How to completely clean up Xiaomi CLOUD memory: from photos to backups

Xiaomi CLOUD cloud storage is a handy tool for backing up data from Redmi, POCO and Mi smartphones, but its scope is limited. Even 5 GB of free space (or 100 GB for premium users) is quickly clogged with high-resolution photos, camera videos, app backups and system logs. If you are faced with a notification “Memory Xiaomi CLOUD is full” or just want to optimize storage, this article will help you figure out how to safely clean up memory without losing important data.

Unlike cleaning up your smartphone’s internal memory, working with the cloud requires caution: deleted files don’t always get into the bin, and some data (such as notes or call history) can sync with other devices. We analyzed all the available ways — from manually deleting unnecessary files to resetting your account — and identified critical points that are not covered in Xiaomi’s official documentation, such as why clearing the cloud cache through smartphone settings doesn’t always work, or how to restore accidentally deleted backups within 30 days.

Before you start, check how much space the different types of data occupy in your account, which will help you determine which files can be deleted without consequences, and which are better transferred to another medium, followed by step-by-step instructions with warnings and alternative solutions.

1. Checking Occupied Space in Xiaomi CLOUD

Before you delete something, you need to understand what exactly takes up space in the cloud. Xiaomi provides detailed statistics by file category, but not all versions of MIUI have access to it.

On a smartphone:

1. Open your Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Slip on the line "Storage" (or "Memory", depending on the firmware version).
3. The system will show a diagram with the distribution of data by categories: Photo, Video, Backups, Notes, Contacts, etc.

On the web version (cloud.xiaomi.com):

• 🌐 Sign in under the same account as on your smartphone.
• 📊 In the upper right corner, click on the profile icon → «Storage management».
• 📅 Here you can see the history of changes over the past 30 days (helpful if you suspect that the memory was filled due to an automatic backup).

Note the Other Data category, which includes app cache, system logs, and temporary files that can be deleted without risk, but often take up less than 1-2% of the total. The main memory eaters are photos in original quality (especially if the autoboot feature is enabled) and application backups (such as WhatsApp or Viber).

2. Manual removal of unnecessary files

The most obvious way to free up space is to manually delete files, which can be done from a smartphone or through a web interface, and let's look at both.

Method 1: Through the Mi Cloud app on your smartphone

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud.
• 🗑️ Select a category (e.g., "Gallery») → press "Management».
• ✅ Mark unnecessary files (you can sort by date or size) → «Delete».
• 🔄 For mass removal, use the filter by date (for example, delete all photos older than 1 year).

Method 2: Using the web version of cloud.xiaomi.com

The web interface is more convenient for working with large amounts of data:

• 🌐 Go to cloud.xiaomi.com and log in.
• 📂 In the left menu, select a section (for example, “Photos” or “Documents»).
• 🔍 Use keyword search (e.g., “screenshot” for screenshots).
• 🗑️ Select the files → Click “Delete” (or “Move to the Recycle Bin” if the feature is available).

⚠️ Note: Files deleted through the web version do not always fall into the shopping cart (depending on the type of data). For example, notes and contacts are deleted irrevocably, and photos can be stored in the shopping cart for up to 30 days. Before mass deletion, make a local copy of important data on a PC or external disk.

Download backup copies of important photos on PC|Check if your notes are synced with Google Keep|Turn off autoload photo in gallery settings|Make sure that your contacts are duplicated in your Google Account-->

3. Cleaning of application backups

Backups are one of the largest categories in Xiaomi CLOUD, which includes:

• 📱 Backups of the system settings of the smartphone (tied to the function “Recovery and reset” in the MIUI).
• 💬 Backups of messages from WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram (if synchronization is enabled).
• 🎮 Preserve games (e.g. Genshin Impact or PUBG Mobile).
• 📝 Application data (notes, calendar, browser).

To clear backup copies:

1. Go to Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud → Backup of the device.
2. Slip on the last backup → “Manage backups”.
3. Select unnecessary backups (such as older versions) → “Delete”.

🔹 Xiaomi only stores the latest backup for each type of data, if you delete it, it will be impossible to restore the data, to save critical information (for example, to save critical information, SMS or a call log, first export it manually:

• For SMS: Use applications like SMS Backup & Restore.
• For contacts: export to.vcf via Contacts → Settings → Import/Export.

4. Disable autoloading photos and videos

The “Autoboot” feature in the MIUI gallery automatically uploads all new photos and videos to Xiaomi CLOUD. This is convenient but quickly clogs up memory, especially if you’re shooting 4K videos or taking a lot of photos in RAW format.

📌 Shutting down autoboot:

1. Open the Gallery app.
2. Slip on the three dots in the upper right corner → “Settings”.
3. Select “Mi Cloud” → disable the “Shootup” slider.

🔄 Filters setting up (if you want to leave the boot, but reduce the volume):

• 📸 In the same gallery settings, select “Optimized Download Quality” (photos will be compressed to 2048px long-sided).
• 🎥 Turn off video download: in the Mi Cloud settings, uncheck the box from Video».
• 📅 Configure the download only over Wi-Fi: this will prevent the consumption of mobile traffic and accidental download of files in roaming.

⚠️ Note: If you turn off autoboot, new photos and videos will not automatically be backed up. To avoid data loss when your smartphone breaks, set up an alternative backup (e.g., in Google Photos or on an external hard drive).

5. Clearing cache and temporary files

Xiaomi CLOUD, like any cloud storage, accumulates cache and temporary files that take up space but do not carry a payload.

🧹 Cleaning the cache through a smartphone:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find “Mi Cloud” in the list → open up.
3. Tap “Clear Cache” (not to be confused with “Clear Data” – this will remove sync settings!).

🖥️ Cleaning through the web version:

• 🌐 Go to cloud.xiaomi.com.
• 🔧 In the upper right corner, click on the gear icon (“Settings») → «Clear the cache».

⚠️ Attention: If after cleaning the cache, data synchronization slows down, restart your smartphone. In rare cases, the Mi Cloud cache can "hang" and take up to 1-2 GB of space, although this is not displayed in the settings. Check the occupied space through Settings → Memory. → Cash.

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If after cleaning the cache, Xiaomi CLOUD still shows that the memory is full, try logging out and re-entering.

6.Sync reset and full account cleanup

If previous methods didn't work, or you want to completely reset all the data to Xiaomi CLOUD, you can do a synchronization reset.

• 📱 All backups, photos, notes and other data will be permanently deleted from the cloud.
• 🔄 Synchronization between devices will be turned off (you will have to configure again).
• 📲 Only local data (the ones that were not uploaded to the cloud) will remain on the smartphone).

🔴 Step-by-step instructions for complete resetting:

1. Back up all important data on your PC or external drive.
2. Go to Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud.
3. Slip the profile icon in the upper right corner → “Exit”.
4. Confirm logging out of your account.
5. Go back to your Xiaomi account. → The system will suggest you reconfigure the synchronization.

⚠️ Note: After resetting synchronization, all data from Xiaomi CLOUD will be deleted without recovery (except files that are stored in the Recycle Bin) if you use one Xiaomi account on multiple devices (e.g., a smartphone) + tablet, reset will affect all gadgets.

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Synchronization reset is a last resort, and check before you use it to see if other services are linked to your Xiaomi account (e.g. Mi Home for smart devices or Mi Fit for fitness bracelets).

7. Alternative ways to make room

If cleaning Xiaomi CLOUD does not have enough effect, consider alternative options:

• 📁 Transfer data to another cloud: Use Google Drive, Yandex Drive or Dropbox to store photos and documents. For example, Google Photos offers unlimited space for compressed photos (up to 16 MP).
• 💾 Local Storage: Buy a microSD card or external storage SSD-Modern Xiaomi smartphones support memory cards up to 1 TB.
• 🔄 Backup optimization: In Mi Cloud settings, disable backup of unnecessary apps (such as games that can be reinstalled).
• 📦 Data Archiving: Compress old photos and videos in ZIP-archive and store them on a PC, which will reduce the volume by 30-50%.

🔹 Advice for users MIUI 14+: Newer versions of the firmware include a smart cleaning feature that automatically prompts you to delete duplicate photos and unused files to activate it:

1. Go to Settings → Memory → Smart Cleaning.
2. Turn on the slider and follow the system's prompts.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi cleanup CLOUD