How to Clean Your Memory Effectively in Xiaomi

Modern smartphones Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO They have huge volumes of built-in storage, but even 512 GB can run out faster than you expect, 4K-Video, messenger cache and heavy games fill the space, making the system run slower. Users often notice that after a year of active use, the device begins to slow down when switching between applications or open the gallery for a long time.

One of the main reasons for the slowdown is the crowded internal storage partition: When there is critically little space (less than 10%), the MIUI or HyperOS operating system cannot effectively manage temporary files and swaps, which leads to micro-freezes, long interface loads, and even spontaneous closure of background programs.

In this article, we’ll look at not only standard cleaning methods through built-in utilities, but also advanced ways to remove “garbage” that is hidden from the eyes of the average user. You’ll learn how to safely remove system debris, clean up app cache and free precious gigabytes without losing important data. Deep cleaning is not just about deleting files, it’s about optimizing your smartphone’s entire file system.

Analysis of storage occupancy through settings

Before you start taking any drastic measures, you need to understand what exactly takes up space. Xiaomi has a built-in analyzer that visualizes data. Go to Settings → Phone → Storage. Here, the system will show the breakdown by category: applications, images, videos, documents, and so on.

Notice the Apps section. It's often the case that one or two messengers take up tens of gigabytes. It's because of the accumulated media cache: the photos, videos and voice messages you see are stored locally. Cache is temporary data that speeds up programs but inflates over time to unimaginable sizes.

⚠️ Before removing large amounts of data, make sure you have an up-to-date backup of important contacts and documents in the Xiaomi Cloud or Google Drive cloud.

In the same menu, you can see the item "Other" or "System Files." If this partition takes up an abnormally large amount of space (over 20-30 GB), this may indicate the presence of "tails" from remote applications or errors in the file system, in which case standard cleaning may not help, and a deeper approach will be required, which we will talk about in the next sections.

Use of the built-in "Security" application

The easiest and most affordable way to free up space is to use a regular developer tool, all Xiaomi devices pre-installed with the Security app, which contains a Cleanup module that automatically scans the device for temporary files, advertising debris and residual data.

Launch the app and press the big green scan button. The system will find files that can be safely deleted. However, don't rely on automatic mode alone. Click on the Cleanup icon inside the app to see a detailed list. Here you can selectively delete the browser cache, temporary system files and empty folders.

• 🗑️ Cache Clearing: Deletes temporary files without affecting logins and passwords.
• 📦 Removal APK: Finds application installation files that are no longer needed after installation.
• 📸 Photo analysis: suggests removing similar shots and screenshots you may have forgotten in the gallery.
• 📱 Cleaning WhatsApp: a separate module for cleaning media files from the popular messenger.

It's important to understand that the built-in tool is superficial, because it's afraid to remove something that's superfluous, so it leaves a lot of "heavy" garbage, for example, it can not touch the cache of streaming services like YouTube or Netflix, unless they are labeled as standard system applications, and it will require manual cleaning to be completely cleaned.

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Use the Deep Clean feature in the Security app only when your phone is connected to Wi-Fi, as it sometimes requires downloading virus databases or scanner updates.

Manual cleaning of cache and application data

To get the maximum amount of memory, you need to work with each heavy application separately. Go to Settings → Applications → All applications. Sort the list by size of space occupied. The first ones on the list are usually social networks, messengers and navigators.

Select an app (like Telegram or VK) and go to Storage, where you will see two buttons: Clear Cache and Clear Everything (or Reset). The first button is secure, it will only delete temporary files. The second button will completely reset the app to just installed, removing all logins, correspondence and settings.

And you have to pay special attention to the gallery and the cloud. Google Photos and Xiaomi Gallery have a shopping cart. Files deleted from there don't disappear forever, but they're stored for 30 days, and they're still in space. Don't forget to clear this section.

Working with system folders and hidden garbage

The most effective method for advanced users is to work with the file system through the Explorer. The built-in MIUI file manager allows you to see hidden folders. Turn on the display of hidden files in the Explorer settings and go to the root directory.

Find the DCIM folder, and inside it is.thumbnails. It stores thumbnails of all your photos and videos. Over time, this file can grow to 5-10 GB. It can be safely deleted, the system will create a new one when you open the gallery again, but it will be "light."

⚠️ Warning: Never delete folders with system service names (e.g. com.android.providers or com.miui) manually unless you know exactly what they are responsible for).

Also worth checking is the Android/data folder, which stores game and app data, and deleting the contents of specific game folders (e.g. com.tencent.ig for PUBG) will reset the game, but often leaves folders from long-deleted programs, and if you're sure the app is removed, its tails in that directory can be eliminated.

Cleaning up garbage in messengers Telegram and WhatsApp

Messengers are the main memory eaters. Telegram, for example, by default caches all media files viewed so that they open instantly even without the Internet. To fix this, open Telegram settings, go to Data and memory → Memory Use.

You have to change the Media Caching setting, set a limit of, say, 1GB or 500MB, and enable auto-delete old files, and click on Clear Telegram cache, which will instantly free up a few gigabytes without deleting your correspondence — they are stored on the server.

On WhatsApp, the situation is similar, but the files are stored in the file system. Go to chat settings and turn off autosave to the gallery. Then, through the file manager, navigate the Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Media path. WhatsApp Video and WhatsApp Images folders often contain duplicates that can be deleted.

• 📹 Video: Take up the most space, clean first.
• 🎙️ Voice: Can accumulate for years, check important.
• 📄 Documents: Often forgotten in workgroup chats.
• 🖼️ GIF Stickers: They take up little, but they are thousands, total give weight.

Memory Map and Cloud Technology as a Solution

If internal memory is constantly overflowing, expansion options are worth considering. Many Redmi and POCO models have a microSD card slot that can be used as portable storage for photos, videos and music, freeing up internal space for the system and applications.

It's also efficient to use cloud services. Google Photos offers a "Free Space" feature that removes photos from the device that have already been uploaded to the cloud. Similarly, Xiaomi Cloud works to synchronize the gallery, which allows you to store originals online, and only keep previews on your phone.

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Regular memory cleaning extends the life of the smartphone drive, as flash memory wears out faster with constant fullness.

And don't forget streaming services. Spotify, YouTube Music, Netflix, you can download content for offline listening, and check the settings of those apps, and you may have multiple seasons of shows or playlists that you don't listen to anymore.