How to find a hidden album on Xiaomi Redmi 9T: all ways 2026

Have you accidentally hidden important photos on Xiaomi Redmi 9T, or suspect someone has hidden files in a hidden album? MIUI has several built-in mechanisms for hiding media files — from the standard feature of Hidden Albums in the gallery to system folders with the prefix.nomedia. The problem is that these files do not just disappear from the main interface: they become inaccessible to most applications, including cloud services and instant messengers.

In this article, we will look at all possible places where hidden photos and videos can be stored on Redmi. 9T (including Redmi models 9T NFC You will learn how to find hidden albums through standard settings. MIUI, Third-party file managers and even with the help of ADB-commands - if the files were hidden "stealthily". Separately consider cases when hidden data is not displayed even after the display of hidden files (this is most often associated with damage to the database of the gallery).

1. Standard Hidden Album at MIUI Gallery

The most obvious way to hide photos on Xiaomi Redmi 9T is to use the built-in Hidden Albums feature in the Gallery app, which does not delete files from the device, but simply excludes them from the mainstream media stream.

1. Open the Gallery app (icon with multi-colored squares).
2. Slip along three horizontal lines in the lower right corner (menu).
3. Select Hidden Albums (may be called Private Albums in some versions of MIUI).
4. Enter a password or pattern lock if it has been set.

If there is no Hidden Albums item on the menu, it means:

• 🔍 The function is disabled in the settings (see the next section).
• 📁 Album is empty – try to hide the test photo so that the folder appears.
• 🔄 Version. MIUI outdated (update the system through Settings) → The phone. → Update MIUI).

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If you forget the password from the hidden album, you can reset it only through a complete reset of the phone to the factory settings (data will be lost).

2. Enable the display of hidden files in MIUI

MIUI hides system folders and files with a dot at the beginning of the name (e.g.,.nomedia or.thumbnails) by default, and you need to enable the appropriate option in the file manager to see them:

1. Open the Files app (yellow folder icon).
2. Slip on the three points in the upper right corner → Settings.
3. Activate the switch to show hidden files.
4. Go back to the root directory (/storage/emulated/0/) and check the folders: DCIM/.thumbnails – photo and video thumbnails. Pictures/.hidden – hidden images. MIUI/Extra – media backups.

If no hidden files appear after the option is enabled, the reasons may be as follows:

• 🗑️ The folder was manually removed (check the Recycle Bin in the gallery).
• 🔧 File system is corrupted (you need to check the disk through Settings) → Memory. → Check it out).
• 📱 Uses a third-party launcher (such as Nova Launcher) that blocks access to system folders.

3. Search for folders with.nomedia prefix

The.nomedia file is a special marker that tells the Android system, "Do not scan this folder for media files." If someone manually created such a file in the photo folder, they will disappear from the gallery, but they will remain on the device to find them:

1. Enable hidden file displays (see previous section).
2. Go to the Files. → Internal memory.
3. Enter the search bar (lamp at the top) query:.nomedia.
4. Remove the.nomedia files found from the folders where the media is stored.

Important: Do not delete.nomedia from system folders (for example, Android/data/), If files do not appear in the gallery after deleting, restart your phone or manually update the media base through the Gallery app (three-point). → Update).

4.External inspection SD-cards (if any)

If you use a Redmi 9T with a memory card, hidden albums could have been moved there. MIUI handles external drives differently than internal memory, so:

1. Open the files. → SD-map.
2. Check the folders: DCIM/Camera - standard photos from the camera. Pictures/Screenshots - screenshots. MIUI/Private - private data (if the folder is available).

.nomedia

Feature of Redmi 9T: if SD-The card is formatted as internal memory (via Settings) → Memory. → SD-The hidden files on the card are subject to the same rules as the internal storage.

Remove the card and check on PC| View folders through the file manager |Delete.nomedia at the root of the map | Check the attributes of the folders (should not be "hidden")

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5.Use ADB to search for hidden data

If standard methods don't work, you can connect to your phone via ADB (Android Debug Bridge) and search for hidden files manually, which requires a PC and basic command line knowledge.

Instructions:

1. Turn on Developer Mode on Redmi 9T: Go to Settings → About Phone. Tap 7 times on MIUI Version. Go back to Settings → Additional → Developer. Activate USB Debugging.

adb shell


su




find /storage/emulated/0/ -name ".*" -type f

This will find all the hidden files in the internal memory.

If the su command is not working, then the device has no root rights, in which case use an alternative command without su, but it will show fewer files:

adb shell ls -la /storage/emulated/0/ | grep "^\."

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ADB-commands allow you to find hidden files even if they are hidden in non-standard folders or have unusual attributes.

6.Recover hidden files after resetting or updating

If you reset the Redmi 9T to factory settings or upgraded MIUI, the hidden albums might disappear from the interface but remain on the device.

1. Check the MIUI/Backup/AllBackup folder, there may be backups of the gallery.
2. Use data recovery applications (such as DiskDigger or Recuva) if files have been deleted.
3. If the hidden album was linked to a Mi Account, check Settings → Accounts → Mi Account → Cloud → Gallery.

Important: Once reset, MIUI creates a new database of media files, so that the old hidden files can be re-displayed, you may need to:

• 🔄 Phone reboot.
• 📁 Moving files to another folder (for example, from a different folder) DCIM at Pictures).
• 🗃️ Cleaning the gallery cache (see spoiler in section 3).

7. Frequent mistakes and how to avoid them

When working with hidden albums on Redmi 9T, users often face typical problems:

Another common mistake is moving hidden files to the SD-A card formatted as an internal memory. MIUI Solution: transfer files back to internal memory or format them. SD-portable.

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If you often work with hidden files, install an alternative gallery (such as Simple Gallery or QuickPic) that handles the dot folders better and is not subject to MIUI system constraints.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions