How to completely remove your visit history on your Xiaomi phone: 5 proven ways

Visit history on a Xiaomi smartphone is not just a list of websites in a browser, but it hides data about calls, messages, location, activity in apps, and even system logs that the device collects automatically. If you plan to sell the phone, transfer it to relatives or just want to ensure privacy, standard deletion of browser history will not be enough.

In this article, we will take a look at all the stories that MIUI (Miami firmware) stores, including hidden system logs, and show you how to delete them without a trace. We will focus on the nuances for different versions of the shell (from MIUI 12 to MIUI 14) and models (Redmi, POCO, Xiaomi 11/12/13). You will also learn what data can not be deleted by standard means and what to do in such cases.

1 What kinds of stories Xiaomi phone keeps

MIUI smartphones collect data more actively than pure Android, which is associated with integrated Xiaomi services (e.g. Mi Cloud, Mi Browser, Security App).

• 🌐 Browser history: sites, bookmarks, autocomplete forms in Mi Browser, Chrome, Firefox and others.
• 📞 Call log: incoming, outgoing, missed calls with time stamps.
• 💬 Communications: SMS/MMS, Chat history in Mi Messages and third-party messengers (if synchronization is enabled).
• 📍 Location history: data from Google Maps, Mi Location, and geolocation system logs.
• 📱 Application log: time of use of programs, frequency of opening, cache of activity.
• 🔧 System Logs: Error Reports, Reboot Data, Logs MIUI Optimization.

It is important to understand that some of this data is duplicated in the cloud (Mi Cloud or Google Account), for example, even after clearing the browser history on your phone, it can remain in your Xiaomi or Google account, which is often forgotten, which leads to leaks of sensitive information.

⚠️ Attention: On devices with MIUI 14 and a newer part of the history (for example, an application log) can be stored in encrypted form in a folder /data/system/usage-stats/. It cannot be removed by standard methods - you will need to unlock the bootloader and access to the device. ADB.

2. How to delete browser history on Xiaomi

So, to start with the obvious, clearing the history of web browsers. MIUI has Mi Browser installed by default, but many users use Google Chrome or Firefox, and the instructions are different for them.

2.1 Cleaning up at Mi Browser

Xiaomi’s browser stores data not only locally, but also syncs it to Mi Account to delete the entire story:

1. Open Mi Browser.
2. Slap the icon. ⋮ (three points) in lower right corner → Choose History.
3. Click Clear History → tick all items (History, Cash, Cookie).
4. Confirm the action by pressing OK.

If you are syncing with Mi Cloud, follow the additional step:

• Go to Settings → Accounts and Sync → Mi Account.
• Turn off Browser sync or delete data from the cloud via i.mi.com.

2.2 Cleaning up in Google Chrome

In Chrome, the story is deleted separately for each Google account, to erase it without a trace:

If you're logged in to multiple accounts, repeat the procedure for each. Note: Chrome stores data about visited sites even after deleting the history as predictions in the address bar, to reset them:

1. Go to Chrome Settings → Privacy → Clear the data about visited pages.
2. Select Autocomplete Forms and Search Predictions.

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi Note 10 Pro) POCO F3) Chrome may block history cleanup due to optimizations MIUI. In this case, only resetting browser settings through Settings will help. → Annexes → Chrome → Warehouse → Clear the data.

3. Deletion of call and message log

Call log and SMS are stored in separate databases that are not cleared when you cache applications, to remove them completely:

Standard method

• 📞 Calls: Open the phone application → slip on ⋮ → Call magazine → ⚙️ → Clean the journal.
• 💬 Messages: In the app, Messages click ⋮ → Settings → Clear all messages.

This method only deletes local data, and if you have Google or Mi Cloud sync enabled, the history can be restored after the reboot.

Complete cleaning (including cloud)

For guaranteed disposal:

1. Turn off sync: Settings → Accounts and sync → Google/Mi Account → Contact/Message Sync (disable)
2. Delete data from the cloud: For Google: go to myactivity.google.com and manually delete the entries. For Mi Cloud: go to i.mi.com → Devices → [your phone] → Backups → Delete.

Settings → Applications → Phone / Messages → Storage → Clear data

💡

If you sell a phone, before resetting to factory settings, be sure to delete SIM-Disable all accounts (Google, Mi Account, Samsung/Knox, Otherwise, the new owner will be able to recover some of the data through the cloud.

4. Clearing the history of location and application activity

MIUI keeps a detailed log of your movements and app usage, and this data can be used for targeted advertising or analytics, and here's how to delete it:

Geolocation history

Xiaomi smartphones store location data in three locations:

• 📍 Google Timeline: www.google.com/maps/timeline → Remove manual tags and turn off history.
• 📱 Mi Location: Settings → Location → Location history → Clear history.
• 🔍 System Logs: Folder /data/system/location/ (Root rights are required for cleaning).

On devices with MIUI 13/14, geolocation history can be saved even when GPS is turned off, using data from cell towers and Wi-Fi.

1. Go to Settings → Privacy → Permits → Location.
2. Disable access to geodata for all applications except maps and navigator.
3. In the section Additional → Scan, disable Device Search and Improve Accuracy.

4.2 Application logbook.

MIUI keeps statistics on how programs are launched, when they're used, and even how they're transitioned, and these data are stored in:

• /data/system/usagestats/ (system folder, not available without root)
• Settings → Battery and Performance → Battery Use (this is a story from the last 7 days).
• Security App → Optimization → Activity log.

To reset this data:

1. Open the Settings. → Annexes → Application management → ⋮ → Resetting application preferences.
2. Go to Security. → Optimization → ⚙️ → Clear the data.

⚠️ Attention: POCO F4 GT, Xiaomi 12 Pro and other flagships with MIUI 13+ The application activity log can be stored encrypted, and the only way to delete it completely is to reset it to factory settings, and disable all accounts before doing so.

5. Delete system logs and hidden data

The hardest part is cleaning up the system logs that MIUI creates for debugging and analytics, which are not visible to the user, but can contain:

• Error logs (/data/anr/, /data/tombstones/).
• System boot logs (/data/system/dropbox/).
• Data on reboots and crashes (/sys/fs/pstore/).
• Logs of Xiaomi services (/data/data/com.miui.analytics/).

You can't delete them without root or ADB, but there are workarounds.

Method 1: Through Recovery Modes

If you have custom recovery (TWRP) installed, you can manually clean the system folders:

1. Turn off the phone and press Volume Up + Power to enter Recovery.
2. Select Advanced → File Manager.
3. Move to the /data/system/ and delete the folders: dropbox/ usagestats/ recent_tasks/
4. Reset the device.

Method 2: Through ADB (without root)

This will require a computer and enabled debugging over USB:

1. Connect your phone to your PC and execute the command: adb shell pm clear com.miui.analytics This will clear the Xiaomi analytics logs.
2. To remove the cache of system applications: adb shell pm clear com.android.providers.settings

These commands won't delete all logs, but they will reduce the risk of data leakage, and you need root access or factory resets to clean up completely.

💡

If you don’t plan to get root rights, the only reliable way to erase all system logs is to reset to factory settings with pre-disable all accounts and encryption.

6.Reset to factory settings: complete cleaning

If you need to erase all data (for example, before selling your phone), do a hard reset.

Preparation for discharge

Before discharge, it is mandatory:

6.2. Performance of discharge

There are two ways:

• 📱 Through Settings: Settings → The phone. → Resetting settings → Erase all data
• 🔧 Through Recovery: Turn off the phone. Press Volume up. + Power. Select Wipe Data. → Wipe All Data.