How to clean the gallery on Xiaomi: remove photos, cache and garbage

The gallery on Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones eventually turns into chaos, with thousands of photos, screenshots, duplicates, app cache and hidden files taking up precious space in memory. Even after manually deleting unnecessary shots, the system can show that memory is full – because of temporary files and metadata that the standard Gallery app does not clean automatically.

In this article, we'll look at 5 proven ways to clean a gallery, from basic photo deletion to deep cleaning of the system cache and hidden folders. You'll learn how to make room without losing important data, why standard deletion doesn't always work, and what MIUI tools will help automate the process. And finally, answers to frequent questions and life hacks to keep the gallery in order.

1. Standard removal of photos and videos through the application "Gallery"

The most obvious, but not always effective, way is to delete files directly in the standard app, which is suitable if you want to get rid of unnecessary pictures manually, but does not solve the problem with cache or duplicates.

How it works:

• 📷 Open the Gallery app (icon with multicolored squares).
• 🔍 Go to the album All photos or select a specific folder (e.g. Screenshots for screenshots).
• 🗑️ Press and hold your finger on the file to activate the selection mode. tick off unnecessary photos/video.
• 🚮 Click on the basket icon in the upper right corner and confirm removal.

⚠️ Warning: Deleted files enter the Recycle Bin folder (stored for 30 days) and continue to take up space to free up memory immediately after deleting:

1. Open the menu (three dots in the upper right corner).
2. Pick a basket. → Clean up.

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If you want to delete all screenshots at once, go to Screenshots folder, click on three dots → Select all → Delete.

2. Removal of duplicates and similar photos using built-in tools

MIUI has a built-in duplicate search feature, but it's hidden in the depths of settings, and it's a technique that can eliminate repetitive images that eat up memory.

Instructions:

1. Open the Gallery → Press three points → Control.
2. Select Similar Photos (or Duplicates in the new MIUI 14+ versions).

🔍 Why it matters: Duplicates often appear in:

• 🔄 Automatic backup in Google Photos or Mi Cloud.

3. Clearing gallery cache and media files through settings

The Gallery app cache can weigh up to 1-2GB, especially if you frequently view photos or videos, and cleaning it won’t delete your files, but it will free up space and speed up the app.

How to clear the cache:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the Gallery in the list and select it.
3. Press Warehouse. → Clear the cache.
4. (Optional) Click Clear Data, but this will reset the app settings (albums, favorites).

⚠️ Warning: If you've cleaned the cache, it's okay to load thumbnails for a long time. The app re-indexes the files. Wait 5-10 minutes or restart your smartphone.

Additionally, you can clean the cache of media storage (responsible for thumbnails and metadata):

Settings → Applications → Show all applications (three dots) → Show system → Media storage → Storage → Clear cache

Clear the cache of the Gallery appendix"|Remove duplicates in the section "Similar photos"|Clear the basket folder"|Check the “Downloads” folder for unnecessary files|Clear the Media Storage cache"-->

4. Delete hidden files and folders (including.thumbnails and.nomedia)

Xiaomi smartphones create hidden folders and files that are not visible in the standard gallery, but take up space.

• 📁.thumbnails – photo and video miniatures (can weigh hundreds of MB).
• 📄.nomedia – files that block the display of folders in the gallery (they do not take up much space, but can hide garbage).
• 📁 DCIM/.thumbnails — miniature cache for quick download.
• 📁 Pictures/Screenshots — Sometimes there are temporary files after editing.

To remove them:

1. Install a file manager with hidden file support (such as Mi File Manager or Solid Explorer).
2. Enable the display of hidden files: Mi File Manager → Three points → Settings → Show hidden files
3. Go to the Inner Memory → DCIM and delete the.thumbnails folder.
4. Check Pictures, Downloads, and Movies folders for unnecessary files with the.tmp or.nomedia extension.

⚠️ Attention: Do not delete folders DCIM/Camera or Pictures/Screenshots All photos will be lost, and only temporary files (with extensions.tmp,.thumb) and empty folders.thumbnails will be deleted.

5.Use of third-party applications for deep cleaning

If the built-in MIUI tools don't work, third-party utilities can find:

• 🗃️ Empty folders (remain after deleting photos).
• 📸 Blurred or damaged photos.
• 🎥 Unrecorded videos (files with zero size).
• 🔍 Duplicates in other folders (for example, WhatsApp Images and other folders) DCIM).

Top.-3 gallery-cleaning:

🔹 Tip: Before mass removal through third-party apps, back up important photos in Google Photos or on PC. Some utilities may mistakenly mark unique photos as duplicates.

6. Automatic Gallery Cleanup: MIUI Settings and Cloud Services

To avoid manual cleaning, set up automatic cleaning through:

1. The "Cleaning" function in MIUI:

• 🧹 Go to Settings. → Cleanup.
• 🔍 Press Deep Cleanup. → Select Garbage Files and App Cash.
• ⚙️ Enable Auto Cleanup (will remove garbage once a week).

2. Google Photos (automatic backup + cleanup):

• 📱 Install Google Photos and enable Backup and Sync.
• ☁️ Go to Settings. → Free up space – the app will prompt you to delete photos that have already been uploaded to the cloud.
• 🗓️ Set up automatic removal of screenshots older than 30 days: Settings → Archives → Automatic removal of screenshots.

3.Mi Cloud (for Xiaomi users):

• 🌥️ Enable backup in Settings → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud → gallery.
• 🔄 After uploading photos to the cloud, you can delete them from the device, leaving only thumbnails.

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Auto-cleaning through Google Photos or Mi Cloud is the most reliable way to free up space, but requires stable internet and free space in the cloud.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When cleaning a gallery, users often face problems, and here are the most common ways to solve them:

1. After the photo is deleted, memory is not released

⚠️ Note: This happens if files are not deleted from the internal memory, but from the internal memory. SD-Cards (which can be connected as portable storage) also check the Recycle Bin folder - it may be hidden in some versions MIUI.

Solution: Use a file manager (such as Mi File Manager) and manually check the DCIM, Pictures, and Downloads folders on both media.

2.The gallery is not updated after cleaning

If they are still displayed in the gallery after the photo is deleted, the reasons may be:

• 🔄 The thumbnail cache is not updated (clean the cache as in Section 3).
• 📁 Files not deleted completely (check hidden folders).
• 📱 The Gallery app is not working properly (reset it or reinstall the update via Google Play).

3. You can not delete files from the DCIM/Camera folder

⚠️ Note: If the system writes “Impossible to delete”, it is likely that the files are protected or used by another application (for example, Google Photos is syncing them at the moment).

Decision:

1. Close all applications that work with photos (including cloud services).
2. Restart your smartphone and try to delete it again.
3. If it doesn’t work, connect your phone to your PC and delete files through Windows/macOS Explorer.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions