Owners of Xiaomi smartphones, especially popular models like the Poco M3, often encounter a mysterious and intimidating partition in the storage called “Other,” which tends to grow to tens of gigabytes, occupying precious space that could be used for photos, videos or installing new applications. The appearance of a large amount of data in this category is often a complete surprise to the user who seems to have not downloaded anything extra.
The main problem is that standard cleaning tools don’t always cope with the deep debris accumulated by the system and applications. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what exactly is hidden under the “Other” label, why it takes up so much space on your Android device, and what are safe ways to return gigabytes of free memory. System debris can accumulate for months if you don’t regularly prevent it.
Before we take any drastic measures, it is important to understand the nature of these files, which are not viruses or hardware failures, but rather the way the file system works and the MIUI caching works. The right cleaning approach will allow you to make room without the risk of deleting important personal data or disrupting the operating system.
What is hidden in the “Other” section
The Other section is a collective term that the operating system uses to classify files that don't fall into standard categories like Images, Videos, or Applications, most often storing messenger cache, temporary browser files, remnants of remote programs and system process logs, and an application cache can occupy the lion's share of that space, especially if you're actively using social networks.
Special attention should be paid to multimedia files that applications download for their operation, for example, Telegram or WhatsApp saves the photos and videos viewed in hidden folders, which the system sees as “Other”, and this includes update files that were not automatically deleted after installing the new version of the software.
⚠️ Warning: Do not attempt to delete files from system folders manually through the file manager unless you are sure of their purpose.This can lead to unstable Poco operation M3 or loss of application data.
Understanding the structure of this data is the first step to a successful cleanup, and sometimes corrupt files that the system cannot correctly index are also included in this section, and fragmentation of data also plays a role when free space is broken down into small pieces that the system aggregates as occupied by Others.
Basic cleaning through standard MIUI facilities
The safest and easiest way to start the fight for free space is to use built-in shell tools. MIUI. Xiaomi and Poco have a Security app that is designed to analyze and clean up garbage, and scans the device for temporary files, APK-installers and advertising garbage.
To start the procedure, you need to open the Security app and select Clean up. The system will quickly analyze and prompt you to delete the files found. However, a standard scanner often does not affect the deep cache of applications, which forms the basis of the Other section. For more detailed work, you need to go to the Memory section in the phone settings.
☑️ Poco's basic cleanup M3
You can see a detailed breakdown by application in the memory management menu, clicking on a specific program, like YouTube or Instagram, you can see the amount of cache it occupies, and clearing the cache through this interface is a safe operation, because it does not delete your logins, passwords or correspondence, but only temporary data to speed up work.
Manual deletion of files through Explorer
If the automatic tools fail, you’ll need to manually clean a file manager like Xiaomi’s standard Explorer or the more advanced Total Commander, and your goal is to find folders with heavy debris that often hides in the root of internal memory or in the Android/data folder.
One of the main sources of garbage is the MIUI/Gallery/cloud/cache folder, which stores thumbnails of the cloud gallery, and messenger folders. The Android/media directory often contains files downloaded from social networks. Be careful: delete only files that you believe are the origin of, such as old installation packages with the.apk extension or logs with the.log extension.
| File type | Expansion | Can I remove it? | Where to find |
|---|---|---|---|
| Installation package | .apk | Yes (if you don't need to) | Download folder |
| Temporary file | .tmp | Yes. | Different folders. |
| Log of the system | .log | Yes. | MIUI/log folder |
| Database | .db | No (risk of data loss) | Android/data |
When working with files, it is important to remember hidden folders, whose names begin with a dot. They often contain settings and cache, but sometimes unnecessary data can get stuck there. Hidden files should not be touched unless absolutely necessary, since deleting them can reset the settings of some programs.
Why the folder Android/data protected?
Cleaning the cache of messengers and social networks
The leaders in filling the “Other” section are invariably messengers. Telegram, WhatsApp and Viber store every photo and video you see in your device’s memory, which can eventually reach 10-20 GB or more, and it’s best to clean up inside the apps themselves using their built-in memory management tools.
On Telegram, go to Settings → Data and Memory → Memory Use. There you will see the Clear Cache button. This is safe: media files will stay in the chat cloud and re-download if necessary. On WhatsApp, the path is similar to Settings → Data and Storage → Storage Management.
- 📱 Open the settings of a specific messenger on your Poco M3.
- 🗑️ Find the section responsible for storing or using data.
- ✅ Confirm the cache cleanup by making sure important files are saved.
Social networks like VK or Facebook also cache feeds and media, and they often have a "Clear Cache" setting that helps reduce the size of the app, and if you don't, sometimes reinstall the app, but that requires re-authorization, and reinstallation is a radical but effective method of resetting a bloated cache.
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Turn on the “Cache Removal” option in Telegram settings and set a time limit of, for example, 3 days, which will prevent the accumulation of gigabytes of garbage in the future.
Using third-party utilities for deep cleaning
When built-in tools aren't enough, specialized software-clinering apps come to the rescue, and one of the most popular and proven tools is Clean Master or Files by Google, which can find duplicate files, remnants of remote applications, and empty folders that a standard analyzer can't see.
When using third-party software, it is important to be selective: some accelerators can consume a lot of resources and display ads themselves; it is better to choose programs with a good reputation that rank high on Google Play. Third-party cliners often have access to deeper layers of the file system.
⚠️ Warning: Avoid installing accelerators from unknown sources, which may contain advertising modules or malicious code that will only exacerbate memory shortages.
It is good practice to use SD Maid (for advanced users) to find remote app bodies and system debris. However, even such powerful tools require caution. Always check the list of files that the program suggests you delete before clicking on the Clear All button.
Radical methods: Reset to factory settings
If the Other partition takes up half the memory and no methods help, the final argument is a complete reset of the device, which will return your Poco M3 to a store-like state by removing absolutely all data, including system debris, registry errors and hidden files.
Before performing this operation, it is critical to make a full backup of all data to your computer or the cloud. Reset will delete contacts, photos, apps and settings without the possibility of recovery. Go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase All Data.
- 🔒 Make sure the battery is at least 50%.
- 💾 Make a backup of important data to an external medium.
- ⚙️ Perform a reset via the recovery menu or system settings.
Once you reboot, you get a clean system with minimal space in the Other section, which often solves not only memory problems, but also the overall speed of the smartphone, and a full reset eliminates the accumulated file system errors over the years.
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Resetting to factory settings is the only solution that guarantees 100% cleanup of the Other partition, but requires a full backup of data.
Prevention of memory overflow
To keep the problem from returning in a month, you should change your smartphone usage habits: regularly check the storage and delete unnecessary files immediately, without waiting for them to take up gigabytes. Turn off auto-save media in the messenger gallery, if there is no urgent need for this.
Use cloud storage for photos and videos. Services like Google Photos allow you to free up space on your device by storing originals in the cloud, and it is also recommended to reboot your smartphone at least once a month, since many temporary files are deleted automatically during a reboot.
Keep an eye out for MIUI updates. New firmware versions often optimize memory and fix memory leaks. Up-to-date firmware is key to keeping your Poco M3 file system running smoothly.