Some Android devices, especially Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO phones running MIUI or HyperOS, show ads and promotional notifications generated by the phone’s own operating system. These notifications appear in the same notification shade as your app’s messages, so your users or your team might mistake them for App Push notifications sent through Insider One.
These notifications do not come from Insider One. The device manufacturer creates them on the device, so Insider One cannot see, send, change, or block them. This article explains how to recognize them, how to confirm the sender, and what to tell your users.
If a notification does not appear under your app’s name, or Insider One has no matching campaign and no App Push event for that user, Insider One did not send it.
This applies to Android devices only. iOS does not currently have this kind of manufacturer ad layer.
What is happening?
Xiaomi’s MIUI and HyperOS include a built-in ad service called MIUI System Ads (MSA). MSA and pre-installed apps such as GetApps, Security, and Themes can send promotional notifications on their own, such as app suggestions, offers, and recommended content. Users can receive them even when they haven’t opened any app.
Some of these notifications mention other apps installed on the device, which makes them easy to mistake for a brand’s own push. Xiaomi confirms in its Privacy White Paper that it shows app recommendation ads in its apps and system interfaces. Other manufacturers, such as OPPO, realme, and vivo, have similar features.
For example, a user contacts your support team: “Why is your app sending me game recommendations?” Your team finds no matching campaign in Insider One. When the user checks the notification, it turns out to be from GetApps, Xiaomi’s app store.
Confirm the sender
Check the app name on the device. On most Android devices, touch and hold the notification to see which app sent it. The exact steps vary by device and OS version, so check your device manufacturer’s documentation or Android Help if this doesn’t work on your device. If the notification comes from a system app such as MSA, GetApps, or Security, the device manufacturer sent it. Insider One App Push notifications always appear under your app’s name.
Check the InOne panel. If the notification appears under your app’s name, check the user’s profile for App Push events. Then check which App Push campaigns and journeys were active at that time. If nothing matches, Insider One did not send the notification. It might have come from another tool connected to your app, such as another push provider or your own backend.
What to tell your users
If your users ask about these notifications, you can tell them that:
The notification comes from their phone’s system apps, not from your app.
These notifications are controlled by the device manufacturer, so you can’t turn them off from your app or Insider One.
On most devices, they can touch and hold the notification to see which app sent it, then turn off that app’s notifications in their device settings.