How to effectively clean the memory of applications on Xiaomi

Xiaomi smartphones are famous for their value for money ratio, but even powerful devices are slowing down over time. The main reason for slowing down the interface and running programs is often crowded internal memory. The MIUI or HyperOS operating system actively accumulates temporary files that can take up gigabytes of valuable space.

Users often face a situation where the system notifies about the lack of space to install updates or save new photos, at which point there is an urgent need to figure out how to clean the memory of Xiaomi applications as efficiently and safely as possible. It is important to understand that simply uninstalling programs does not always solve the problem, since residual files can remain in the system.

In this guide, we will look at proven methods of freeing up disk space. You will learn which folders can be deleted without risk to the system, how to work with embedded utilities correctly and whether you should trust third-party software. A competent approach to maintaining a smartphone will prolong its life and ensure a stable speed.

Analysis of storage occupancy and search for large files

Before taking active action to delete data, a thorough diagnosis is needed. Owners of Redmi and Poco devices often do not even realize that the lion’s share of memory is occupied not by the applications themselves, but by their cache and downloaded media files from messengers.

First, you have to go to the storage settings. The path may vary slightly depending on the version of the shell, but it's usually at Settings → Memory. Here, the system visualizes the distribution of data by showing a diagram by category: applications, images, videos, documents, etc. The storage analytics helps you understand where the space is going.

Social media folders are worth paying special attention. Messengers like Telegram or WhatsApp save all received photos and videos to the gallery by default. If you are in dozens of channels and chats, this content can take up more than 10-15 GB. Deleting such files through the file manager is often safer than cleaning through the settings of the messenger itself, since it allows you to selectively delete heavy video files.

⚠️ Note: Before mass deletion of files from folders DCIM or Download, be sure to check their contents. Often, they may contain important document scans, work files, or rare images that are not duplicated in the cloud.

Don't forget the download folder. Android browsers, including Chrome and the built-in MIUI Browser, save all downloaded files to the Download directory. Old.apk installation packages that have already been installed are no longer needed and are subject to removal. Their accumulation is a common reason for the lack of space on budget models with 64 GB of internal memory.

Use of the built-in "Security" application

Each Xiaomi smartphone has a Security system app preinstalled, a powerful tool designed specifically for the MIUI shell, which not only checks for viruses, but also manages free space efficiently, and uses regular tools to replace third-party “cleaners” that can consume resources themselves.

Run the app and select Cleanup. The system will automatically analyze and suggest that you delete temporary files, remnants of deleted applications and advertising debris. Deep cleaning allows you to find large files that are rarely used but take up a lot of space, this can be old archives, forgotten videos or game installers.

It is important to distinguish between the types of files that the system offers to delete: it is safe to delete files from the categories of "Cash", "Unused Packets" and "Advertising", but be careful with the section "Big files", there may be downloaded maps for the navigator or offline music, the removal of which will make these functions unavailable without the Internet.

The Acceleration feature in the same app helps free up RAM by closing the background processes. While this doesn't free up storage, it helps the phone run faster if it starts to slow down due to overloading the processor with a lot of running tasks. Regular use of this tool is useful for devices with a small amount of RAM.

Cleaning cache and data of specific applications

The most effective way to free up space is by manually cacheing heavy apps: Social media, browsers, and streaming services accumulate massive amounts of temporary data to speed up content loading, which over time inflates and begins to interfere with the device.

To do the cleaning, go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Select the program you want, like YouTube or TikTok. In the app menu, you'll see two buttons: "Clean" and "Delete." Clicking "Clean" will offer two options: clear the cache or clean all data.

• 🧹 Cache Clearing: Deletes temporary files without affecting your logins, passwords, and settings. It is a secure operation that can be performed regularly.
• 🗑️ Clean all data: completely resets the app to the post-installation state. You will crash out of all accounts and the settings will reset. Use this only if you know your passwords.
• 📦 Extension management: In some browsers or launchers, you can separately manage the data of plugins that also take up space.

Pay special attention to garbage from remote applications. Sometimes after uninstallation of a game or program, empty folders or logs remain in the system. The built-in analyzer in the Security section usually finds such tails, but you can also manually check through the file manager, removing folders with the names of remote programs in the root of internal memory.

Working with messengers: Telegram and WhatsApp

Messengers are the leaders in memory consumption on most Xiaomi smartphones. Unlike conventional cache, it stores a history of correspondence that the user often wants to save.

On WhatsApp, it's better to clean up through built-in settings. Go to Settings → Data and Storage → Storage Management. Here you'll see a list of chats sorted by space you occupy. You can go into a specific dialog and delete only videos or only GIFs, leaving text messages and important photos intact.

Telegram works differently and is often considered more convenient in this regard: it stores the cache on the server, and on the phone it stores only what you have viewed. In the Telegram settings (Data and Memory → Memory Use), you can set a cache limit or set up an automatic cleanup, for example, you can set a rule: “Delete media files older than 3 days.”

For Viber, the situation is more complicated because the app is less willing to give up storage, often only a complete reset of the application’s data (with a history pre-backup) or manually deleting Viber and Viber Media folders through the file manager. Be careful: manually deleting folders can lead to the loss of contact and status avatars.

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Set up a Telegram to automatically delete the cache of channels you rarely read, which will keep your memory clean without you, as channel media files often weigh more than personal photos.

Removal of duplicates and system debris

When you use your smartphone, you inevitably have duplicate files, you could download a file twice, save a screenshot that you already have in your archive, or take multiple identical photos in serial mode, and finding and deleting those copies is a great way to get back a few gigabytes.

File managers on MIUI often have a built-in duplicate search function, and if they don't, you can use proven utilities like Files by Google or Duplicate Files Fixer, which scan hash sums of files and find exact copies, even if they are called differently and are in different folders.

It's also worth checking out the Thumbnails folder, which stores thumbnails of your photos for quick display in the gallery, and sometimes it can be as big as a few gigabytes if you have thousands of photos in the gallery, and it's safe to clean, but remember that the next time you open the gallery, the phone will create thumbnails again, which can cause short-term heating.

⚠️ Note: Do not delete system folders with Android names, MIUI, data or system, even if they seem like garbage to you, and removing the contents of these directories can cause applications to fail or completely flash the device.

Offline maps and music deserve special attention, navigation and streaming services allow you to download content for listening without the Internet. Periodically check the download lists in Spotify, Yandex Maps or 2GIS. Often there are maps of cities you no longer plan to go to or playlists that you no longer listen to.

Resetting settings as a radical cleaning method

If none of these methods worked, and the phone still signals a lack of space, you might consider a complete reset, which is an extreme measure that puts the device back to factory status. Factory Reset removes absolutely all user data, apps and settings.

Before you decide to do this, make sure to back up. On Xiaomi, you can do this through Settings → About Phone → Backup and Restore. Save backup to your computer or to the Mi Cloud. Without a backup, you risk losing all contacts, photos and correspondence forever.

The reset process takes 10 to 30 minutes. Once turned on, you'll get a clean phone, like you just bought it from a store. This is guaranteed to remove all the accumulated system debris, registry errors and conflicting files. The performance of the device is usually restored to its original level.

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Full Reset is the only solution that removes 100% of the debris and hidden system errors, but requires you to back up your data before starting the procedure.

After reset, take your time to install all applications at once, set only the minimum you need and keep track of the memory filling in the early days, which will help you understand which program or action is quickly starting to fill up the storage again, and prevent problems in the future.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)