[Update: June 05] Xiaomi MIUI 12 Virtual Identity feature safeguards personal information to any app/website: Here's how to set it up

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…

Original story (published on September 24, 2020) follows:

Xiaomi’s MIUI 12 is indeed a big update as it includes some of the most efficient features along with heavy improvements.

The most eye-catching feature of the latest custom skin is Super Wallpapers which offers transitioning space backgrounds.

Super Document is another handy feature which offers an intelligent file management interface disposing the need for third-party apps.

Also, MIUI 12 offers the Control Center and Frame Rate Monitor Tool features for ease-of-access to some of the most used functions.

Now, another privacy-related feature has surfaced that offers personal information protection from apps and websites that track user preferences and behavior.

The Virtual Identity feature of MIUI 12 allows users to safeguard their personal information to any website or app by providing a virtual ID instead of users’ unique identifier.

Here’s how you can set it up on your Xiaomi device running MIUI 12. Firstly, open Settings on your device then go to Privacy Protection.

Under Privacy Protection, scroll down to find Special Permissions and tap on it. Select the Manage Virtual ID option present at the bottom.

Enable the Use virtual ID radio button and the Virtual Identity feature will come into effect.

You can also reset the virtual ID from the Reset Virtual ID option in case you want to clear out any preferences or usage-related personalization.

The main aspect of the MIUI 12 Virtual Identity feature is to prevent any app or website from using your online identifier as there are always risks of profiling and tracking.

Virtual ID basically creates a virtual profile which allows you to mask the in-browser personalization which further ensures better data security.

So, you can now take care of your privacy more easily with the help of Virtual Identity if you have a MIUI 12 powered Xiaomi device.

That said, we will continue to track the development of MIUI 12 and will provide more details about the latest custom skin once new information becomes available.

In the meantime, you can check out our MIUI 12 update tracker if your Xiaomi device is yet to bag the latest custom skin.

Moreover, Xiaomi has been working on Android 11 for quite some time now and we have a dedicated Xiaomi Android 11 update tracker so be sure to go through it as well.

04:27 pm (IST): The MIUI 12.5 beta 21.5.31 update adds a feature to toggle Virtual Identity for individual apps. It should be making it to the stable branch soon as well:

NOTE: There more such stories in our Xiaomi section and we have also curated a consolidated Android 11 update tracker for all major OEMs and carriers that you can go through to stay updated.

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