Owners of Xiaomi Redmi 9 smartphones often face the need to free up space in the memory of the device, especially when notifications about the lack of space appear at the most inopportune moment. MIUI operating system, on which the device operates, has its own specifics of working with remote data, different from standard Android. Many users mistakenly believe that deleting a photo or document immediately erases them from the device, but the file is first moved to a special buffer.
Understanding how to clean the cart on your gadget is a key skill for keeping the system running. Unlike computers where the cart takes up space on the hard drive until the point of cleaning, in mobile devices this process can be both automatic and manual. It is important to know that simply moving files is not enough – to actually free gigabytes of memory requires the final action of complete removal.
In this article, we will take a look at all the nuances of working with deleted files on Redmi 9. You will learn where to look for hidden folders with recently deleted content, how to set up automatic cleaning and what tools are best for deep cleaning of the system.
The principle of deleting files in MIUI
The MIUI operating shell on Redmi 9 has been introduced relatively recently, and it doesn't work in all apps the same way. When you delete a photo or video through a standard gallery, the system doesn't erase bits of information from the drive instantly. Instead, the file is marked as deleted and moved to a hidden partition that's available to the user for 30 days, which serves as a protection against the accidental loss of valuable frames.
However, the situation with files, documents and downloads from the Internet can be different. Xiaomi’s standard File Manager Explorer also has its own buffer, but it can be disabled by default or have a volume limit. If you deleted a file through a third-party application, such as an office editor or messenger, it can bypass the system basket and disappear immediately, or get into the local shopping cart of the application itself.
⚠️ Note: Files in the Recycle Bin continue to take up space in Redmi 9's internal storage. If your goal is to make room for installing the game or updating the system, simply deleting it is not enough, it is necessary to clean the buffer.
It's important to distinguish between "delete" and "clean forever." The first action only changes the status of the file, making it invisible for normal viewing, but accessible for recovery. The second action is the final erasure, after which it will be impossible to restore data using standard methods. On Xiaomi, this process is controlled by the user, which gives flexibility, but requires care.
Cleaning the basket in the Gallery appendix
The most common scenario that needs cleaning is a flood of photos and videos. The standard Gallery app on Redmi 9 has a convenient recovery mechanism. To get into this section, you need to open the app and go to the Albums tab. At the bottom of the album list, often under the Screenshots or Video folders, is the Deleted item.
Inside this folder, you can store all the images and videos that you deleted in the last 30 days, selectively restore the right frames or delete specific files that you don't need, but if you want to clean up the space completely, you should use the Clear button or the cross-basket icon, usually located at the top of the screen or in the three-dot menu.
The final removal process is as follows:
- 📂 Open the Gallery app and go to the Albums section».
- 🗑️ Click on the “Deleted” folder at the bottom of the list.
- ✅ Select “Clean” or highlight all files and click “Delete».
- 🔒 Confirm the action in the pop-up window, realizing the irrevocability of the operation.
⚠️ Note: After confirming the cleanup in the Gallery application, file recovery through standard means MIUI Make sure that the photos you delete are not those you plan to use in the future.
It’s worth noting that if you have Google Photos or Xiaomi Cloud enabled, deleting from the cart on your device can affect cloud copies. In sync settings, you can choose whether to delete files only locally or everywhere. For Redmi 9 with its modest internal storage capacity (32 or 64 GB in the basic versions), regular cleaning of this folder is a must.
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Before completely cleaning the Gallery basket, connect your smartphone to your computer or copy important photos to the cloud to create a backup in case of an error.
Delete files through standard Explorer
File Manager is the central node for working with data on Xiaomi Redmi 9. This is where you store browser downloads, documents, APK installation packages and music. The basket mechanism in Explorer works similarly to a gallery, but has its own display features. You can access it by opening the application and finding the corresponding icon or item in the menu.
The interface may vary depending on the version of MIUI, but the logic remains the same: The side menu or home page often has a "Basket" or "Recently Deleted" section. Here are files that you erased through the same manager. If you deleted files through other applications, they may not show up here if those applications use their own isolated storage.
To perform cleaning, perform the following actions:
- 📁 Launch the Explorer app on the main screen.
- 📂 Click on the menu (three bars) or go to the file category.
- 🗑️ Find and open the "Basket" item».
- 🧹 Press the Clean Up button or select files for irrevocable deletion.
Special attention should be paid to the Download folder. Often users download heavy files, forget about them, delete them, but they remain in the buffer. Cleaning the basket in Explorer is the most effective way to get rid of the garbage accumulated during the use of the browser and messengers.
☑️ Check before cleaning the conductor
Specifics of cleaning in Google Photos and cloud services
Many Redmi 9 users use Google Photos by default to view their library, as it offers smarter sorting and search algorithms. It’s important to understand that Google Photos has its own shopping cart, independent of the MIUI system basket. Deleting a photo in one application doesn’t always mean removing it in another if the sync is set specifically.
To clear the space taken up by remote images in the Google ecosystem, you need to open the app, go to the Library section and select Recycle Bin. Here files are stored for 60 days (for geotag photos) or 30 days. Cleaning this section is critical if you use Google One cloud storage, as deleted files occupy a quota of 15 GB.
Comparison of deleted file storages:
| Source | Storage period | Impact on phone memory | Impact on the cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| MIUI Gallery | 30 days | Takes up space. | Depends on the settings. |
| Google Photo | 30-60 days | Takes up space (if there is a copy) | Takes Google's quota |
| Conductor | 30 days | Takes up space. | No. |
| Viber/WhatsApp | No basket (usually) | Takes up space. | No. |
If you use Xiaomi Cloud, the logic is similar to Google: Deleted items end up in a cloud cart accessible through your account settings or web interface, and cleaning up there will free up space in the cloud, but not necessarily on the device itself if the local copy has already been deleted, and double-checking both services will help bring order.
What to do if the basket is not cleaned?
Cleaning of cache and garbage in messengers
Messengers like WhatsApp, Telegram and Viber are the main memory eaters on Redmi 9. They don’t have a classic “basket” in understanding the operating system, but they do have their own mechanisms for storing deleted or hidden data. For example, Telegram caches all the media you’ve watched, and even if you delete a message, a copy of it can remain in the app’s cache.
WhatsApp is not the same: deleted media files often remain in the folder. Android/media/com.whatsapp Until you clean them manually or through built-in storage management, there's a section on Data and Storage in the app itself» → «Storage management, where you can see files larger 5 It's like hand-cleaning a basket.
Recommended algorithm of actions for messengers:
- 💬 Open the settings of a specific messenger.
- 💾 Find the Data and Storage section or Memory».
- 🧹 Use the built-in function “Clear Cache” or “Delete Large Files».
- 📂 Telegram also has a cache autodeletion setting in the Data and Memory section».
Keep in mind that cleaning the application data through system settings (Settings → Applications → All Apps → [Title] → Memory → Clear) will delete all correspondence and media if a backup is not made. This is a radical method that should only be used if other methods do not help to free up space and the standard shopping cart is empty.
⚠️ Attention: Clearing messenger data without first creating a backup in Google Drive will lead to a complete loss of correspondence history.Be extremely careful when choosing "Clean all data" instead of "Clear cache».
Using the Security App for Deep Cleaning
Xiaomi Redmi 9 has a powerful system application called Security, which not only protects against viruses, but also contains a great garbage cleaning tool that users often ignore, which scans the system for residual files, cache and installation packages that are no longer needed.
By running a cleanup through this application, you can delete files that didn't make it to the standard shopping cart but take up space. The system will prompt you to remove junk, app cache and advertising files. This is a safe operation, since MIUI knows which files are system and which can be deleted without harming the phone.
Procedure for use of the cleaner:
- Launch the Safety app (green zipper icon).
- Press the "Clean up" button.
- Wait for the analysis to be completed and click “Clear selected files”.
- Go to the Deep Clean section for more detailed analysis of large files and duplicates.
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Regular use of the built-in Security tool allows you to keep the system clean and prevents memory overflow with hidden debris that is not visible in a regular shopping cart.
Deep Clean is especially useful for finding duplicate photos that may have occurred during sync failures, and large video files that you forgot about.It's a great way to find something that can be sent to the cart and then permanently deleted.