Cleaning Telegram on Xiaomi: how to remove cache, media and free memory

Telegram has become an integral part of everyday communication, but its active use on Xiaomi smartphones often leads to the accumulation of gigabytes of unnecessary data. High-resolution photos, videos, stickers, voice messages and cache take up precious space of internal memory, slow down the device and can even cause in-app errors. POCO with limited storage (32-64 GB), where each megabyte counts.

In this article, we will analyze all possible ways to clean Telegram on Xiaomi – from standard messenger functions to hidden settings. MIUI, You will learn how to delete the cache without losing data, clean media files selectively or completely, and set up automatic optimization. We will pay special attention to problems after cleaning (for example, missing chats or sync errors) and how to solve them. POCO base MIUI 12-14 and HyperOS.

Why does Telegram take up so much space on Xiaomi?

Even with moderate use, Telegram can inflate to several gigabytes.

  • 📸 Automatic Media Download: By default, the app downloads all photos, videos and documents from the chat rooms in their original quality, even if you didn't open them. HD It can weigh between 50 and 200 MB.
  • 🗑️ Telegram stores copies of the media, thumbnails and data for quick download. Over time, this “garbage” accumulates and takes up to 1-3 GB.
  • 🎵 Voice Messages and Music: High-quality audio files (e.g. 320 kbps) take up much more space than text messages.
  • 📁 Local backups: When you export chats or change devices, Telegram creates archives that often remain in memory after you use them.

On Xiaomi, the MIUI feature makes things worse: the system can duplicate Telegram files in the DCIM/.thumbnails or Download folder, even if you have already deleted them in the messenger. In addition, some models (such as the Redmi Note 10 Pro or POCO X3 Pro) have a limited system partition space where the app cache is stored. When it fills up, the phone starts to slow down or give an error “Insufficient memory”.

📊 How often do you clear Telegram memory on Xiaomi?
Once a week.
Once a month
Only when the place ends.
Never cleaned.

Method 1: Clearing Telegram cache through application settings

The safest method is to use the built-in messenger tools, which allow you to delete unnecessary data without risking losing chats or contacts.

Instructions:

  1. Open Telegram and go to the ☰ (menu) → Settings → Data and memory.
  2. Tap on Memory Use - here you will see a list of chats, sorted by the amount of space occupied.
  3. Select a heavy-weight dialogue (such as group chats with media) and click Clear History.
  4. Set ticks against the types of files you want to delete: 📷 Photo and video – removes all media except fixed media. 🎵 Audio and voice – clears music and voice messages. 📄 Documents and files - deletes PDF, APK and other downloaded files. 🗑️ Cash – clears temporary data (miniatures, previews).

Clean up

Note that this method does not delete files from the Xiaomi gallery. Media stored in Telegram Images or Telegram Video will remain in the device’s memory.

Remove the cache in the Telegram settings|Check the amount of group chats|Clearing History in Dialogues with Great Weight|Remove duplicate files in the gallery-->

Method 2: Manually delete Telegram files through file manager

If the built-in tools of the messenger did not help, you can manually delete unnecessary files through MIUI File Manager (or any other conductor, for example, Solid Explorer), this method is suitable for experienced users, since it requires caution: deleting the system files of Telegram can lead to malfunctions in the messenger.

How to find and delete files:

  1. Open Files (the folder icon on the desktop).
  2. Go to Internal Memory → Telegram (or Android/data/org.telegram.messenger for hidden files).
  3. Please note the following folders: Folder Content Can I delete? Telegram Images Photos from chatsD (except important) Telegram Video Video Video FilesD Telegram Audio Voice messages and musicDa cacheTemporary files and thumbnailsDatabases ChatsNa (risk of loss of messages)
  4. Select the unnecessary files and click Delete. Use size sorting to speed up the process (⋮ → Sort by → Size).

⚠️ Note: Do not delete databases or files with the.db extension, which will lead to loss of chat history. Also avoid deleting files in the files folder if you are not sure about their purpose.

After cleaning, it is recommended to restart the phone so that the system updates the free space data. If files reappear after deleting, check the settings for automatic media download (see the next section).

Method 3: Set up automatic media download

To prevent the re-accumulation of garbage, limit the automatic download of files in Telegram, which is especially true for mobile Internet users or those who have little memory on the device.

How to set up:

  1. In Telegram, go to Settings → Data and memory → Autoboot Media.
  2. Select the network type (Mobile Data, Wi-Fi or Roaming) and set limits: 📵 Photo Photo → Never (or Less than 1 MB for previews). 🎥 Video → Never. 🎵 Audio. → Never (unless you use voicemail). 📄 Files. → Never.

Keep it in the gallery.

Tip: If you need media from a particular chat, download them manually in a long tap to the file → Save to the gallery. This way you save space and avoid automatically filling the memory.

💡

Use @vid or @SaveAsBot to save important files to the cloud (Google Drive, Dropbox) instead of storing them on your device.

Method 4: Clear Telegram cache via MIUI settings

MIUI allows you to clear the cache of applications without accessing their internal files, a method that is secure and does not require manual deletion of data.

Step-by-step:

  1. Open the settings on your Xiaomi.
  2. Go to the Apps → Application management.
  3. Find Telegram in the list and tap on it.
  4. Select Storage (or Memory in newer versions of MIUI).
  5. Click Clear Cache. If you have Clear Data, don't use it, it will delete all chats and settings!
  6. For deep cleaning, tap Space Management and delete unnecessary files (such as Downloads or Media).

How to use (for example, Files by Google):

  1. Install the app from Google Play.
  2. Open it and go to the Cleanup tab.
  3. Select Large Files or Duplicates.
  4. In the search results, filter the files by the Telegram folder.
  5. Select unnecessary data and delete it.

Warning: Some utilities (like Clean Master) can delete important files or display false warnings about "memory critical filling" and use only verified applications from the official store.

What Telegram files can be deleted without risk?
Safe to delete: - All files in folders `Telegram Images`, `Telegram Video`, `Telegram Audio` (If you don't need it. - The contents of the folder `cache` (Temporary data saved. - Files with extensions `.tmp`, `.temp`, `.download` (Incomplete downloads. You can't delete: - Folder `databases` (It contains chat history. - Files with extension `.db` or `.map` (The database. `files`, If you are not sure about the purpose of the files (may contain important documents).

What if Telegram is not working properly after cleaning?

Sometimes, after deleting files or cache, problems arise: chats disappear, media do not load, or messenger is constantly restarted.

  • 🔄 Rebooting the device: Simply turning off and on Xiaomi often restores the app to work.
  • 📥 Reinstall Telegram: Remove the messenger through Settings → Apps. Install it again from Google Play or AppGallery. Sign in to your account and your chat history will be restored from the cloud (if you have synced).
  • ☁️ Recovery from the cloud. If the chats are gone, check if Settings are enabled. → chat → Backup of chats in Telegram.
  • 🛠️ Resetting settings MIUI (In case of extreme. Go to Settings → The phone. → Reset and select App Reset, which won't delete personal data, but will return standard settings for all programs.