Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones sooner or later face an unpleasant situation: free space on the internal drive disappears rapidly, the system begins to issue warnings about the lack of memory, new applications are not installed, and the interface itself is slower, most often the reason for this is not the system files, but the accumulated application data and cache, which is stored for years in the depth of the file system.
Many users mistakenly believe that simply removing software will solve the problem, but that’s only part of the solution. It’s important to understand the difference between the app itself, its user data, and the temporary files that are created to speed up work. It’s this “digital garbage” that can take up tens of gigabytes, turning a modern smartphone into a device that constantly requires attention.
In this article, we will explore the proven deep cleaning techniques available in the MIUI and HyperOS shells, learn how to find hidden data stores, safely delete excess and prevent re-filling memory, and help you get your device back to speed and make room for your photos and videos.
Analysis of vault occupancy and search for culprits
The first step is to make sure you're accurate, and before you delete something at random, you need to figure out what's taking up space. Xiaomi's built-in analyzer allows you to see the big picture, but for a detailed study, you'd better use third-party tools or a standard file manager. It often turns out that the lion's share is occupied by messengers like WhatsApp or Telegram.
The MIUI shell has a built-in Cleanup tool that shows the main file categories, but it doesn't always correctly display the size of the Other folder. For a deeper analysis, you should go to the storage settings through the Settings → Memory menu. Here you will see a color diagram of the space distribution.
If standard tools show vague data, use specialized analysis apps such as DiskUsage or Files by Google. They visualize the file system as a map, where the size of each block corresponds to the size of the file on the disk.
Warning: When analyzing the file system, be careful with system folders. Deleting files from the root directories of Android can lead to unstable operation of the operating system.
- 🔍 Use the built-in analyzer in the Security app for initial evaluation.
- 📊 Visualize memory through third-party apps to find hidden giants.
- 💾 Pay attention to the Download folder, where garbage often accumulates.
Cleaning cache and data of specific applications
The most effective way to free up space is to manually clean up your cache and application data. Cache is a temporary file that speeds up the launch of programs, but over time inflates to a huge size. App data contains your personal correspondence, settings and logins, so you need to be careful with them.
To do this, go to Settings → Applications → All Apps. Select the memory leader program (often browsers or social networks) and click Storage. There are two buttons available here: Clear cache and Clear all data.
Clearing the cache is safe and won't cause any account loss, but the Clear All Data button will return the app to a state immediately after installation: you'll log out of all accounts and local settings will reset. Use this feature if the app is not working properly or takes up critical space.
☑️ Checklist of cleaning the application
⚠️ Clearing messenger data (WhatsApp, Viber) without prior backup will lead to a complete loss of correspondence history.
Some apps, like YouTube or Spotify, allow you to manage the cache size inside your own settings, a more flexible method that allows you to reduce the quality of offline cards or the number of saved videos, for example.
Work with garbage in MIUI and system files
The MIUI shell and the new HyperOS have their own system debris accumulation features. Over time, gigabytes of unnecessary information accumulate in updates, error reports, and temporary installation files. Standard cleaning won't always get to those depths.
For deep cleaning, you can use the built-in Cleanup tool in the Security app. Click on the broom icon and then select the Deep Clean option. The system scans the device for large files, duplicate photos and forgotten APK installation packages.
It's also worth checking the folder. MIUI It's often the logs that are left behind after the system crashes. debug_log) If you don't use the local backup function, you can delete those files safely.
- 🗑️ Run Deep Cleanup regularly through the regular security app.
- 📦 Remove the old ones. APK-files from the Download folder after installing programs.
- 📸 Check out the album "Deleted" in the Gallery, as photos are stored there for 30 days.
Specificity of messengers: Telegram and WhatsApp
Special attention deserves messengers, as it is "Apps and their data Xiaomi takes up a lot of space" most often because of them. Telegram and WhatsApp store media files in their own file structure, which is not always visible in the standard gallery.
In Telegram, the cache settings are based on the Settings → Data and memory → Memory Use path, where you can set a cache size limit or set up automatic cleaning of media files older than a week or a month, and this is the most effective way to keep the messenger in check.
WhatsApp stores backups locally. If you use a cloud backup on Google Drive, local database files in the Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Databases folder can be deleted, leaving only the most recent file with today's date.
| Annex | Where to look for a cleanup | What to remove safely | Risks. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telegram | Settings → Data and memory | Cash, old media. | Re-uploading of photo |
| Settings → Data and Storage | Local backups | Losing History Without a Cloud | |
| YouTube | Settings → General → Cash | Temporary files | Slow roller start |
| Chrome | Settings → Confidentiality | Cookies, cache | Getting out of the sites |
Removal of duplicates and large files
Often users forget about downloaded movies, TV shows or podcast series that were downloaded for offline viewing, which can take up to 50% of all memory. It is difficult to find them manually, but modern file managers are able to sort files by size.
Use Google's Files app or Xiaomi's built-in Explorer. Sort files by size (from large to small), and you'll be surprised to find forgotten archives or 4K videos taken a month ago.
Also relevant is the problem of duplicate photos: synchronization from different devices or after recovery from a backup, the same pictures can be saved several times, special software-clinerers find identical files and suggest removing copies, leaving the original.
Important: Before mass deletion of large files, make sure that they are not system or important work documents..obb files are often game data, and deleting them will require re-downloading the game.
Prevention and optimization of the system
To prevent the problem of “applications and their data take up a lot of space” from returning too often, regular prevention is necessary. Do not allow memory to be filled “on the back” as this critically slows down flash memory and shortens its life.
Set up automatic cleaning. You can set a schedule for cleaning up your garbage in the Security app, and the habit of checking the list of installed apps once a month helps you remove unnecessary software in time.
Use cloud storage. Services like Google Photos or Yandex.Disk allow you to free up space on your device by storing originals in the cloud. Google Photos' "Free up space" automatically removes photos from your phone that are already uploaded to the cloud.