How to clear cache and cookies on Xiaomi phone

Xiaomi smartphones are famous for their performance and functionality of the MIUI shell, but over time, even the most powerful devices can start to work slower. One of the main reasons for the slowdown is the accumulation of temporary files that systems and applications create to quickly load data. These files, known as cache, can take up gigabytes of free space, which is critical for models with a small amount of internal memory.

Regularly cleaning cache and cookies is not just a way to free up space, but also an important measure to eliminate application errors. When temporary data is corrupted or becomes too voluminous, programs may stop running or display content incorrectly. In this article, we will detail how to safely and efficiently remove all digital debris from your device without losing important personal information.

Redmi and POCO owners often wonder where these files are hidden and whether it’s worth deleting them all. The answer depends on which type of data you want to clear: system cache, specific application data, or web browsing history. Understanding the difference between these categories will help you keep your phone in perfect condition without the risk of accidentally deleting important settings or passwords.

Before we get into action, it’s important to note that modern versions of Android and MIUI have built-in optimization mechanisms. However, manual cleaning is sometimes necessary to address specific issues, such as interface freezes or social media login errors. We’ll look at both standard system tools and deeper cleaning techniques.

Difference between Cache, Cookies and Application Data

Many users confuse the concepts of cache and application data, which can lead to undesirable consequences, such as resetting game settings or deleting saved dialogs. Cache are temporary files that the application creates to speed up work, such as thumbnails of images or intermediate computation results. Deleting the cache is safe and does not affect your personal information, logins or game progress.

Unlike cache, app data contains all of your personal information: settings, accounts, game saves and correspondence history.Resetting application data is equivalent to completely reinstalling it from scratch. Cookies are small text files that websites store on your device to remember your authorization and preferences.

⚠️ Warning: Clearing the application data will result in a complete reset of its settings and log out of the account, whereas clearing the cache will only delete temporary files.

Understanding this structure allows for flexible memory management, for example, if YouTube is slow, just clear its cache. If the application crashes constantly when it starts, you may need to clean up the data, but then you will have to re-enter your username and password. The table below shows a comparison of file types for clarity.

The Android operating system on Xiaomi smartphones automatically manages some of these processes, but manual intervention is sometimes necessary. For example, after a major firmware update, old temporary files may conflict with new algorithms, in which case selective cleaning helps to eliminate bugs without completely resetting the phone to factory settings.

Use of the built-in Security application

The easiest and safest way to clear the cache on Xiaomi is to use the regular Security app, which is pre-installed on all devices with MIUI and HyperOS shells and has access to system areas closed to third-party programs, which not only removes debris, but also analyzes the state of the system, suggesting optimization.

To start the cleaning procedure, open the Security app on the home screen or in the tool folder. Click the Cleanup button (broomstick icon) and then the system scans the device for temporary files, remnants of deleted applications and large files. The scanning process usually takes a few seconds and shows an approximate amount of space to be vacated.

• 🧹 Click the Clean button to remove the debris found, including the system and applications cache.
• 📂 Go to Deep Clean for analysis of large files, duplicate photos and unused applications.
• ⚙️ In the application settings, you can enable automatic cache cleaning when a certain memory filling threshold is reached.

It is important to note that standard cleaning through the Security app does not delete your personal photos, contacts or documents, it focuses solely on files that can be recreated by the system, and is ideal for rapid prevention that can be performed regularly without fear of data integrity.

If the memory problem persists after standard cleaning, you should use the Acceleration function in the same application, which forcibly closes the background processes that can consume RAM, which indirectly affects the speed of the system caching mechanisms.

Clearing the cache of individual applications through settings

Sometimes the problem isn't with the system as a whole, but with a particular application that's been inflated to an exorbitant size, and MIUI has a convenient feature that allows you to manage the memory of each program separately, and this is especially true for social networks, instant messengers and video services that actively caches media content.

To get to the management menu, go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Find the program you want, like Telegram or Instagram. From the menu that opens, select Memory (or Storage) and you will see a clear separation between the space occupied, the size of the application and the cache size.

⚠️ Note: The Clean button in this menu only removes the cache, but the Reset or Delete Data button will delete all information inside the app.

Clicking on the Clean button (usually located at the bottom of the screen), you delete temporary files of this particular application. This often helps if the program stopped opening pictures, videos loaded long or the interface is delayed, after this procedure, the application will start as a first time, but your accounts will remain saved.

In some cases, such as Google Chrome or Yandex.Browser, cache management can be more detailed. The system can suggest choosing what to delete: images, files or scripts. For most users, select “Cached images and files” to avoid disrupting the work of sites.

Regularly checking heavy applications keeps the system on track, such as navigation apps like Yandex.Maps or 2GIS can accumulate gigabytes of offline maps and route cache if they are not periodically cleaned or removed from unnecessary regions.

How to delete cookies and history in the Xiaomi browser

Web browsers are one of the main sources of digital garbage accumulation. Cookies allow sites to recognize you, save products in the shopping cart and keep the session open, but over time their database can grow and cause conflicts.

In the standard Mi Browser browser, as well as in Google Chrome on Xiaomi, the procedure is performed through privacy settings. Open the browser, click on three dots (menu) and select Settings. Next, find the Privacy and Security section or Clear History.

You will be asked to select a time range. Select All the Time for complete cleaning. Then make sure that the boxes are ticked against Cookies and Cache Images and Files. Your browsing history can be left if you want to keep a list of visited sites.

• 🌐 Go to your browser settings and find the History or Privacy section.
• 🗑️ Select the time range All the time for complete cleaning of the accumulations.
• ✅ Make sure that cookies and cache are selected, then click “Delete data».

After clearing cookies, you will have to re-authorize on most sites, as the sites will lose information about your session. This is a normal security reaction. If you use incognito mode, cookies and history are not stored at all, which is a good alternative for periodic surfing.

Chrome also has an automatic data cleanup feature when you close the application if it is supported by the shell version, which allows you to keep the browser clean without the need for manual intervention every time, but for deep cleaning, it is still better to use a manual settings menu.

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Use incognito mode to visit suspicious sites – this will prevent the accumulation of advertising trackers and cookies in the main memory of the browser.

Deep storage cleanup and file management

When standard methods fail, the Explorer (Files) application and deep cleaning function come to the rescue, and in MIUI, the tool can find not only system debris, but also forgotten downloads, old screenshots and remnants of deleted applications, which allows you to free up a significant amount of memory.

Open Files and go to Storage Analysis, which will prompt you to delete large files, rarely used applications and duplicates, and pay special attention to Download, which often accumulates APK installation files that are no longer needed after installing programs.

Also worth checking are the folders of messengers like WhatsApp and Viber, which often save all received photos and videos to the general gallery, taking up space. In the settings of the messengers themselves, you can find the item "Use of storage", which will allow you to delete old media files selectively without touching correspondence.

Another effective method is to clean the Google Play Store cache. Sometimes the app store may not work properly due to cache errors. Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps, find the Google Play Store and clear its cache and data. This is safe and often solves problems with installing or updating programs.

And remember, the MIUI folder at the root of internal memory, where you can store error logs and crash reports. If you don't send error reports to developers, you can delete those files through Explorer, and they take up space, but they don't do any good for the average user.

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Regularly checking the Download folder and messenger cache frees up more space than cleaning the system cache.

Frequent questions and additional recommendations

In conclusion, we will answer the most popular questions that users have when working with Xiaomi memory. Understanding the nuances of the file system will help you avoid common errors and keep the device in optimal condition for many years.

Many people wonder if you can turn off cache creation completely, and unfortunately, that's not possible, because cache is a fundamental part of the Android operating system, and without it, apps will load very slowly, and battery and traffic will increase significantly, and the main goal is to keep it from overflowing.

Keeping a simple digital device healthier keeps it alive, check the storage, delete files, and keep an eye on app updates. Cleaning the cache in a timely manner can speed up an old smartphone by up to 30% without the need for sophisticated technical tools.