How to Clear History on Xiaomi Phone: All Ways to Get a MIUI

Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO’s MIUI-based smartphones collect vast amounts of data about user activity, from call and message history to site logs and geolocation, which not only takes up space in the device’s memory, but can also become a privacy vulnerability, for example, even after WhatsApp messages are deleted, copies of them can be stored in MIUI system logs for up to 30 days if not manually cleared the cache.

In this article, you will find a complete guide to clearing all types of history on Xiaomi phones, from standard MIUI features to hidden settings that are not written about in the official documentation.

• 📱 How to delete the call history and SMS (including hidden logs)
• 🌐 Clearing the history of browsers (Mi Browser, Chrome, Firefox)
• 📁 Removing File Garbage and Application Cache Without Losing Data
• 🔍 Resetting system logs and error reports (for power users)

The instructions are valid for all current MIUI versions (12-14) and models released after 2018.

1. Clearing the history of calls and messages

MIUI stores call records and SMS in two places: a visible log and hidden logs. Standard deletion through the interface does not always completely erase data.

To delete the call history:

1. Open the phone application (pipe icon).
2. Slip on three dots in the upper right corner → Call log.
3. Press. ⋮ → Delete and select a period (last 7 days, all of them).
4. Confirm the action.

For SMS, repeat the steps in the Messages app, but select the Recycle Bin after deleting - there may be copies left for up to 30 days.

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If you need to delete calls from a particular contact, open his card in Contacts, tap on three points → Delete the call log.

⚠️ Note: Some models (Xiaomi 12 Pro, Redmi Note 11) after upgrading to MIUI 14 came a bug where remote calls are displayed in a log after the reboot:

• 🔄 Go to Settings. → Annexes → Application management → Phone.
• Click Warehouse → Clear the data (this will reset all call settings!).

2. Delete browser history and search

Browsers on Xiaomi not only store your browsing history, but also autocomplete, cookie and cache data that can restore deleted pages. Consider three popular browsers:

For a complete cleanup in Chrome:

1. Open the browser and go to ⋮ → History → History.
2. Select Clear Data → Set a Period For All Time.
3. Check the boxes: 🗑️ Log of views 🍪 Cookies and website data 🖼️ Cached images and files

Delete the data

⚠️ Note: If you are syncing with your Mi Account or Google account, the history may be restored after re-entry.To avoid this, disable browser sync in your account settings before clearing.

3. Cleaning cache and debris in applications

Xiaomi apps accumulate gigabytes of unnecessary data: cache, temporary files, logs of errors. Cleaning up through standard MIUI settings only removes some of the garbage.

Method 1: Through Settings → Applications

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select an app (such as Instagram or TikTok).
3. Slip the vault. → Clear the cache.
4. For a complete reset, click Clear Data (⚠️ This will remove all application settings!).

Method 2: Use the built-in Optimizer

1. Open the Security app (shield icon).
2. Select an Optimizer. → Garbage.
3. Press Deep Clean and wait for analysis.
4. Delete all files found (especially pay attention to the Residual Files section).

These files are not visible to the user, but take up to 500 MB of memory and can be retrieved through ADB or special utilities.

To clear system logs:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone. Tap 7 times on MIUI Version. Go back to Settings → Additional → Developer.

USB debugging

adb shell pm clear com.miui.bugreport

This team clears error reports.

adb shell logcat -c

adb shell rm -rf /data/log/*

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Cleaning system logs through ADB removes crash data but does not affect the phone’s performance, but after this procedure, the notification history for the last 24 hours may disappear.

⚠️ Attention: On devices with MIUI Global Stable (e.g. Redmi Note 10 Pro) ADB For cleaning logs, the manufacturer's limitations may not work, and in this case, use an alternative method:

• Install the Logcat Reader app from Google Play.
• Open it and press Clear Logs.
• Reboot the phone.

5. Clearing the history of locations and activity

Google and Mi Location constantly monitor your location, even if GPS is disabled.

• 🗺️ Google Chronology (if synchronization is enabled)
• 📍 Loga MIUI (including Wi-Fi connection points)
• 🚗 Application data (Yandex.Navigator, 2GIS)

To remove the location history:

1. For Google: Open Google Timeline in your browser. Choose a day. → ⋮ → Delete the data for that day. For complete deletion, go to Google Settings → Data and confidentiality → Location history → Delete the whole story.
2. For MIUI: Go to Settings → Privacy → Location. Select Xiaomi Location History → Clear History.

For applications:

• In Yandex.Navigator: Profile → Travel History → Clean.
• 2GIS: Settings → History → Delete everything.

6. factory reset (full cleaning)

If you need to completely erase all data (for example, before selling a phone), reset to factory settings.

• 📱 All applications and their data
• 📂 Photos, videos and music (if not saved) SD-map)
• 🔑 Wi-Fi passwords and accounts
• 📋 System settings (including fingerprints)