Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face a lack of internal storage, especially when using multimedia features. One of the main reasons for memory overflow is an uncleaned shopping cart, which by default stores deleted files for 30 days, which creates the illusion of free space, but in reality, gigabytes of data continue to occupy the volume of the system partition.
The cleaning process depends on which application you used to delete files: the standard MIUI Gallery, the Explorer app or the Google Photo cloud service. Each of these components has its own isolated clipboard, and cleaning one will not affect the others. In this article, we will discuss in detail all possible scenarios and ways to free up space.
Understanding the structure of the Android file system on the MIUI or HyperOS shell will help you manage storage more efficiently, and we will look at not only manual deletion methods, but also automated methods, and also touch on data security issues while fully clearing the buffer.
Features of the basket in MIUI and HyperOS
The MIUI shell installed on Xiaomi smartphones has its own implementation of the Recycle Bin feature, which is different from stock Android. Unlike desktop operating systems, where a deleted file often disappears instantly, mobile interfaces prefer reinsurance. The photos, videos and documents you delete are moved to a hidden system partition accessible through the application interface.
It is important to distinguish between the local device basket and cloud storage. Local takes up the memory of your smartphone and directly affects its performance when you fill up by more than 90%, while a cloud basket, for example in Google Photos or Xiaomi Cloud, stores data on the company’s servers, but synchronizes with the device, creating the appearance of the presence of files.
⚠️ Note: Deleting files from the Recycle Bin on Xiaomi is an irreversible action. Unlike conventional deleting files into a folder, cleaning the Recycle Bin does not leave standard software methods for data recovery without using complex paid software.
The standard settings of the Gallery require the storage of deleted items for 30 days, after which they are deleted automatically, but the user can initiate this process forcibly at any time if the free space is critically small.
Cleaning the basket in the standard MIUI Gallery
The most common scenario is to clean up deleted photos and videos, and media files are the majority of memory, and in the standard Xiaomi Gallery app, the algorithm is simple, but it has its own nuances in different versions of the firmware.
To start, open the Gallery app on the home screen or menu. Go to the Album tab, which is usually located at the bottom of the interface. You need to scroll down the album list to the bottom, where the Deleted service folder is located. This is where all the files you've tagged to delete are stored.
- 📸 Open the Remote folder to view the contents of the gallery clipboard.
- 🗑️ Click the “Clean” button in the corner of the screen to instantly remove all content.
- 📂 Select individual files by holding your thumbnail to delete only them.
- 🔄 Use the Recovery button if you accidentally delete an important photo.
Once the operation is confirmed, the system will request final consent, warning of irreversibility, which prevents accidental data loss when you click blindly. If you sync with Xiaomi Cloud, removing from the local cart can start the cleanup process in the cloud, unless the appropriate restrictions are set.
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Periodically check the Remove folder before cleaning, often with randomly blurred footage or duplicates that can be recovered by making room in a more intelligent way, by transferring to a PC.
Delete files from File Manager and Explorer
The situation with documents, archives and installation files (APK) is different. To manage them, Xiaomi uses the Explorer (or Files) application. The basket here works on a similar principle, but has a file life cycle independent of the Gallery.
To find and clear this basket, run the Explorer app. At the top of the screen you will see the search bar and menu icon. You need to click on the menu icon (three dots or stripes) and select Settings, or immediately find the Recycle Bin tab in the category list if it is in the main menu.
Inside the section, you'll see a list of all the deleted documents, and the interface allows you to sort files by deletion date or type, which is handy if you're looking for a specific document that was deleted a week ago but hasn't been erased yet.
☑️ Checking before cleaning
It is worth noting that some versions of MIUI may not have a separate basket for all file types in Explorer, relying on Android 11 and above system mechanisms that restrict applications from accessing the file system of other applications.
| Type of application | Positioning of the basket | Storage period | Recovery |
|---|---|---|---|
| MIUI Gallery | Albums → Deleted | 30 days | Maybe. |
| Conductor | Menu → Basket | 30 days | Maybe. |
| Google Photo | Library → Basket | 30/60 days | Maybe. |
| Telegram/WhatsApp | Folder document | No (right away) | Only from the backup. |
Cleaning up Google's cloud cart Photo
Many Xiaomi users default to Google Photos for backup, which creates confusion: you delete a photo in the Xiaomi Gallery, but the memory is not freed. Why? Because the originals are stored in the Google cloud, and deleting them requires a separate action in the Google Photos app.
Launch the Google Photos app. In the lower right corner, click on the Library tab. At the top of the screen, you'll see the Recycle Block (or "Storage" → "Basket" in the newer versions of the interface), which contains all photos and videos removed from your cloud account.
Cleaning is divided into two types: selective and complete. You can select individual frames or click on three dots in the top right corner and select Clear the Recycle Bin. The system will warn that these files will be deleted permanently and no longer occupy space in your Google Account.
⚠️ Attention: Cleaning up Google Shopping Cart Photos frees up space in Google's cloud storage (15GB free), but doesn't always instantly free up space on the phone itself if sync is enabled.The app's cache may require separate cleaning through Android settings.
The storage life of Google Photos may differ from MIUI standards. For regular users, it is 30 days, but for Google One subscribers or Pixel smartphone owners (and some flagships of other brands at certain periods), the period can be up to 60 days.
Specificity of garbage in WhatsApp and Telegram messengers
Popular instant messengers deserve special attention. WhatsApp and Telegram work with files differently and often do not have a single shopping cart for the entire application in the understanding of the operating system. Deleting a message in a chat does not always mean removing a file from the memory of the phone.
On WhatsApp, deleted media files often stay in the system folders until you clear them through built-in storage management. Go to Settings → Data and Storage → Storage Management. Here you will see a list of chats sorted by space you occupy, and you can delete the files selectively.
Telegram works on a cloud cache. Deleting a photo from a chat removes the link to it, but the file itself can remain in the app's cache. To clean, go to Settings → Data and Memory → Memory Use. Here, the Clear Cache button is analogous to a temporary file basket.
- 📱 WhatsApp Stores Remote Media in a Folder Android/media/com.whatsapp.
- ✈️ Telegram caches all viewed media unless auto-delete is enabled.
- 🧹 Use built-in cleaners inside apps, not just system cleaners.
- 📉 Regular cleaning of messenger cache can release up to 5-10 GB space.
Why do files return after deletion?
Automatic cleaning and system optimization
Xiaomi smartphones are equipped with a built-in Security tool that allows you to automate the cleaning process, which is the easiest way for users who do not want to understand file structures.
Run the Security app (green icon with shield). Select the Cleanup tool. The system will analyze the device and suggest removing the Garbage. However, standard quick cleaning often doesn't affect the Gallery or Explorer basket, only working with temporary cache files.
For more in-depth work, click on the Cleanup icon in the bottom menu of the Security app, and then select the Deep Cleanup tab or similar. Here you can set up automatic removal of old screenshots, large files and, in some firmware versions, the contents of the shopping cart if it is older than a certain period.
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Automatic cleaning through the Security app is effective for cache, but to ensure free space from deleted photos and documents requires manual checking of the Deleted folders.
Frequent problems and their solution
Users may encounter a situation where the clean button is inactive, files are not deleted or space is not vacated after the procedure.This may be due to file system errors or access rights.
If the file is not deleted, check if it is open in another application. It is also worth checking for errors on the drive. To do this, you can find the verification function (on some models) in the Settings menu → About Phone → Storage or use the PC to check the disk.
Another problem is phantom space, and once you clean the bin, the amount of free memory you have may not change visually immediately, which is normal for a file system that takes time to recount blocks, and rebooting a Reboot device often solves the display problem.