Xiaomi’s “Other” folder: Where to look, what files are and how to delete them without risk

Have you ever looked into your Xiaomi storage and wondered why the Other partition takes up gigabytes of memory when you didn't consciously save anything there? It's one of the most mysterious folders in MIUI that can eat up to 30% of free space -- and its contents are rarely disclosed in standard settings. In this article, we'll not just tell you where these files are physically stored, but also explain which ones can be deleted without harm to the system and which ones should not be touched.

The problem is that MIUI (Xiaomi’s Android shell) classifies as “Other” anything that doesn’t fall into the standard categories of photos, videos, music or documents, including app cache, temporary update files, system logs, remnants of deleted programs and even hidden messenger data, and if newer versions of MIUI (starting with MIUI 14) have more detailed memory analysis, then on older devices, you can only sort through this chaos manually, through a file manager or ADB.

It's important to understand that not all Others are garbage. Some of these files are critical to the system or applications. For example, Google Play Services cache or Mi Account data can take hundreds of megabytes, but deleting them will cause failures. So before any cleaning, you need to understand the folder structure and understand what you can touch. Next, we'll show you the exact paths, commands and safe ways to free up memory.

What is the Other in Xiaomi’s Storage and Why Does It Take So Much Space?

The term "Other" in MIUI is a "basket" for files that the system cannot uniquely categorize as standard. Unlike DCIM (photo), Downloads (downloads) or Music, it collects anything that is not explicitly linked to user data.

• 📁 Application cache: temporary files that programs create to speed up work (for example, thumbnails in a gallery or map data in Google Maps).
• 🔄 Remnant applications: Not all programs clean folders after uninstallation.
• 📥 Update files: MIUI downloads firmware and updates to hidden folders, and after installation does not always delete them.
• 📜 Log files and dumps: Android systems and MIUI Keeping error logs that can weigh gigabytes.
• 🤖 Google and Xiaomi services: cache Play Market, Mi Cloud, Mi Video and other system applications.

On devices with MIUI 12 and older, some of these files can be seen in the Cleanup section (memory settings), but not all of them are displayed there, such as folders with logs (/data/log) or cache of system applications (/data/data) remain hidden. Moreover, some files can be duplicated: for example, the Chrome cache is stored in user memory (/storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.android.chrome), and in system (/data/data/data/com.android.chrome).

Critical information: on memory-sharing devices (such as the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro), the Other folder can take up to 15-20 GB due to the features of MIUI virtual memory (RAM Expansion), in which case some of the files are not garbage, but service data to speed up the system.

Where to store files “Other” on Xiaomi: paths and folders

To find and analyze the contents of The Other, you need to know where MIUI stores these files, most of which are located in three main memory areas:

1. User's internal memory (/storage/emulated/0/) - here are files that are accessible without root rights.
2. System partition (/data/) – requires superuser rights or ADB.
3. Cash section (/cache/) — Temporary update and recovery files.

Below is a table with the main folders that are related to the “Other” and their purpose:

The heaviest folders are usually located along the path /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/. It stores caches of messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp), social networks (TikTok, Instagram) and games. For example, Facebook cache can take up to 1-2 GB, and PUBG Mobile can take up to 3-4 GB. You can delete them through the menu “Settings → Apps → [Select App] → Storage → Clear Cache”.

⚠️ Note: Do not manually delete folders through the file manager unless you are sure of their purpose! /data/dalvik-cache/ This will lead to the collapse of the system and the need for reflashing.

How to view content from “Other” without root rights

If you don't have root access, you can analyze "Other" using standard MIUI tools or third-party apps.

1. Through MIUI settings: Go to Settings → Memory → Memory Analysis. Click on “Other” to show the main folders that occupy space. For detailed analysis, tap on any folder (for example, Android/data).
2. Through File Manager (e.g. Mi File Explorer): Open the manager and enable the display of hidden files (under the Settings menu). Go to /storage/emulated/0/ and analyze the Android, MIUI, logs folders.

For a deeper analysis, you can use ADB (Android Debug Bridge), for example, the command below will show the size of all folders in /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/:

adb shell du -h /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/ | sort -rh

If you see a folder that weighs a few gigabytes, but you don’t know which app created it, check its name using Android Package Info. For example, the folder com.tencent.mm belongs to WeChat, and com.whatsapp belongs to WhatsApp.

How to Safely Clean “Other” on Xiaomi: Step-by-step Methods

Delete files from The Other carefully so as not to disrupt the system, and here are proven ways, from the safest to the riskiest:

1. Cleaning up the app cache

The easiest and safest method:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select an app (like Facebook or TikTok).
3. Press "Storage» → «Clear the cache».

This will free up from 100 MB to several gigabytes, depending on the application.

2. Delete unnecessary files through “Cleanup”

MIUI has a built-in garbage disposal tool:

1. Open Settings → Memory → Cleaning.
2. Press "Analyze."
3. Select categories to clean (e.g., “Cash”, “Unnecessary APKs”, “Logins”).
4. Confirm removal.

3. Manual cleaning through file manager

If you are confident in your actions, you can manually remove:

• 🗑️ Remote application folders in /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/ (If the folder name does not match the installed programs).
• 📁 Old ones. APK-file /storage/emulated/0/Download/ or /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.xiaomi.market/.
• 📜 Log files are older 30 day-to-day /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/debug_log/.

⚠️ Warning: Never delete folders called com.android., com.miui. or com.google.* are system data that will crash if deleted!

4.Cache reset via Recovery

If the system is slowing down due to a crowded cache, you can reset it through the recovery mode:

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press the Power button + Volume up to enter Recovery.
3. Select Wipe cache partition (use volume buttons for navigation).
4. Confirm the action and restart the device.

This will remove temporary files from /cache/, but will not affect user data.

💡

Before any cleanup, check how much space the backups in Mi Cloud or Google Drive take up.Sometimes, "Other" is inflated due to automatic backups that can be disabled in your account settings.

Hidden folders and files that take up space in the Other

Some files in "Other" are hidden from the user, but they take up a lot of space.

• 📦.thumbnails folder: Stores thumbnails for the gallery. It can weigh up to 1–2 GB. The Way: /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.thumbnails.
• 📎.estrongs folder: temporary manager files ES File Explorer, if used: /storage/emulated/0/.estrongs.
• 📡 folder /data/miui/backup/: backup MIUI, pre-update, can take up to 5 GB.
• 🔍 folder /data/log/: System and application logs: files with the.log or.txt extension older than a month can be deleted.
• 🎮 folder /storage/emulated/0/Android/obb/: Additional game data (e.g. Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile) If the game is deleted, the folder can be cleared.

To see hidden folders, turn them on in the file manager:

1. Open the Mi File Explorer.
2. Slip on three dots in the upper right corner → “Settings”.
3. Activate the option “Show hidden files”.

Important: the /data/app-lib/ folder contains application libraries, and it is impossible and dangerous to clean it without root rights, and it will lead to the collapse of installed programs.

What to do if the Other returns after cleaning

If after a while, the “Other” takes up a lot of space again, the problem may be:

• 🔄 Automatic caching (e.g. YouTube or TikTok constantly downloading data).
• 📥 Background updates (MIUI and applications are updated unnoticed by the user).
• 📊 Failures in work MIUI (For example, file indexing error).

Decisions:

1. Limit caching: For YouTube: Settings → Background → Quality → Low. For TikTok: Settings → Data and Storage → Cash → Clean.
2. Turn off automatic updates: For MIUI: Settings → About Phone → System Update → Three Points → Settings → Auto Update → Switched Off. For apps: Play Market → Settings → Auto Update → Do not update automatically.
3. Check MIUI: Restart your phone. If the problem persists, reset your settings through Settings → Additional → Reset (without deleting data).

If nothing works, it could be a file system corruption.

1. Make a backup copy of the data.
2. Perform a reset to factory settings (Settings → Additional → Resetting → Delete all data).
3. If the problem persists, reflash the device through the Mi Flash Tool.

💡

If the Other is growing too fast (e.g., 1-2GB per day), check your phone for viruses using Malwarebytes or Dr.Web.>. Some malware masquerades as system files and generates garbage.

FAQ: Frequent questions about the folder “Other” on Xiaomi