Xiaomi smartphones are famous for their performance and functionality of the MIUI shell, but even the most powerful devices eventually start to work slower. The main reason for the slowdown and the emergence of jerks when scrolling the interface is often crowded internal storage. When free space runs out, the Android operating system has difficulty creating temporary files and caching data, which leads to instability of applications.
Device owners often notice that the phone is heating up or shutting down programs that are running spontaneously, and these are good signs that the system partition is filled with a critical amount of data. Proper memory cleaning is not just about removing photos, but about a complex system maintenance process that requires attention to detail and understanding the structure of files.
In this article, we will look at proven methods of freeing up space that will help return your gadget to its former abruptness, we will examine both the built-in tools of the system and the deeper methods of analyzing the file structure available to advanced users.
Analysis of vault occupancy
Before you start deleting data, you need to determine exactly what is taking up precious gigabytes. The MIUI shell has a fairly informative monitoring tool that allows you to visually evaluate the distribution of files. Go to Settings → About Phone → Storage to see a detailed employment chart.
The system will automatically break data into categories: apps, images, videos, documents and system debris. Notice the "Other" section, which often hides the cache of messengers and remnants of remote programs, and it is this hidden data that can occupy up to 40% of all available volume.
⚠️ Note: Do not delete files from system folders unless you are 100% sure of their purpose.
For a deeper analysis, you can use third-party utilities that build a heat map of the disk. However, with regular tools, you can also identify heavyweights. Sort the list of applications by size and check those that weigh more than 1 GB. Often these are social networks or navigators with downloaded offline maps.
Use of the built-in "Security" application
Each Xiaomi device has a Security system application preinstalled, which includes a powerful cleaning tool. This is the first line of defense that a user should address. Launch the app and select Cleanup.
The scanner will analyze the device for temporary files, residual debris and large files. The system will prompt you to remove the cache, advertising files and APK installer packages. This is a secure operation that will not affect your personal data, but will free up a significant space.
The Deep Clean feature, which allows you to find forgotten large videos, unused apps and duplicate photos, is quite aggressive, so before final confirmation, carefully review the list of candidates for removal.
- 📸 Duplicate photos – the system will find the same pictures taken at different intervals.
- 📦 Large files – Videos and archives that take up a lot of space will be found.
- 🗑️ Unused applications – programs that have not been launched for more than a month.
Working with the cache of messengers and social networks
The main memory eaters in modern smartphones are WhatsApp, Telegram and Viber messengers, which store every picture, video and voice message viewed in the memory of the device, over time, the cache can reach tens of gigabytes, which is critical for models with 64 or 128 GB of internal memory.
In Telegram, the cleanup is most efficiently done through internal settings. Go to Settings → Data and memory → Memory Use. Here you can set up automatic deletion of the cache, for example, 3 days or a week after viewing. There is also a “Clear cache” button that will not delete your correspondence, but only re-upload media files if necessary.
Why is the cache growing so fast?
Messengers keep video and image previews in high quality for quick display in the feed, and contact statuses are cached even if you haven’t opened them fully.> WhatsApp is more complicated because it stores media files in a shared file system. To clear the space, use the built-in file manager: go to the Android folder. → media → com.whatsapp → WhatsApp → Media.You can safely delete WhatsApp Images and WhatsApp Video folders here, saving important files beforehand. ⚠️ Warning: Before clearing messengers, be sure to back up important correspondence to the cloud so you don't lose your message history forever.Duplicate removal and media optimization Photographs and videos make up the lion's share of user data. Cameras of modern Xiaomi smartphones, such as Xiaomi 13 or Redmi Note 12, take high-resolution pictures that take up a lot of space. HEIF/HEIC format allows you to reduce the size of the photo in half without loss of quality, and it is worthwhile to activate it in the camera settings. Regularly check the album “Recently deleted” in the gallery. The files you delete do not disappear immediately, but are stored there for 30 days, continuing to occupy space. Clean this folder will instantly free up space. Also pay attention to the “Serial shooting” mode, which saves hundreds of almost identical frames. To optimize the existing ones, and use the same service as you already have, you can use the photo files for viewing from Google, you already, you can use them in the miniatures, which are already save them in the photo, for the photo, or the same service, which are already stored in the cloud, you can use it. ☁️ Cloud storage – transferring archives to the cloud for access from any device. 🗜️ Video compression – converting old videos to a format with a smaller bitrate. 🔄 Synchronization – setting up automatic upload of new images over Wi-Fi. Cleaning up the Download and system garbage folder is a “black hole” where all files from the Internet fall: installation packages, PDF-You often forget about this directory, allowing it to grow for years, and you have to check it regularly, and you have to go to the Explorer app and you can select Downloads, and you can sort the files by date or size. Remove Old App Installers (APK-files, as they are no longer needed after installing the program. Also check browser folders (Chrome, UC Browser, where saved pages or temporary files may lie. System debris is generated by various services and updates, folders with names like MIUI, Thunderbird (Xiaomi Browser downloads) or Android/data Be careful when manually cleaning the Android folder, delete only the contents of folders of specific remote applications. Apps and their data management not only take up space when installed, but also grow as they are used. Cash cards, offline music streaming, themes -- all stored locally. → Annexes → All applications can be viewed with a full list and space, and it is recommended to remove applications that you have not used in the past. 3 If you don't need it very often, consider using a web version of it or a " lite" analog that consumes less resources and space. For some applications, the function of transferring data to a memory card is available SD, Although this is limited in modern versions of Android, you can change the way you save files in the settings of the applications themselves (camera, voice recorder, navigator) to an external map. → Memory Yes Low (data will be downloaded again) APK Download installers Yes No Risk Topics and wallpaper Application Topics Yes (unnecessary) Change design System Logs Folder MIUI/log No risk of expanding memory with the help of SD-If internal memory is severely lacking, the only physical solution is a microSD memory card.Modern Xiaomi phones support cards up to the size of the card. 1 Tb. After installing the card, set the camera and voice recorder to save files immediately to an external medium. You can also transfer music and movies to a map, freeing up the internal space for the system to work. SD-So it's not recommended to migrate the applications themselves to the map if you want to keep them running fast, and cloud technology is a modern alternative to physical media. Subscribing to Google One or using Mi Cloud allows you to store terabytes of data, leaving only links to them on the phone. This makes cleaning the memory automatic and invisible to the user (FAQ) Is it safe to delete the.thumbnails folder in the gallery? Yes, it's safe to delete the.thumbnails folder. It stores thumbnails of your photos for quick display in the gallery. Once deleted, it will recreate when you open the gallery, but that will make room if the thumbnails have accumulated errors or take up too much space. Why does the memory fill up quickly again after cleaning? Chances are you have active synchronization of messengers or email client that load attachments in the background. Also check if the screen or voice recorder that could save long files is turned on. Can the memory clear up the phone? Yes, if the memory has been filled up by more than 90%. Android system uses free space as virtual memory for swapping. When places are small, the PAPER contains res to the remote systems. "Other can improve the remote systems" 5-10 "Other remote systems." Try clearing the cache in the Security app or manually removing the contents of the folder MIUI/debug_log. If the volume remains huge, a reset to factory settings may be required.