Xiaomi’s Redmi 9 series smartphones remain a popular choice due to the balance of price and performance, but over time, the accumulation of digital debris can slow down the device. Yandex, one of the most common in the CIS region, stores huge amounts of data about your actions by default. This is done for the convenience of the user to quickly find previously visited sites, but privacy in this case suffers.
If you want to get your device back up or just hide the traces of your activity from prying eyes, you need to do a comprehensive cleaning. The process of deleting data on the MIUI shell has its own features that differ from pure Android. In this article, we will discuss in detail all the available methods, from quickly removing through the browser menu to deep cleaning the system cache of the application.
It is important to understand that simply cleaning your browsing history does not remove all traces of your online presence.Cash files, cookies and saved passwords often remain in your device’s memory.Total privacy will require a deeper approach, which we will also discuss below, paying special attention to the specific security settings on your Redmi 9.
Quickly clear history through the browser menu
The most obvious and frequently used way to delete the page list is to use the browser’s own built-in tools, which require no additional software installation and only takes a couple of minutes. Open the Yandex app on your smartphone and find a menu button at the bottom of the screen represented by three horizontal bars.
When you click on the menu button, you'll see a bar with the basic functions, and you'll have to select a section that's usually called "History" and looks like a clock with hands. Once you've entered this section, you'll see a chronological list of all the sites you've visited recently. To selectively delete, you can click on the basket icon next to a particular site or hold your finger for a long time on the record.
However, for complete cleanup, it is better to use the mass delete function. Click on the appropriate “Clear History” button (often at the top or bottom of the list). The system will suggest choosing the time range: for the last hour, today, yesterday or “All the time”.
⚠️ Note: Deleting your history through your browser menu does not automatically erase saved passwords and form autocomplete data unless you tick the appropriate boxes in additional settings before confirming.
During the cleaning process, the system can request confirmation of action, which is a security mechanism of MIUI and the browser itself, which prevents accidental loss of important data, and after confirmation, the list of visits will be reset, and the next time you log into the history section, it will be empty.
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Use Incognito mode for temporary searches that don't need to be saved. In this mode, the story is not formed at all, and you don't have to clean anything.
Deep cleaning through application settings
If standard removal of the link list is not enough, you need to look at the deeper settings of the application itself, you can manage not only the list of URLs, but also other types of data. Go to the main browser menu, tap three dots (or stripes) and select the Settings section. Scroll down to the Privacy or Security block.
In this section, you will find the item "Clear Data" or "Clear History" and click on it, you will be taken to the menu with an expanded list of options.
- 🗑️ Cache – temporary files that speed up page loading, but take up space.
- 🍪 Cookies – files that store login data and preferences.
- 🔑 Passwords – all saved combinations of logins and access codes.
- 📥 Downloads – files downloaded through the browser to internal memory.
On Redmi 9, with its storage capacity, clearing the cache can free up from 100 MB to several gigabytes of space, but it is worth remembering that once the cache is cleared, sites can load a little slower on the first visit, since the browser will have to re-download graphic elements.
☑️ Checking before cleaning
Delete data through Android system settings
Sometimes the browser interface may not work properly or freeze to prevent cleaning, and in such cases, the system settings of the Android operating system with the MIUI shell come to the rescue, which is the most radical and effective method, since it forcibly erases all the application data, regardless of its current state.
To do this, open your Xiaomi smartphone Settings. Find the Apps section and go to All Apps. In the list that opens, find Yandex (or Yandex). When you click on the name, you will be taken to the app card where you need to select the option “Memory” or “Storage”.
Here you will see two main buttons: Clear cache and Clear all (or Reset), the first one deletes only temporary files, the second completely resets the browser to the post-installed state, which means deleting all history, all passwords, all settings and authorizations.
| Action. | What's removed | Impact on the account | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Browser cleaning | Only history of visits. | No influence. | For quick privacy. |
| Cache cleanup (System) | Temporary files, pictures | No influence. | To expedite the work |
| Data reset (System) | ALL (passwords, history, settings) | Full exit. | When selling or crashing |
| Deletion of the annex | Application and all data | Full exit. | If the browser is not needed |
Use system reset with caution. If you don't remember your passwords from important services, it's best to export them first or make sure they're synced to the cloud. On Redmi 9, this process is fast, but irreversible.
What happens if you clean up the system?
Synchronization and cloud data management
Many Xiaomi users don’t take into account the important aspect: clearing your phone history doesn’t always remove it from the cloud.If sync is enabled in the Yandex app, then your visit history is stored on the company’s servers and can be accessed from other devices (tablets, computers), even if you erased it on Redmi 9.
To manage this, go to the user profile inside the browser (the icon of a man or avatar in the menu). Select "Sync." Here you can temporarily disable the history saving or delete data from servers. There is also the possibility to configure "Smart String" that prompts sites based on your activity.
For complete anonymity, it is recommended to periodically check the My Finds section or similar Yandex services associated with your account, which is where “digital footprints” are often stored, which are not removed by local cleaning of the phone.
- ☁️ Cloud storage is a place where data is stored remotely from the device.
- 🔄 Synchronization – the process of exchanging data between the phone and the server.
- 🔒 Private mode – a function that disables data storage.
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Locally deleting your history on Redmi 9 does not guarantee that your Yandex account will disappear if cloud sync is enabled.
Cleaning automation and Incognito mode
To avoid manually cleaning up every time you pick up Redmi 9, you can set up automatic scripts. Modern versions of Yandex have an automatic cleanup feature when you close the application, although it can be hidden in deep settings or require the use of third-party utilities to automate.
A more reliable way is to use Incognito mode, which when you switch to this mode (usually through the menu of opening a new tab), the browser stops saving history, cookies and form data. Once all incognito tabs are closed, all traces of the session are destroyed instantly, which is ideal for using other people's devices or for search information.
You should also pay attention to the security settings in MIUI. Xiaomi system allows you to limit the background activity of applications. If you forbid the browser to work in the background, it will be more often “unloaded” from memory, which indirectly contributes to more frequent cleaning of RAM, although it does not affect the stored history files directly.
⚠️ Note: Incognito mode does not make you invisible to the ISP or Wi-Fi network owner, it only prevents data from being stored on the Redmi 9 device itself.