How to find hidden folders on Xiaomi and securely clean your phone’s memory

Xiaomi’s internal memory (including the Redmi and POCO lines) often clogs up unexpectedly quickly — even if you regularly delete photos, videos, and unwanted apps — not just the app cache, but the hidden system folders that MIUI creates for business purposes, which can take up 1 to 10 GB of space but are not displayed in a standard file manager.

Compounding the problem, Xiaomi is using caching to speed up the interface, and it also keeps backups of updates, log files, and temporary application data. For example, a MIUI/Backup folder can weigh several gigabytes if you haven’t reset your phone in a long time. In this article, we’ll look at how to find these hidden folders, which ones can be removed without risk to the system, and which ones can’t be touched.

Why Hidden Folders Take So Much Space on Xiaomi

The MIUI operating shell (even in the latest versions 13-14) actively creates utility files that are not visible to the user by default.

• 📁 Cache applications and systems. /data/dalvik-cache or /cache They store optimized data for fast downloading of programs. 2–3 GB.
• 🔄 Backup updates. Xiaomi saves firmware files in MIUI/Update or /cache/ota, Even after installation, one firmware weighs. 1,5–2,5 GB.
• 📝 Log files and dumps. /data/anr or /data/tombstones They contain error reports. They rarely exceed 100 MB, but there could be hundreds of them.
• 🎮 Data from games and heavy applications, such as Genshin Impact or PUBG Mobile creates hidden folders with texture cache that are not cleared through game settings.

MIUI also hides some user folders if they are marked as system folders (e.g..thumbnails for thumbnails or.nomedia for files that shouldn't be displayed in the gallery), which can take up to 500MB in photo thumbnails alone.

⚠️ Note: Not all hidden folders can be deleted! /data/app This will result in the reset of all installed applications, and the cleanup will be /system It will make the phone inoperable. We'll go into the safe methods below.

How to enable the display of hidden folders on Xiaomi

By default, the MIUI file manager (or third-party applications like Total Commander) does not show hidden files.

1. Open the built-in "Files" (folder icon on the desktop).
2. Slip on three points in the upper right corner → select Settings.
3. Activate the switch to show hidden files.
4. Return to the root directory (/storage/emulated/0/) and update the list (pull the screen down).

If you are using Total Commander or FX File Explorer, the path will be similar, but with minor differences:

• 📂 Total Commander: Settings → Display → Show hidden files.
• 🔍 V FX File Explorer: Menu → Settings → Show hidden files.

Once activated, you will see folders and files whose names start with a dot (e.g.,.data,.miui), but root system directories (like /data or /system) will still be unavailable without root permissions.

List of safe hidden folders that can be cleaned

Not all hidden folders are equally useful. Below is a spreadsheet with directories that can be cleaned without risk to the system, and those that are not recommended to be touched.

Special attention should be paid to the MIUI/Update folder, which stores firmware files. If you do not plan to roll back on the old version of MIUI, they can be deleted. However, do not touch files with the.zip extension if they were downloaded manually for later updates.

Check the folder.thumbnails in DCIM|Clean it up. Download/.temp time-file|Remove old backups from MIUI/Backup (except for)|Clear the game cache in Android/data/<game-name>/cache|Check the folder. MIUI/Update squirrel-proof-->

How to Clean Hidden Folders Without Root Rights

If you don't have a superuser (root) right, you can still make room using standard MIUI tools and third-party utilities.

Method 1: Cleaning through "Storage" in the settings

1. Open the Settings → Storage.
2. Slip on Clean in the section "Unnecessary files".
3. Select categories for cleaning: 🗑️ App cache (safe). 📥 Uploaded files (check manually!). 🔍 Logs and dumps (can be removed).

Clean up

Method 2: Use Files from Google

Files by Google (available in the Play Market) can find and offer to delete unnecessary files, including hidden ones:

1. Install and open Files by Google.
2. Go to the Cleanup tab.
3. Select Unnecessary Files → Temporary Application Files.
4. Check the list and click Clear.

Method 3: Manual cleaning through ADB (for advanced)

If you are familiar with ADB (Android Debug Bridge), you can delete some hidden files via the command:

adb shell pm clear com.miui.cleanmaster # Cache cleaner


adb shell rm -rf /sdcard/DCIM/.thumbnails # Removal of thumbnails

For this:

1. Turn on USB Debugging in Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (tap 7 times according to version, then go back to Additional → For Developers).
2. Connect your phone to your PC and execute the commands above.

Decisions:

1. Reboot your phone and try again.
2. Use another file manager (e.g. Solid Explorer with root access, if any).
3. Check the file for employment via ADB: adb shell lsof | grep "name file" If the file is used by the process, terminate it via adb shell kill <PID>.
4. Reset the partition cache (does not delete user data): Turn off the phone. Press Power + Volume up to log into Recovery. Select Wipe Cache Partition → Reboot.

If none of the methods worked, the file might be corrupted, in which case only factory resets would help (but this is a last resort!).

How to Prevent Hidden Files from Filling Memory in the Future

To prevent hidden folders from taking up gigabytes of memory, follow these tips:

• 📱 Turn off automatic backup in Settings → Xiaomi account → Cloud. → Backup (if not used).
• 🎮 Limit the cache of games in their settings (for example, in Genshin Impact you can reduce the quality of textures).
• 🔄 Clean the cache regularly through Settings → Warehouse → Clean (sufficient 1 time per month).
• 📸 Use cloud-based photo services (like Google Photos) to avoid storing originals on your phone.
• 🔧 Disable unnecessary system applications through Settings → Annexes → Manage applications (such as Mi Video or Mi Music if you don’t use them).

Also worth keeping an eye out for MIUI updates, newer versions (starting with 13) have introduced Deep Cleanup, which automatically finds and prompts you to delete unnecessary system files, to activate it:

1. Go to Settings. → Warehouse.
2. Slip on Deep Cleaning (may be called Recommendations).
3. Select files to delete and confirm.

💡

Regularly cleaning hidden folders (1 every 2-3 months) can free up to 3-5 GB of memory on Xiaomi without deleting personal data.

FAQ: Frequent questions about hidden folders on Xiaomi