Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face a situation where internal storage is crowded and notifications about the lack of space in the Mi Cloud begin to annoy. The cloud service automatically creates copies of your images, which ensures data security, but over time takes up a significant amount of available space. Many users do not understand how to properly manage these files, so as not to lose important moments, but to free up the memory of the device.
Cleaning isn't as easy as it sounds, because of the synchronization between the phone and the server, so if you just delete photos in the gallery, they can disappear from the cloud, or they can stay there forever, and keep occupying space, it's important to understand the mechanics of the synchronization service, so that you can clean your data correctly and safely.
In this article, we will discuss in detail all the ways to manage cloud storage content, how to turn off automatic download, how to massively delete old photos and how to check what exactly takes up space on the server. Complete cleaning of the cloud album is possible only through the web interface or special settings in the Gallery application, and not just deleting files in folders, which will allow you to regain control of your digital memory.
The basics of synchronization Mi Cloud
Before you start deleting, you need to understand how your smartphone and Xiaomi servers interact.Mi Cloud works on the principle of mirroring: changes made on one device often affect all other gadgets associated with one account, which means that removing a photo in the phone gallery can lead to its disappearance from the cloud if you do not change the appropriate settings.
Gallery synchronization is a background process that constantly monitors new images and sends them to the server when you have a Wi-Fi connection. If you decide to clear the space, you will need to temporarily pause this process or change its settings, otherwise deleted files can be automatically restored from the backup when you next connect to the network.
There are several layers of storage: local (on the device itself) and remote (on Mi servers), which require careful management. For example, with the option “Clear Memory” enabled, the phone can delete the original photos after they are successfully uploaded to the cloud, leaving only thumbnails. Understanding these nuances will help to avoid the accidental loss of valuable frames.
⚠️ Warning: Before mass deletion, make sure you have a backup of important files on an external hard drive or computer.Sync works both ways and the error can cost you all the photos.
Preparing for cleaning cloud storage
You can start the process of vacating space by analyzing your current account status, go to your phone settings and find the section responsible for your Mi Account, where you will see detailed statistics on how much space is used: photos, contacts, voice recordings and documents, which will help you understand the scale of the problem.
Next, check the status of the Internet connection. For comfortable work with cloud settings, it is recommended to use a stable Wi-Fi connection, since updating the file statuses can consume traffic. Also make sure that the device is charged with the battery so that the process does not interrupt in the middle due to battery drain.
If you plan to transfer photos to another medium, prepare a computer or external media. SSD-storage: copying of large amounts of data (e.g, 10-20 GB) may take considerable time; it is better to make room on the receiving device in advance so as not to interrupt the uploading process.
☑️ Preparing for Cloud Cleaning
An important step is to check the versions of applications. Make sure that the Gallery app and Mi Cloud services are updated to the latest version through the GetApps store or Google Play. Older versions of the software may have bugs that incorrectly display sync status, which will lead to errors when deleted.
Delete photos through the web interface
The most reliable and secure way to clean a cloud album without affecting files on your phone is using the web version of the service, which allows you to manage a server copy of the data. Open a browser on your computer or phone and go to the official i.mi.com website. You will need to log in by entering the username and password from your Mi Account.
Once you log in, select either Gallery or Photos, and you will see an interface that is similar to a standard smartphone gallery, but only contains files stored in the cloud, where you can sort images by date, album or file type, highlight unnecessary images using the Shift key to highlight groups, or Ctrl to select individual files.
Once highlighted, press the delete button (usually the Recycle Bin icon). The system will request confirmation of the operation. Key point: when deleted via the web interface, files are deleted only from the cloud. However, if your phone is synchronized, the next time you connect to the Internet, the phone can see that the file is deleted in the cloud, and also delete it locally, if you do not configure the originals.
| Action. | Where it's done | Impact on the phone | Impact on the cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deletion in the Gallery | Smartphone | File deleted | File deleted (when synchronized) |
| Removal in the Web version | Browser (i.mi.com) | The file can be deleted when synchronized. | File deleted |
| Cleaning up memory | Gallery settings | Original removed, a copy remains | File saved |
| Shutting down synchronization | Account settings | No change. | No change. |
The web interface also allows you to clean the shopping cart, and the deleted files go to the recently deleted folder, which stores them for 30 days, and to make room for the final time, you need to go to the shopping cart settings on the site and select "Clean the cart," only after that the space you occupy will be actually freed.
What to do if the web version is not loaded?
Gallery management on Xiaomi smartphone
Managing files directly from your phone requires more care. The Gallery app on MIUI or HyperOS has built-in cloud tools. Go to the gallery settings and find "Sync with Mi Cloud," and you can see the download status and album management here.
If your goal is to make room on your phone but leave your photo in the cloud, use the Clean Memory feature, which is in the gallery settings or in the album menu, which removes original photos from your device if they are already successfully uploaded to the cloud, leaving only compressed previews, and when you view them, it will be downloaded in full quality from the Internet.
To completely delete data from both devices (phone and cloud), simply delete photos in standard mode. Select unnecessary frames, click on the cart. The system will warn you that files will be deleted from synced albums. Confirm the action and files disappear everywhere.
⚠️ Warning: Clear Memory only works for photos that are already “downloaded” in the cloud. If sync is interrupted, the originals will remain on the phone.
There are also smart albums in the gallery that can take up space. Check out the Screenshots, Videos and Panoramas sections. Often, it's video files that take up the bulk of memory. Deleting them through the gallery album menu will also synchronize the deletion process.
Disconnection of synchronization and its consequences
Sometimes you need to completely break the connection between your phone and the cloud, for example, when selling a device or changing an account, go to Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → Gallery and switch the slider to the “Switched off” position.
If you choose to delete cloud copies when you turn off, all photos will disappear from the Mi server, but remain in the phone's memory. This is ideal if you want to stop using the service but save the archive locally. The reverse process - disabling with saving in the cloud - will leave files on the server, but will stop updating them when changes are made on the phone.
It's important to understand that once you turn off sync, new images will no longer automatically save to the cloud, which can lead to data loss if your smartphone breaks, so if you turn off the feature temporarily, remember to turn it back on or set up manual backups.
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Use the Hidden Albums feature in the gallery for photos that don’t need to be synced. They are only stored locally on the device and are not sent to Mi Cloud, even if sync is enabled.
Once sync is disabled, it is recommended to check the.thumbnails folder in the system files. Sometimes there are cached images that can take up gigabytes of space. Cleaning the gallery cache through the application settings will help remove this digital debris.
Alternative methods of storage and archiving
If Xiaomi cloud storage is crowded or not suitable for you, it is worth considering alternatives. Many users are switching to Google Photos, which offers smart search and integration with Android. The library transfer can be done by setting up a backup in the Google Photos app and waiting for all the images to be downloaded.
Another option is to use third-party cloud services such as Yandex.Disk, Dropbox or OneDrive, which allow you to set up automatic uploads of photos and videos. After successfully uploading and verifying the integrity of files in the new storage, data from Mi Cloud can be safely deleted.
For those who don't trust the cloud, the classic method is physical storage: connect your phone to your computer regularly and copy the DCIM folder to your hard drive, the most reliable way, independent of subscriptions and Internet connections, although it requires discipline from the user.
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Regular archiving on external media is the only way to guarantee the safety of data, regardless of the policy of cloud services and the state of the account.
Remember that using multiple services at once can confuse the file structure, and it is recommended to choose one basic backup method and stick to it, so as not to create duplicates and not waste time on deburdening in the future.