them in the hidden apps. If we have chosen one installed on the smartphone and we have protected it, it is because we do not want anyone else to know what is inside, that is why it becomes an essential option. But, in addition, we have other functions available in these same extra options:

• Turn app lock on or off manually.
• Change password type: to choose another unlock mode between pattern or password.
• Show pattern: makes access to apps more secure by not showing what we write or draw on lock.
• Unlock with fingerprint.
• Face Unlock.
• Add My Account: an option that we recommend you use in case you forget your pattern or password.

hide them

The thing does not stop there, so that no one can get to know of the existence of the applications in Xiaomi, we will have to resort to an option of the MIUI launchers. The final option that we would need to put into play and that will make the difference and that we complete with these steps:

• We go to the home screen.
• We leave the finger pressed in a free area.
• We access the Settings .
• We choose to hide apps icon .

When we want to see them, we just have to slide our finger to the left, with the intention of reaching a hidden page on the right side of our home screen.

the second space

All the tricks that we have just shown will not be the only way that the personalization layer of this brand has so that we can keep our privacy safe , especially when we have some other content in a mobile app that we do not want anyone else to be able to get to find

To do this, we can always make use of the famous Xiaomi Second space . The process to create it has two paths, so we will see both at the same time, since it does not have any type of difficulty:

• Go into Settings.
• Tap on Special Features .
• Finally, tap on activate the Second space . Or go to the Security app.

Within this new space you will function as a new user. Therefore, we will have to create a new security password that may be different from the one we usually use on the Chinese device. In addition, we can protect it with our fingerprint or facial recognition to make it easier and faster to use it.

Once this space is created, we can use it to duplicate the applications and start using them. Thus, we will avoid having to put a password or hide the applications that we do not want anyone else to see in the terminal of the Asian firm.

Exiting this mode is less complicated than it seems, although you can only do it from the main space since, if you enter its settings from the second, you will only be able to configure a couple of options, but never delete it. Enter the same section in Settings> Special functions> Second space and, at the top right, you will see a trash can icon that encourages you to delete it, warning you before you control what you have stored in each of them.

Of course, this option is more aimed at having two phones in one rather than hiding apps on Xiaomi, but if you have a good number of apps to hide from anyone’s view, it’s easier to use this option than to hide them one by one. .

Use the app drawer

Ok, this is not the perfect option if we want to add an extra layer of security to our phone, but it is true that those who only need a simple tool will do just fine. Like many other Android phones, the latest versions of MIUI allow it to work with all apps on the desktop or with an app drawer. If you enable this last option, this is where the shortcuts to the applications will be saved, while they will disappear from the main screen.

To activate it you must open the Settings app on your mobile and go to the “Home screen” menu. Now, inside, you will have to press again with the menu that has this name to organize how the phone’s desktop looks. Finally, set the default mode to ” With app drawer “. As soon as you activate this option, all the app icons that you have on the main screen will become shortcuts of those that are really hidden in this hidden drawer, so you can delete and hide them without anything happening.

To access this panel, you just have to swipe up from the bottom of the screen, from anywhere on the phone. Here you will find all your apps organized by date or time of use.

Problem solving

Perhaps you have tried to repeat all the steps and in some of them you have not been able to continue because your smartphone will not allow you to choose the option or it did not even appear. This is the main problem that we are going to encounter and we are going to explain why it happens.

Limitations

In the world of the Chinese firm, not all mobiles are the same and there is a wide range of options depending on the range or version of the software. However, we are lucky to have a variety of options to achieve our purpose and at least if one of them does not work to hide the icons , which has happened to many models, Security itself should.

Going back to the past there was also an option called MIUI second space, but with the arrival of MIUI 12 it disappeared from most mobiles . These changes caused controversy. In the next updates, the options could change and we could find unexpected modifications.

What mobiles can you use?

We cannot guarantee for sure that these options will always work on certain models , but what is certain is that with MIUI 12, MIUI 12.5 or MIUI 12.5 Enhanced edition we are sure that for a time we will be able to take advantage of it. Of course, with MIUI 13, which is now starting to reach many mobiles, it also works.

The Security app may not allow you to hide apps from all Xiaomi phones equally, but if you have bought a brand phone in the last 2-3 years, whether it is an MI, a Redmi model or a Poco phone , at least you can use the second space and the app drawer to hide apps from overly nosy eyes.

In which cases it is worth hiding apps

It is clear that we should not always be worrying about hiding or blocking the applications of our Xiaomi phone. Basically, because we will waste time looking for the apps that we have been hiding with this MIUI tool . For this reason, there are few scenarios in which we will find it necessary to know the steps that we have given you to hide the software of a Chinese device.

Mainly, the reason that we want to hide an application will be that someone picks up our phone day and night. This will come in handy for mothers and fathers who continually leave their children with their mobile phones to watch cartoons, movies or play games with the phone. And they are not the only ones, those who are leaving their smartphone to friends and family, and want to prevent them from invading their privacy, the truth is that this MIUI privacy tool will be ideal.

In all these cases, it will be most useful to activate both the application lock and the MIUI hide apps function. In one way or another, we will manage to keep our privacy safe at all times and we will get rid of possible intruders.