Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones face an inexorable warning of a lack of space, internal storage fills up faster than you can take photos, and the system starts to work slower, and the natural question arises: where exactly do gigabytes go and what is hidden behind the “Other” or “System files” line in the settings.
Understanding the structure of the Android file system that MIUI or HyperOS use is key to managing your device effectively. It's not just a chaotic pile of data, it's a highly organized hierarchy where each byte has its own purpose, and once you understand what takes up volume, you can safely remove the extra without damaging important documents.
In this article, we will take a closer look at the memory architecture, explain the nature of hidden partitions, and provide specific cleaning tools, explaining why even after you delete applications, space is not vacant, and how to work with system caches correctly.
Structure of internal storage of Android
Your smartphone’s physical memory is divided into several logical partitions, each of which performs a different function. The user sees only the tip of the iceberg, while the system partition is hidden from direct access without root rights.
The bulk of the volume that you can access is /data, where you have your apps, your photos, your downloads, and most importantly, your data, and when you install a game or messenger, it's in that section, but over time, the size of the apps grows disproportionately.
⚠️ Warning: Never attempt to manually delete files from system folders through root-access file managers unless you know exactly what a particular file is responsible for.
Special attention should be paid to the swap section, which in modern models is often dynamically generated from free RAM, but historically swap data could take up space in internal storage. Understanding the difference between RAM and ROM (internal memory) helps to avoid confusion in diagnosing problems.
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Use the built-in Security app to initially evaluate occupied space, but don’t rely on it blindly – it often doesn’t show the real amount of instant messenger cache.
Analysis of the “Other” section in the settings
The most mysterious category for any user is the “Other” section, which Xiaomi smartphones often include everything that the system could not classify as images, videos, music or documents, a kind of “black box” that can inflate to tens of gigabytes.
First of all, the Other gets residual files from remote applications. If you deleted a game but didn't clear its cache or data, the resource folders can remain dead weight, and it also hides error logs, temporary update files, and offline map data.
- 📁 Residual files of remote programs and games.
- 📦 Streaming cache (Spotify, Netflix, YouTube) that is not labeled as media.
- 🗑️ Temporary System and Application Update Files.
- 📄 Archives and files of unknown formats that the OS did not recognize.
Cleaning this partition requires caution. Simply deleting folders through the file manager can disrupt some programs. It is best to use specialized disk analysis utilities that visualize the folder structure, showing which file takes up the most space.
System cache and application data
Each application installed creates its own data set. It's not just an executable program file (APK), but also user data, databases and cache. The cache is designed to speed up the application by storing frequently used elements, but over time it can become huge and useless.
In MIUI, application memory management is quite flexible, so you can go to the settings of a particular application and see the separation into Data and Cache. Clearing the cache is secure and will not delete your logins or correspondence, while clearing the data will return the application to the “just installed” state.
Messengers like Telegram and WhatsApp hold media files in their internal databases, which the system often perceives as a single block of application data, rather than as separate pictures, so standard cleaning can be ineffective.
Settings → Applications → All Applications → [Select App] → Memory → CleanUse this menu command sequence to access the memory management of a particular application. Regularly checking heavy applications keeps the system on track. Remember that some applications, such as navigators, can store maps in hidden partitions.
☑️ Checking heavy applications
Hidden folders and junk files
The Android file system allows apps to create hidden folders that start with a dot, which often store settings, temporary files and unfortunately advertising junk, and can only be found by turning on the hidden files in Explorer.
Many users don't know that the.thumbnails folder in the DCIM directory can take up gigabytes of space. This is a cache of thumbnails of your photos. When you delete thousands of photos, thumbnails can stay, continuing to take up space. It's also worth checking the Android/data and Android/obb folders, where the games and apps caches are stored.
| Folder/Directory | What's stored | Can I remove it? |
|---|---|---|
| DCIM/.thumbnails | Cash miniature gallery | Yes (recreated) |
| Download | Files from the browser | Yeah (after check-in) |
| Android/data | Cash app. | Careful (resets settings) |
| MIUI/debug_log | Logs of system debugging | Yeah (if you don't debug) |
Regularly reviewing these directories frees up a lot of space, but by removing files from Android/data, you risk losing progress in games or app settings if they are not synced to the cloud.
⚠️ Attention: Folder MIUI/Gallery/cloud It can contain local copies of albums from the Xiaomi cloud, and deleting these files will cause them to disappear from the device if the sync is not complete.
Use of disk analyzers
For a deep analysis of what takes up space, standard tools are often not enough, and specialized analysis applications come to the rescue, which build a visual memory card, and they show the size of each folder in blocks, where the block size is proportional to the space occupied.
Popular tools like DiskUsage or Files by Google allow you to instantly see bloated folders. For example, you may find that a forgotten podcast or series downloaded a month ago takes up 2 GB. Without visualization, finding such files deep in folders is extremely difficult.
When working with analyzers, it is important to follow the order of actions. First scan the memory, then sort the results by size decrease, this will immediately display the most "heavy" objects. Be careful when deleting system files that the analyzer can also show.
Why does the analyzer show one size and the phone settings another?
Using these utilities makes cleaning much faster, so you stop guessing and you start acting on the data, and this is especially true for models with little internal memory, where every megabyte counts.
Cleaning the system cache and recovery
Sometimes the problem isn't with user files, but with system debris that has accumulated after a lot of updates or crashes, in which case, cleaning the cache through Recovery Mode helps, a secure procedure that doesn't delete your personal data.
To enter recovery mode on most Xiaomi smartphones, you need to turn off your phone and press the Volume Up + Power button combination. In the recovery menu, which is controlled by volume buttons, you should select Wipe Cache Partition. This action will delete temporary system files, but save photos and applications.
If memory fills up critically quickly immediately after a reset or upgrade, it may be a problem with the specific system process that creates the cyclic logs, which may require a more radical step – a full reset to the factory settings (Hard Reset).
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Cleaning the cache partition through Recovery Mode is a safe way to remove system debris that does not affect the user’s personal files.
After cleaning, it is recommended to restart the device and give it a few minutes to stabilize the processes, the system will recreate the necessary temporary files, but in an optimized form.