Owners of budget but popular smartphones like the Xiaomi Redmi 9 often face sudden shortages of free space. Android notifies when internal memory is filled, but when you analyze the storage in detail, you see a frightening picture: most of it is occupied by the “Other” category. This section becomes a kind of “black hole” where gigabytes of data disappear without a trace, causing the interface to slow down and the inability to install new applications.
Understanding the nature of this data is critical to the normal operation of the device. Unlike obvious categories like Photos or Applications, the Other sector has no clear boundaries in the perception of the average user. It can hide both harmless temporary files, remnants of deleted programs or system error logs. To understand this confusion and effectively clean the gadget is a task that we solve in this material.
Ignoring storage overflow on Android can lead to unstable operating system operation: the smartphone begins to process requests longer, cameras stop recording videos, and messengers can stop receiving messages.
What is hidden under the category "Other"
The Other category in the MIUI shell is a hoard of files that the system cannot uniquely classify as media, documents, or application installation packages, primarily cached data, and the applications you use every day store temporary information to speed up work, but over time these files grow to giant sizes.
Telegram, WhatsApp and Viber have a habit of storing all received images, videos and voice messages in hidden folders. Even if you delete chat correspondence, physically files can remain in the phone’s memory, continuing to occupy space in the “Other” section.
Remnants of remote applications and games are also included, and often after uninstallation, empty folders or error logs are left in the system that are no longer needed but are not automatically deleted, and system update files that were not deleted after successful installation of the new version of MIUI can also be written into this category.
⚠️ Warning: Don't try to delete files from system folders manually through the file manager unless you're sure of their purpose.Deleting critical libraries may cause some phone features to stop working or the device to go into a cyclical reboot.
Importantly, the amount of data in this category is dynamic, and can grow dramatically after watching high-resolution online videos or downloading large numbers of files from the Internet, and understanding the structure of that data helps to manage Redmi 9 resources effectively.
Technical details of the file system
How to find hidden files and app cache
To start cleaning, you need to visualize hidden data. The standard MIUI Explorer allows you to see the main folders, but for deep analysis, you better use the built-in Security app or third-party utilities. Go to the storage settings to see the space allocation diagram.
The most effective way to find heavyweights is to analyze them by application. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Sort the list by location. You will be surprised to find that a simple browser or social network can take 2-3 GB, even though the program itself weighs only 100 MB.
Inside the settings of each suspicious app, find the Memory or Storage option, and there will be a "Clear Cache" button, and it is important not to confuse cache cleaning with data cleaning, and data cleaning will remove your logins, passwords and settings inside the app, returning it to the "post-installation" state.
☑️ Algorithm for finding hidden garbage
For more advanced users, there is the option of using ADB commands to analyze disk space, but on Redmi 9 this requires the inclusion of debugging over USB. For most cases, standard diagnostic tools built into the Xiaomi shell are sufficient.
Cleaning of garbage with standard MIUI means
The MIUI shell features a powerful built-in optimization tool that is often ignored by users.The Security app (green zipper icon) has a Cleanup function. When it first starts, it scans the device for temporary files, ad debris and residual files.
Inside the Security app, there's a separate Deep Clean section, which analyzes the contents of download folders, large files that haven't been opened in a long time, and duplicate photos, and uses this module to safely remove hundreds of megabytes of unnecessary information.
However, be careful with automatic cleaning. Sometimes the system will flag files you plan to use in the near future as junk. Always check the list of files proposed for removal, especially if it concerns the Download folder or attachments in instant messengers.
| Type of data | Wherever | Can I remove it? | Risk of removal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash app. | Application settings | Yes. | Minimum (the applications will reload the data) |
| Files.thumbnails | DCIM/.thumbnails | Yes. | Gallery will open a preview photo longer |
| Remains of deleted APKs | Install folder | Yes. | Absent. |
| Error logs (Logs) | System folders | Carefully. | It can make it difficult to diagnose when there is a failure. |
Regular use of standard cleaning tools is basic hygiene for Android smartphones. On 64GB models like the base Redmi 9, releasing even 1GB can significantly improve interface responsiveness.
Use of third-party utilities for analysis
If Xiaomi’s built-in tools don’t give the desired result or you want to get a more detailed memory visualization, you should turn to specialized applications from Google Play.
This app builds a visual memory card in the form of rectangles, and the more squared you have on the screen, the more space you have on a file or folder, and it allows you to instantly find forgotten videos, archives, or navigator cache that are hidden deep in the file system.
Another powerful tool is Files by Google. It's not just a file manager, it's a smart system that suggests removing old screenshots, WhatsApp memes and rarely used apps. Google's algorithms are great at finding duplicates.
When using third-party software, remember access rights. To work properly, programs need permission to access all files. Install only proven high-rated applications so as not to infect the device with a virus under the guise of a "cleaner."
⚠️ Warning: Avoid installing accelerators and cleaners with aggressive advertising, many of which are not only inefficient, but also consume battery and processor resources themselves while operating in the background.
Working with messengers: Telegram and WhatsApp
The main memory eaters on Redmi 9 are most often messengers. Telegram by default caches all the media files viewed so that when you reopen the chat they download instantly. Over time, this cache can reach 5-10 GB.
To clean up, go to Telegram Settings → Data and Memory → Memory Use. Here you can click the “Clear Cache” button and, most importantly, set a cache size limit. Set a limit of, for example, 500 MB, and the application will automatically be successful.