Have you ever lost important photos on a Xiaomi phone, even though you were sure you had saved them to a “personal album”? or suddenly found that some photos disappear from the gallery but take up space in memory? The fact is that MIUI has a unique media storage system — with hidden folders, protected albums and even “secret” sections that most users do not know about.
In this article, we will not only show you where your personal album is on Xiaomi, but also reveal all the ways to access hidden photos and videos, from standard gallery features to system folders that do not appear in the Explorer, you will learn how to recover deleted files from the MIUI basket, why some albums disappear after the update, and how to transfer hidden media to another phone without loss, and also understand the features of different versions of MIUI (12 to 14) and models (Redmi Note 12, POCO X5, Xiaomi 13T, etc.).
If you want to finally understand the chaos of DCIM, MIUI and Pictures folders, read on.Spoiler: Your phone can store 20 to 30 percent more photos than you see in the gallery!
What is a “personal album” in Xiaomi and why you need it
The term “personal album” is often used by users to refer to three different things:
- 📁 Standard folder "Private" - built-in function MIUI to hide photos and videos from prying eyes (available from the MIUI 10).
- 🔒 Protected album in the Gallery – media files hidden by password or fingerprint (appeared in the gallery) MIUI 12.5).
- 🗃️ System Hidden Folders: Technical Directories such as.thumbnails or MIUI/Extra, where thumbnails, cache and backups are stored.
The main purpose of these albums is privacy and memory optimization, for example, MIUI automatically moves rarely viewed photos to the “archive”, and some messengers (such as Telegram or WhatsApp) save media to separate hidden folders that are not displayed in the standard gallery.
Interesting fact: Xiaomi even has a “screenshot album” that is hidden from the main gallery by default, and can only be found through the system explorer or special ADB commands.
⚠️ Note: If you use the "Dublicates" function in the gallery MIUI, Some photos can be automatically moved to the folder MIUI/DupFiles — And then disappear from the main aloma. Check this directory if the pictures are missing!
Where to find a personal album in the standard gallery MIUI
To begin with, the obvious is where Xiaomi’s built-in “personal album” (aka Private Album) is located, depending on the MIUI version:
| MIUI version | The Way to a Personal Album | How to open |
|---|---|---|
| MIUI 12–12.5 | Gallery → Albums → Private | Swipe down in the gallery → tab “Albums” → scroll to the end |
| MIUI 13–14 | Gallery → Utilities → Protected album | Stick on the icon «🔒» top-right corner of the gallery |
| POCO Launcher | Gallery → folders → Hidden folders → | Click on three dots in the gallery → “Show hidden folders” |
If you don’t see the “Private” or “Secure Album” tab, check:
- 🔓 Is password protection set up (without it, the album will not be displayed).
- 📱 Updated to the latest version (in the Play Market or App Store) MIUI).
- 🔄 Have your phone settings been reset (after reset, hidden albums are blocked).
MIUI 14 has added Archives, where photos older than 30 days are automatically moved unless they are marked as "favorites." To return them to the main gallery, open the archive and click Restore.
Open the Gallery and swipe down for an update|Check the "Utilities" tab (icon "🔧")|Press the icon "🔒" top-corner|Enter a password or fingerprint (if requested)-->
Xiaomi Hidden Folders: Where else can your photos be stored
Even if you found a personal album in a gallery, it doesn't mean that it stores all your hidden media files. MIUI firmware creates several system folders that don't show up in a standard explorer. Here's where your photos might be:
- 📸 /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.thumbnails — Miniatures of all photos (sometimes full-size copies remain here).
- 🔐 /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/Gallery/cloud/private — Backups from the Mi Cloud.
- 📁 /storage/emulated/0/Pictures/Screenshots/.hidden — Hidden screenshots (if the option is enabled in the settings).
- 🤖 /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.miui.gallery — cache of the gallery (sometimes there are deleted photos).
To see these folders, you’ll need a root file manager (like Solid Explorer or FX File Manager) or an ADB command:
adb shell ls -la /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/Important: The MIUI/Extra folder contains backups of photos that MIUI creates before updating the firmware. If you lose photos after the update, check it first!
⚠️ Note: Do not delete files from the.thumbnails folder manually - this can cause the gallery to crash. If you need to free up space, use the built-in Cleanup feature in the settings MIUI.
MIUI 12 or older|MIUI 13|MIUI 14|I don't know my version.|Other firmware (e.g. Pixel Experience)-->
How to recover deleted photos from MIUI basket
If you accidentally delete a photo from your personal album, don't panic: MIUI has a built-in shopping cart where files are stored for 30 days before being deleted, to recover them:
- Open the Gallery → click on the three dots in the upper right corner.
- Select “Recently Deleted” (or “Recently Deleted” in English).
- Mark the desired photos and click "Restore".
If the cart is empty or you deleted the photo more than a month ago, try these methods:
- 🔍 Use recovery applications such as DiskDigger or Recuva (root rights required).
- ☁️ Check out Mi Cloud – photos may have been synced automatically (path: Settings) → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud → gallery).
- 📱 Connect your phone to your PC and scan your memory with EaseUS MobiSaver.
MIUI 14 has a Gallery Backup feature, which, if enabled, you can recover photos from the cloud even after you reset your phone.
- Go to Settings → Memory → Backup.
- Select “Restore” and specify the backup date.
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If you lose photos often, turn on automatic sync with Google Photos. Go to Settings → Accounts → Google → Account Sync and activate the Photos option.
Why are the photos from the album missing and how to get them back?
One of the most common problems for Xiaomi users is the sudden disappearance of a photo from a personal album.
| Problem. | Reason. | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Album Empty After MIUI Update | Reset gallery settings | Reboot your phone and check the MIUI/Extra folder. |
| Photos disappear after phone reset | Synchronization with Mi Cloud was not disabled | Log in to the same Xiaomi account and recover data from the cloud |
| Hidden photos are displayed as empty miniatures | Gallery cache damaged | Clear the cache of the Gallery app in the settings |
| The album "Private" requires a password, but it was not | Failure after update | Delete the data of the Gallery application (settings → applications) |
If the photos are missing after updating the firmware, try this method:
- Install an older version of the gallery (e.g. MIUI Gallery 2.1.1.3) from APK.
- Open the app and check if hidden albums are being displayed.
- Copy the photo to another folder and update the gallery back.
There's a bug in Redmi Note 11 and later: once upgraded to MIUI 14, the Private folder can turn into a Secure Folder.
adb shell am start -n com.miui.gallery/.app.SecureAlbumActivityWhat if MIUI asks for a password to access an album, but you haven’t set it?
How to transfer hidden photos from Xiaomi to another phone
If you want to transfer a photo from a personal album to a new phone (for example, from the Redmi Note 10 to the Xiaomi 13), standard copying via cable or Bluetooth will not work - hidden folders simply will not show up on another device.
- 📲 Through Mi Cloud: Upload photos to the cloud (Gallery) → Choose. → Send. → On the new phone, log in to the same account and download files.
Through PC:
- Connect Xiaomi to your computer in File Transfer (MTP) mode.
- Enable the display of hidden folders in Windows Explorer (View → Hidden Elements).
- Copy the contents of DCIM/.thumbnails and MIUI/Gallery/private.
Through ADB:
adb pull /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/Gallery/private C:\Xiaomi_Backup\For models with MIUI 14 (for example, Xiaomi 13 Pro or POCO F5) there is another way - export through the "Archive":
- Open the gallery → Go to the Archives».
- Select a photo → click “Export”.
- Specify the folder on the memory card or in the cloud.
⚠️ Note: When you transfer photos via instant messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp), the quality of the images is degraded due to compression. Use cloud services or direct cable copying to save the original resolution.
How to hide photos in Xiaomi without a personal album (alternative ways)
If you don’t like the built-in “personal album” in MIUI, there are a few alternative ways to hide your photo:
- 🔐 Safe apps: KeepSafe – encrypts photos and videos with a password. GalleryVault – hides media behind a “false” password (for example, a calculator). 1Gallery — Alternative gallery with built-in hidden storage.
- 📁 Archivers: Archive your photo to.zip or.rar with a password (use this). RAR Rename the archive to Android.mp3 Or.apk, so you won't notice it in the conductor.
- ☁️ Cloud storage with private access: Google Photos → «Archive" or "Stamped Albums. Mega or pCloud → file-folder.
For maximum privacy, you can use folder encryption via Cryptomator or VeraCrypt. These applications create encrypted containers that are mounted as virtual drives.
If you want to hide a photo from system applications (for example, so that they do not appear in Google Photos or WhatsApp), add a dot to the beginning of the folder name (for example,.my_secret_photos). These directories are ignored by most programs.
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The most reliable way to hide a photo is to combine it from the archive with a password + upload it to the cloud with two-factor authentication.