You open a gallery to take a photo, and suddenly a notification appears: “Not enough memory.” Or you try to install an update, and the system says that there is only 100 MB of disk space. Familiar? On Xiaomi Redmi smartphones — from the budget Redmi 9A to the flagship Redmi K60 — this problem is more common than you would like, even if you recently bought a phone with 128 GB or 256 GB of memory.
It's not just your photos and videos that are to blame. MIUI actively caches data, preloads updates, and some apps (Facebook, TikTok, Xiaomi Cloud) quietly eat up gigabytes in the background. In this article, we'll take down all the hidden memory eaters on Redmi, show you how to find and delete unnecessary files, and checklist for regular cleaning. Without the extra "click here" - only specific steps with explanations.
1. System Files and MIUI: Why Do They Take So Much?
The first thing that catches your eye when checking memory is the System or MIUI section in storage analytics. On a Redmi Note 11 with clean firmware, it can weigh 12-15 GB, and after a year of use, it can inflate to 20+ GB. What's the matter?
It's threefold:
- 📦 Firmware and updates: MIUI Stores older versions of the system for rollback (MIUI Downgrade Package, for example, after upgrading to MIUI 14 on the phone, there's a copy. MIUI 13 is 1-2 GB of dead weight.
- 🔄 System applications cache: Theme store, Security, Mi Video constantly cache data, even if you do not use it.
- 🛠️ Logs and dumps: When it crashes, the system creates.dmp or.log files for diagnostics, which can weigh 500 MB and not be deleted automatically.
How to check? Go to Settings → About → Memory → System Memory. If it's over 15 GB, it's time to clean. On some models (like the Redmi 10C), system files take up to 25% of the total memory by default, which is fine, but only if the number does not increase over time.
⚠️ Note: Do not delete files from the folder /system This can lead to a device blinking. Use only built-in tools to clean. MIUI Official utility (Xiaomi Cleaner).
2.App cache: invisible trash that accumulates over years
Cache is a temporary file that apps create to make things faster, like Instagram cache stories, YouTube caches video thumbnails, and Google Maps offline maps, and the problem is that many programs don't clean the cache automatically, and as a result, after six months of use, it can take 5-10 GB.
The most “voracious” applications on Redmi:
- 📸 Gallery and Google Photos: miniatures, previews, edited copies of photos.
- 🎵 Spotify/Yandex Music: Cached tracks (even if you didn’t download them manually).
- 🎮 Games (e.g. Genshin Impact or PUBG Mobile: textures, shaders, updates.
- 🌐 Browsers (Chrome, Mi Browser): history, cookies, downloaded files.
How to clear the cache:
- Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
- Select an app (like Facebook) → Storage → Clear the cache.
- For mass cleaning, use Settings → Memory → Clean (MIUI has a built-in tool).
Important: Clearing the cache does not delete your data (photos, messages, saves in games), but it can reset the settings of some applications (for example, authorization in VK).
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If the app gets slower after cleaning the cache, that's okay, and the cache is recreated the next time it runs, but without any junk files.
3. Multimedia: Photos, videos and duplicates you didn't know about
Photos and videos are the most obvious memory eater, but even if you regularly transfer them to your computer, you still have:
- 📸 Hidden folders: DCIM/.thumbnails (thumbnail), Pictures/Screenshots (Screenshots, including system ones), Download (downloads from messengers).
- 🔄 Duplicate: MIUI automatically creates copies when editing photos in the Gallery (Edited folder).
- 🎥 High-resolution video: even a 10-second video in the video 4K Weighs 100 to 150 MB.
- 📁 Messenger files: WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber store media in folders Android/media/com.whatsapp etc.
How to find and delete:
- Use the built-in Memory Analysis in MIUI: Settings → Memory → Analysis → select the Images or Video category.
- To find duplicates, install Files by Google or CCleaner (they can scan similar files).
- Clear the messenger folders: Settings → Memory. → Application files → WhatsApp/Telegram → Remove unnecessary media.
⚠️ Attention: Folder Android/data It contains game and application data saved, and only delete its contents if you are willing to lose progress in games or program settings!
| Type of file | Where to find | Average weight (over 6 months) | Can I remove it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photo (originals) | DCIM/Camera | 5-15 GB | Yes (transfer to PC/cloud) |
| Video | DCIM/Camera, Movies | 10–30 GB | Yes. |
| Screenshots | Pictures/Screenshots | 1-3 GB | Yes. |
| Media from messengers | Android/media/com.whatsapp | 2-8 GB | Partially (remove unnecessary) |
| Cash galleries | DCIM/.thumbnails | 500 MB - 1 GB | Yes (automatically regenerates) |
4 Apps and their data: why Facebook weighs 1GB and TikTok weighs 3GB
The established programs are not only in their place. APK-file (the application itself), but also user data:
- 📱 Facebook: the app itself is 100MB and the cache + data - another 900 MB.
- 🎬 TikTok: video in the tape cached aggressively – up to 2-3 GB per month.
- 🎮 Call of Duty Mobile after updates can weigh 4-5 GB.
- 📊 Social networks: Vkontakte, Instagram store stories, drafts, uploaded stickers.
How to reduce the weight of applications:
Remove unused programs in Settings → Applications
Clear data for TikTok/Instagram via Storage → Clear data
Turn off auto-update games on Google Play
Transfer heavy games to a memory card (if supported)
Use Lite versions of apps (e.g. Facebook Lite)-->
Important: Clearing the data (not the cache!) will result in logging out of your account and deleting all local settings, such as on WhatsApp, it erases chat history.
5. Cloud services and sync: how Mi Cloud and Google Drive take up memory
You may have noticed that even after you delete a photo from your phone, the memory is not freed, because of the synchronization with the clouds.
- ☁️ Mi Cloud: backups of contacts, notes, photos (MiCloud folder in memory).
- 📁 Google Photos: If Backup and Sync is enabled, the original photos can be duplicated in the folder DCIM/Google Photos.
- 🔄 Autosynchronization of messengers: Telegram and WhatsApp download media to the device automatically.
How to turn off unnecessary synchronization:
- For Mi Cloud: Settings → Accounts and Sync → Mi Cloud → disable unnecessary options.
- For Google Photos: Open the app → Settings → Backup and Sync → select “Only when connecting to Wi-Fi” or turn it off altogether.
- For messengers: in Telegram go to Settings → Data and memory → disable “Autoboot media”.
⚠️ Warning: If you disable Mi Cloud, backups SMS, Notes and contacts will no longer be created. Before you do that, export important data manually!
6. Hidden folders and files: what is stored in /data and /android/obb
Even the most experienced users are often unaware of the existence of hidden folders that take up gigabytes.
- 📦 /android/obb: This store additional game files (e.g., graphics packages for Genshin Impact or Asphalt) 9). Weight to 5–10 GB.
- 🗃️ /data/app: fixed-appendice (APK-file).
- 🔍 /data/data: User data of applications (save, settings).
- 📄 /MIUI/debug_log: Logs of the system (may weigh) 1–2 GB after failure).
How to view hidden folders:
- Connect your phone to your PC and use a conductor (e.g. Total Commander with hidden files on).
- Or install a file manager on your phone (like FX File Explorer) and enable the display of hidden folders in the settings.
What can be removed:
- 🗑️ Contents /android/obb — If you are not playing heavy games.
- 🧹 folder /MIUI/debug_log — If the phone is stable.
- 📂 Old ones. APK-file /data/app (But don't delete current applications!).
What happens if you delete /data/data?
7 Viruses and Malware: Can They Take Memory?
Yes, but less often than users think. Malware usually:
- 🕵️♂️ Masquerades as system files (e.g. com.android.system).
- 📥 Download ads or other files in the background.
- 🔄 Create duplicate applications (for example, a second Chrome called Chromium).
Signs of infection:
- The memory is filled by itself (for example, at night).
- Unknown applications appear in Settings → Applications.
- The phone is warming and discharges quickly.
How to check:
- Install Malwarebytes or Dr.Web Light and scan the device.
- Check the list of installed apps for suspicious ones (such as Chinese names).
- Open Settings → Battery → Battery Use and see which programs consume charge in the background.
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On Xiaomi Redmi with MIUI Global, viruses are extremely rare due to built-in protection, most often the “extra” memory is occupied not by malware, but by the cache or garbage of system applications.