How to Free up Space in the Xiaomi Cloud: A Complete Guide to Hidden Chips

Xiaomi Cloud (or Mi Cloud) is an indispensable tool for backing up photos, contacts and documents. But sooner or later, even 5 GB of free space runs out, and the system begins to annoy you to vacate space or buy additional space. In this article, we will discuss 7 proven ways to clean the cloud, including little-known features that will help save up to 40% of space without losing important data.

The problem of space shortage in Mi Cloud is compounded by the fact that many users are not even aware of hidden folders with duplicates, temporary backup files or app cache. For example, automatic backups Mi Fit or Xiaomi Home can take hundreds of megabytes, although you have not used these services for a long time, we will show how to find and remove such debris, and also teach you to optimize the storage of photos without loss of quality.

Important: Before you start cleaning, check which data is synced to the cloud. Go to Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud → Sync. Here you will see a full list of applications and file types that take up space. If there are any unnecessary ones (such as recordings from a voice recorder or screenshots), they can be disabled from automatic download.

1. Removal of duplicates and similar photos

Photos and videos are the main cloud eaters. Even if you regularly clean the gallery on your phone, Mi Cloud may still have duplicates, screenshots or unfortunate footage that you deleted locally, and the service does not sync deletion — if you erase the photo from your phone, it will remain in the cloud.

To find duplicates:

• 📱 Open the Gallery app on Xiaomi smartphone.
• 🔍 Go to the Albums section. → Duplicate (or Management) → Similar photos in new versions MIUI).
• 🗑️ Select unnecessary copies and click "Delete." Confirm action in the cloud if a request appears.
• 🔄 Repeat the procedure for the Screenshots section – outdated images often accumulate here.

Hidden chip: Mi Cloud has a separate folder called Recently Deleted, where files are stored for 30 days before being erased. If you've already cleaned the gallery, check that folder through the web version of the cloud (i.mi.com) — there may be gigabytes of unnecessary data.

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Use the “Storage Optimization” function in the Xiaomi Gallery: it automatically finds blurred images, screenshots and duplicates, prompting you to delete them in a package.

2. Cleaning the basket and temporary files

Many users don't know that Mi Cloud has its own recycle bin, which is where deleted files go. Unlike the local recycle bin on a phone, the cloud can store data for up to 60 days, taking up precious space, and it also accumulates temporary backup files, app cache, and outdated versions of documents.

How to clean the basket:

1. Go to i.mi.com and log in.
2. Go to the basket section (the bin icon in the side menu).
3. Check all files with ticks or select unnecessary ones manually.
4. Click “Clean the cart” and confirm the action.

Note: some files in the Recycle Bin may be marked as “protected” (e.g. Mi Fit backups) and cannot be deleted in the standard way, requiring you to disable sync for the corresponding application in the Mi Cloud settings.

3. Optimization of photo storage

Mi Cloud saves photos in original resolution by default, which quickly eats up the free 5GB. Fortunately, there are two ways to save space without any visible loss of quality:

Method 1: Compressing new downloads

• 📲 Open the Settings. → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud → Photo Photo.
• 🔧 Enable the option to Optimize Storage or Compress Photos (name depends on version) MIUI).
• 📊 Choose the quality: High (saves up to 80% of the space) or Medium (up to 90%).

Method 2: Convert old photos

For images already uploaded:

1. Go to i.mi.com → section “Photos».
2. Select folders with heavy images (such as Camera or Screenshots).
3. Click on “More” (three dots) → “Squeeze photos”.
4. Confirm the action – the system will create copies in a compressed format, and the originals can be deleted.

Critical detail: compression is irreversible - the original photos will be removed from the cloud 30 days after conversion. Download them in advance if you plan to return the original quality.

Original (without compression)

High (compression up to 80%)

Medium (maximum compression)

I don't upload photos to the cloud.-->

4. Disabling unnecessary synchronization

By default, Mi Cloud syncs not only photos, but also:

• 📞 Contacts and call log
• 📅 Calendar and notes
• 🎵 Recorder tapes.
• 📱 Backups of applications (Mi Fit, Xiaomi Home, Mi Browser)
• 📍 Location data (if the “Find device” function is enabled»)

Many of this data is duplicated in other services (e.g., contacts in Google Accounts), so you can turn it off.

1. Go to Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud → Synchronization.
2. View the list of applications and disable unnecessary sliders.
3. To clean up completely, click on the application name (e.g., Notes) → Delete Data from the Cloud.

Caution: Disabling sync Find the device will prevent you from remotely locking or finding your smartphone in the event of a theft, and we also don't recommend turning off backup copies of System Settings - they will come in handy when resetting your phone.

🗑️ Recordings from the recorder (if not used)

📝 Notes (if synced via Google Keep)

📊 Mi Fit data (if you have not used the tracker for a long time)

🌐 Mi Browser bookmarks (if you use Chrome)

📱 Backup copies of old applications-->

5. Deletion of device backups

Each time you reset or update MIUI, the system backs up in the cloud, and these backups can weigh between 500MB and 2GB each, and the old ones often stay in the cloud for years, so if you changed your smartphone, for example, the Mi Cloud might have saved backups with Redmi Note 8 or Mi 9T that are no longer relevant.

How to find and remove backups:

1. Go to i.mi.com → the “Backups” section.
2. Look at the device list, and next to each device is the size and the date of the copy.
3. Select outdated backups (over 6 months old) and click “Delete”.
4. For the current device, leave only the latest copy.

Warning: If you delete all backups for the device, it will not be possible to restore settings after the reset, and we recommend leaving at least one current copy (no older than 3 months).

6. Purchase of additional space: tariffs and life hacks

If you don't have enough space after all the manipulations, you can expand the cloud for money. Xiaomi offers flexible rates, but there are ways to save money:

Official fares (2026):

• 💰 50 GB - 99 ₽/month ₽/year (savings 17%)
• 💰 200GB - 299 ₽/month ₽/year (savings 16%)
• 💰 2 TB - 999 ₽/month ₽/year (savings 15%)

How to buy cheaper:

1. Use Mi Coins (Xiaomi’s domestic currency) that you can get for participating in promotions or surveys.
2. Buy an annual rate - it is always more profitable than monthly.
3. Keep an eye out for sales at the official Mi Store (for example, Black Friday discounts up to 50%).
4. Activate promo codes from partners (sometimes distributed in Xiaomi Telegram channels).

Note: when you purchase additional space through Mi Cloud, you will be charged automatically when you renew. To avoid unexpected expenses, disable autorenewal in your subscription settings.

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A 200GB annual subscription is cheaper than buying a new smartphone with more memory. ~8 ₽ day-to-day for secure storage.

7.Alternative cloud services for Xiaomi

If Mi Cloud is not satisfied with the volume or speed of work, you can use third-party services integrated into MIUI:

Best alternatives:

• 🌍 Google Drive – 15GB free, deep integration with Android. Suitable for documents and photos.
• ☁️ Yandex Disk – 10 GB free, convenient for users from Russia (fast download, no locks).
• 📦 Mega - 20GB free, data encryption. Perfect for sensitive files.
• 🍎 iCloud – If you have Apple devices, 5GB is free + synchronization with Mac.

How to connect Google Drive to Xiaomi:

1. Install Google Drive from the Play Market.
2. Go to Settings → Accounts → Add an account → Google.
3. Log in and enable synchronization for “Disk” and “Photo”.
4. In the Gallery app, select Settings → Cloud Album → Google Photos.

Third-party services have the advantage of greater free volume and cross-platform, such as Google Photos automatically compresses images without loss of quality, saving up to 70% of space.

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Use Files by Google to analyze cloud space, and it will show you which files are the heaviest, and suggest you optimize them.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Mi Cloud