Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face a mysterious situation: the storage is crowded, although photos and apps occupy minimal space. The main “eater” of space is a section called “Other” or “System Data.” This section can grow to tens of gigabytes, causing the interface to slow down and inability to install new updates. Understanding the nature of these files is the first step to solving the problem.
Unlike the standard category of "Apps" or "Gallery", the "Other" section is a hoard of heterogeneous data. It hides temporary files of the MIUI or HyperOS operating system, remnants of remote programs, error logs and, most importantly, the messenger cache. Storage analytics does not always correctly classify large database files by sending them to this hidden folder. Which is why standard cleaning through settings often only gives a temporary effect.
Ignoring the proliferation of this partition can have critical consequences for the device. When the free space is exhausted, the smartphone begins to work in a mode of heavy load on the flash memory, which accelerates its wear. In this material, we will examine in detail what the volume of the Other is made of, and offer proven methods for safe cleaning without losing personal data.
The Anatomy of the Other Section: Hidden Files and Cache
To effectively combat this problem, you need to clearly understand what is behind the name, first of all, it is the cache of applications that the system does not consider part of the application itself. Social networks such as Telegram or Viber store the photos and videos viewed in hidden directories, which the standard analyzer refers to as system data, and it also stores temporary update files that were not deleted automatically after installation.
The second important component is streaming service files and browsers. When you watch YouTube videos or listen to music on Spotify, the buffered data often ends up in the Other section. In addition, crash logs and error reports that the operating system generates, and if you're actively using the navigator, the downloaded offline maps can also be classified as system data, not as user files.
⚠️ Note: Do not attempt to manually delete files from system folders through a root-enabled file manager unless you are sure of their purpose.
Tails from remote applications are a special feature. When uninstallation programs often leave behind folders with settings and temporary data. Over time, these "orphaned" files accumulate a huge number. Xiaomi uses a special file system that marks these blocks as free, but visually they can still appear as occupied until the time of complete overwriting or deep cleaning.
The impact of messengers and social networks on memory
The most active memory contaminants in Xiaomi smartphones are messengers. Telegram, WhatsApp and Viber have a habit of saving all the media you’ve ever viewed, even if you haven’t saved them to the gallery. These data lie in deep system folders and are often not visible when you normally browse the file structure, falling into the “Other” category.
The problem is compounded by the fact that standard MIUI cleaning tools are often afraid to touch messenger data so that the user does not accidentally lose correspondence. However, the cache can grow to 10-20 GB. To solve this problem, you need to use built-in cleaning tools inside the applications themselves. For example, in Telegram, the Settings path → Data and memory → Using memory allows you to safely delete the cache without affecting the history of correspondence.
Social networks like Instagram and TikTok are also using this section, cacheing video previews, thumbnails and commercials to speed up feed loading. Over time, this digital trash takes up a significant amount. Regularly cleaning these apps through the Android settings menu helps to regain space, but requires re-authorization in accounts.
💡
Use the "Cache Remove" function in the Telegram settings by setting a timer for 3 days or a week, which will prevent the "Other" section from growing uncontrollably.
Analysis of storage built-in MIUI and HyperOS
The MIUI shells and the new HyperOS provide powerful tools for initial analysis. The standard Security app contains a Cleanup module that can find surface debris. However, for deep analysis, you need to go to the Settings → Memory menu, where the system visualizes the distribution of space, albeit with some delay in updating the data.
The built-in analyzer can group large files, but often fails to work with the system files. If you see that "Other" takes up more than 30% of memory, you should use the "Recommendment Clear" feature. The system will offer to remove old screenshots, duplicates and files from the download folder. Autocleaning works well, but requires manual confirmation for each type of file.
For a more detailed look, you can use Advanced Settings in the memory section, where you can see which apps consume the most resources, and it often turns out that one application, like a video editor or a navigator, has created a huge amount of temporary files. Deletion of such application data through the Application menu → All applications → [Name of name] → Memory. → Cleaning can instantly free up a few gigabytes.
☑️ Actions in case of memory overflow
Third-party utilities for deep cleaning
When built-in tools are scarce, specialized tools come to the rescue. Files by Google is one of the safest and most effective tools; it can find hidden junk that the standard Xiaomi analyzer can’t see; it scans the file system for duplicates, fuzzy photos and long-unused applications.
Another powerful tool is SD Maid, which specializes in finding "orphaned" files, remnants of remote applications, and it does a deep analysis of the file system, and it finds registry entries and empty folders that formally occupy space in the "Other" section, and it allows you to safely remove what the system thinks is important but what is not.
It is important to remember to take precautions when using third-party software. Not all cleaners are equally useful. Many of them consume resources and display intrusive advertising on their own. It is recommended to use proven solutions without RAM acceleration features in the background, as they often conflict with MIUI optimization.
⚠️ Warning: Avoid installing questionable antivirus and accelerator apps from unknown sources, often becoming a source of junk files and ads themselves, increasing the Other section».
Radical methods: resetting and flashing
If the "Other" partition has grown to an obscene size (for example, 40-50 GB of 128 GB of memory) and is not cleaned by any methods, there is a radical solution: it is a complete reset to factory settings. Before this procedure, be sure to back up all important data to the cloud or to the computer, since the internal memory will be fully formatted.
Resets can be done via Settings → About Phone → Reset → Erase all data. This process puts the phone back out of the box, removing all system errors, logs and accumulated debris. Once reset, the Other section usually takes up the minimum possible amount as the system developer would have expected.
What if the reset didn't help?
An alternative to a full reset is to flash the device with all data cleaned (Wipe All Data), which is important for users who want to not only clean up the garbage, but also update the Android version or change the firmware region. Clean installation ensures that there is no old debris left over from previous versions of MIUI.
Comparison of Memory Cleaning Methods
The choice of cleaning method depends on how much time you are willing to spend and what you want to get, and below is a table comparing the effectiveness of different approaches to vacating space in the "Other" section.
| Method | Efficiency | Security of data | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Integrated MIUI cleaning | Low (1-2 GB) | Tall. | Low. |
| Clearing messenger cache | Medium (3-10 GB) | High (conserves correspondence) | Medium |
| Third-party utility (SD Maid) | High (5-15 GB) | Medium (requires supervision) | Medium |
| Reset to factory settings | Maximum (up to 99%) | Low (backup required) | Tall. |
As you can see from the table, there are enough built-in tools to keep up with regular maintenance and cleaning messengers. However, it is almost impossible to remove the accumulated digital fat without completely dumping it, and the most effective strategy is to combine regular cleaning of messenger cache once a month and a complete reset once a year.
💡
Full reset is the only way to ensure that you remove system debris accumulated over the years of use, returning the phone to factory speed.
Overflow prevention and data management
To keep the Other problem from coming back too quickly, you need to change your smartphone usage habits, first of all, disable auto-save media files in the chat gallery, and this will prevent duplicates from being created: the file will lie in both the app cache and the shared gallery, taking up double space.
Check Download and Bluetooth regularly, often with app installation files (APKs) that are already installed or documents that you no longer need, and the file manager should be your regular monitoring tool, not just a tool for finding pictures.
You should also pay attention to the memory extension feature, if you have one in your model, which uses part of the internal storage to run RAM. If you don't have enough space, it's best to turn it off in the settings, because it reserves a significant block for system needs, which shows up as busy.