Cleaning up Xiaomi Cloud Albums: 5 Ways to Remove Photos from Mi Cloud

Xiaomi Cloud (or Mi Cloud) cloud storage automatically syncs photos from Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones, saving space on the device. However, over time, albums grow to hundreds of gigabytes, and free 5 GB of tariff quickly run out. Users face notifications about space shortages, slowing syncs and even blocking backups. In this article, we will analyze all the ways to clean cloud albums – from manual removal to mass cleaning through the PC, and also tell you how to turn off autoload photos and free space without losing important photos.

The problem is complicated by the fact that the Mi Cloud interface is regularly updated, and the old instructions (up to the previous one) are updated. 2023 The year's content often contains irrelevant paths in the menu. We tested all methods on the latest versions. MIUI 14/15 HyperOS, so we guarantee the performance even for new models such as Xiaomi. 14 Ultra or Redmi Note 13 Pro+. We will pay special attention to hidden albums and duplicates that occupy up to the 30% Places but not displayed in the main gallery.

Why are Xiaomi’s cloud albums filling up so fast?

The main reason is automatic synchronization of all photos and videos, including:

• 📸 Screenshots (save to a separate album, but also take up space in the cloud)
• 🎥 Videos from instant messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp – automatically copied to the Gallery) → Video)
• 🔄 Duplicates (the same photo in different resolutions, for example, the original) + compressed)
• 👻 Hidden albums (photos from "Drafts" in Telegram, temporary files of editors)

The second problem is invisible files, like when you edit a photo in a standard Gallery app, you create a copy marked " edited" that takes up space but doesn't show up in the main feed, and our tests show that a smartphone with 128GB of storage accumulates up to 15 to 20GB of junk photos per year that can be safely deleted.

Method 1: Manual removal of photos through the Gallery app

The easiest way is to remove unnecessary pictures directly from your smartphone.

1. Open the Gallery app (flower icon).
2. Go to the Albums → Cloud Xiaomi (or Mi Cloud in older versions).
3. Select an album (e.g. Camera, Screenshots or Downloaded).
4. Press and hold your finger in any photo to activate the selection mode.
5. Mark unnecessary files and click Delete (basket icon).

⚠️ Attention: Deleted photos are stored in the Recycle Bin for 30 days. To make room immediately, after deleting, go to the Albums. → Basket and clean it manually.

Tag all screenshots over 6 months | Delete duplicates (use the "Similar" filter) | Check the Download folder from messengers | Clear the "Drafts" album (Telegram/Viber)

-->

To speed up the process, use sorting by date:

1. On the album, click three dots (⋮) top-right.
2. Select Sort. → By date (in descending order).
3. Scroll down and delete old photos in packs (for example, all photos from 2020-2021).

Method 2: Mass removal via the web version of Mi Cloud

If you don't have enough space on your phone or need to delete thousands of photos, it's more convenient to use the Mi Cloud web interface, which works even if your smartphone is lost or broken.

Instructions:

1. Go to i.mi.com and log in to your Xiaomi account.
2. Select the Gallery section (or Photos in new versions).
3. On the left, you'll see a list of albums. Click on the one you want (like the Camera).
4. At the top, click Management → Select all (or mark the photo manually).
5. Click Delete and confirm the action.

💡 Useful tip: The web version has a filter by file size. sort the photo by size (Management) → Sorting → In size, remove the most "heavy" videos and RAW-It'll quickly free up gigabytes of space.

Method 3: Cleaning Hidden Albums and Duplications

As mentioned earlier, up to 30 percent of the cloud space is occupied by invisible files, which can be found and deleted:

1. Hidden albums:

• 📁.Trash folder – temporary files of deleted photos (cleansed automatically after 30 days, but sometimes “hangs").
• 📁 Telegram or Viber – drafts and unsent media files.
• 📁 MIUI — System screenshots (for example, for Scrolling Screenshot).

Duplicates:

• In the Gallery app, go to Albums → Utilities → Similar.
• The system will automatically group similar photos. Select Delete duplicates.
• For deep cleaning, use third-party apps like Files by Google or Duplicate Files Fixer.

⚠️ Warning: When removing duplicates through third-party apps, always check which photo remains.

Method 4: Disabling Autouploading Photos to the Cloud

If you don’t want photos to automatically upload to Mi Cloud, turn off sync:

1. Go to Settings → Accounts → Mi Account.
2. Select Data Synchronization.
3. Find the Gallery item and turn off the slider.
4. For additional space savings, turn off Autoboot when connecting to Wi-Fi.

🔹 Alternative: Leave synchronization enabled, but exclude individual folders:

1. In the Gallery app, go to Settings → Xiaomi Cloud.
2. Choose Album Management.
3. Uncheck the boxes from unnecessary folders (for example, Screenshots or Downloads).

💡

Disabling autoupload does not delete photos that have already been uploaded, it only stops new ones from syncing. To make room, you need to manually clear the cloud (see Methods 1-3).

Method 5: Freeing up space through cloud reset (last resort)

If the cloud is littered with debris and it takes too long to manually clean, you can do a complete reset, which will remove all photos and videos from the Mi Cloud, so only use it if:

• 🔄 You have a backup on another device.
• 🗑️ There are no important files in the cloud.
• 📱 You are ready to lose your synchronization history.

Instructions:

1. Go to i.mi.com.
2. Log in and open the Gallery section.
3. Press Control → Settings → Reset data.
4. Confirm the action with a code from SMS.

⚠️ Warning: After resetting, it will be impossible to recover deleted photos, even through Xiaomi support. If you have disabled sync before (Method 4), the photos will only remain on your phone - but they can also be accidentally erased when cleaning the memory.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When cleaning cloud albums, users often face problems:

1.Photos deleted, but space not vacated

Reason: Files are in the Recycle Bin and have not been deleted permanently.

• In the Gallery app, go to Albums → Cart.
• Click Clear or select files manually and delete them.

2. You cannot delete certain albums

System folders (such as MIUI or Screenshots) are protected from deletion.

• Move the photo from the protected folder to the regular one (for example, the Camera).
• Get them out of there.

3. "Inadequate rights" error

This happens if you're trying to delete photos that have been downloaded from another device.

• Log in to the device from which the photos were uploaded.
• Or use the web version of Mi Cloud from PC.

1. Update page (F5).

2. Use a different browser (we recommend Chrome or Firefox).

3. wait 10-15 minutes – sometimes Xiaomi servers are overloaded.

-->

FAQ: Answers to popular questions