Redmi and Poco are famous for their price-performance ratio, but even their ample memory tends to run out at the wrong time. WhatsApp, which accumulates gigabytes of temporary files, old photos and backups over the years, is often the culprit of space shortages. Users often notice that the phone is slowing down and notifications are late, signaling the need for urgent system optimization.
The cleaning process on the MIUI shell or the new HyperOS has its own features, different from pure Android. System security restrictions do not allow applications to arbitrarily delete each other's files, so standard cleaning through the settings of WhatsApp itself may not be effective enough. It is important to understand the difference between deleting correspondence and cleaning temporary files so as not to lose important data.
In this article, we will explore all available methods of freeing up space, from built-in system tools to manually removing garbage through the file manager, learn how to safely remove duplicate media files and prevent memory overflow in the future, while preserving the entire history of important dialogues.
Using WhatsApp's built-in cleaning tools
The safest and first step to take before any radical action is to use the regular storage management tool inside the app itself. The messenger developers have provided a convenient feature for analyzing the space occupied. To get there, open WhatsApp, go to the three-dot menu in the upper right corner and select Settings.
In the list that opens, look for Data and Storage, and then click on Storage Management. The system will analyze and show you the list of chats that occupy the most space. Here you will see the total amount of space you occupy and you can parse each dialog in detail. Deleting large files through this interface ensures that you do not affect the application's system logs.
⚠️ Attention: Deleting media files through built-in storage management permanently erases them from chat. Make sure there are no really important documents among the photos and videos that need to be saved.
To selectively clean up, click on a specific chat. You'll open a gallery of all files ever received in that conversation. You can click All and select a file size (e.g., "More than 5MB") to quickly weed out heavy video. After selecting, click the delete button as a shopping cart. This action will free up space in both the phone's memory and cloud storage if synced.
Cleaning cache through Android settings on Redmi
If internal cleaning is not enough, you need to refer to the system settings of the Android operating system running the MIUI shell. This method allows you to remove temporary files that accumulate during the application, but are not visible to the user when you normally view the gallery. App cache is a buffer memory that speeds up the load of frequently used elements, but over time it can inflate to inadequate sizes.
To do this, go to your Xiaomi smartphone Settings. Find the Apps section and select All Apps. In the long list, find WhatsApp (you can search from above). In the app management menu that opens, you are interested in Memory or Storage, depending on the firmware version.
Here you'll see the two main buttons, Clear and Delete, and we're interested in the Clear (or Clear Cache) button, and clicking on it will reset temporary files, but it will save your accounts and correspondence, and it's a safe operation that can be done regularly.
☑️ Check before cleaning the cache
There is also the Clean All option (or Reset), which is equivalent to reinstalling the app. Using Clear All will result in complete deletion of correspondence and logging out of your account, requiring re-registration. Be extremely careful not to confuse the two if your goal is only to vacate space.
Manual deletion of files through Explorer
For advanced users who want full control of the file system, manual cleaning is available through the standard File Manager app. On modern versions of Android, access to system folders is limited, but the main WhatsApp media files remain available. Open the Explorer app on your Redmi.
Depending on the Android version, the path to files may be different. On older versions, look for the WhatsApp folder at the root of internal memory. On Android 11 and up, the path looks like this: Internal Shared Drive → Android → media → com.whatsapp → WhatsApp. Inside you are interested in the Media folder.
The Media folder contains subcategories that can be safely cleaned:
- 📁 WhatsApp Images – This is where all images you receive are stored, including those you send (Sent folder).
- 🎥 WhatsApp Video is the heaviest content, taking up the lion’s share of memory.
- 📄 WhatsApp Documents – files received in chat rooms that are often forgotten to be deleted.
- 🗑️ Private – hidden media files you have hidden in chat rooms.
You can go into each of these folders, sort files by size or date, and delete the ones you don't need. Pay special attention to the Statuses folder, which temporarily stores the contacts you've viewed, and the files are stored for 24 hours, but they can take up hundreds of megabytes.
⚠️ Note: When manually deleting through Explorer, make sure you do not delete the msgstore.db.crypt file or the Databases folder if you plan to restore correspondence in the future.
Automatically save to the Gallery
One of the main reasons for fast memory filling on Xiaomi is duplicate files. WhatsApp defaults to save all received media files in the system gallery of the phone. This means that the same photo takes place twice: in the database of the messenger and in the general camera album.
To prevent this, you need to change your visibility settings. Go to WhatsApp Settings, select Chats, and find Media Visibility (or Save in Gallery) switch. Turn off this setting. Now new photos and videos will only be displayed inside the app and won't clog the main gallery.
It is also useful to set up automatic downloads. In the Data and Storage section, find the Autodownload Media block, and it is recommended to set the following parameters to save traffic and space:
- 📶 When using a mobile network, select “No".
- 📶 When connecting to Wi-Fi: leave "Photo" and "Audio", video is better to download manually.
- 📶 When roaming: strictly "No".
Why are the photos duplicated?
This setup will not only save gigabytes on your Redmi, but also speed up the gallery, which does not have to index thousands of extra thumbnails from working chats, which is especially true for devices with a small amount of internal memory.
Comparison of cleaning methods: efficiency and risks
So that you can choose the best way to service your smartphone, we have prepared a comparative table of methods, each of which has its own advantages depending on the situation: whether you need to save history, whether you have time for manual sorting or you need instant results.
| Cleaning method | Security of data | Efficiency | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storage management (within WhatsApp) | High (see choice) | Medium | Low. |
| Cleaning the cache in Android settings | High (not touching chat rooms) | Low (Temporary Files Only) | Low. |
| Manual removal through the conductor | Average (risk of error) | Maximum | Tall. |
| Reset to the factory settings of the application | Low (removes everything) | Maximum | Medium |
As you can see from the table, the best way to maintain a regular routine is to use a combination of the first two methods, and manual removal through the conductor should be used every six months to thoroughly clean the tails left over from remote chats or download failures.
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Combining methods gives the best result: use built-in cleaning for media, and system cleaning for temporary garbage.
Using the “Security” app on Xiaomi
Xiaomi smartphone owners have a unique advantage: the built-in Security app, which is deeply integrated into the MIUI shell and can find garbage that is hidden from the user's eyes. Launch the app and select the Cleanup tool.
The system will scan the device and prompt you to remove "Junk." However, be careful: standard cleaning often misses deep messenger caches. After the initial scan, click on the Deep Clean icon. Here, under "App Files" or "Big Files," you can find WhatsApp residues.
The Security app also allows you to manage permissions and autoruns, which indirectly affects performance.Switch off autorun for WhatsApp if you don't need instant notifications in the background, this will reduce the load on Redmi's RAM.
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Use the Memory Cleanup widget on your desktop for quick access to the garbage removal feature without going into the deep settings menus.