How to Clean up Xiaomi Cloud Without Losing Photos on Your Phone: 5 Ways to Get Rid of the Cloud

Xiaomi Cloud cloud storage is a convenient backup tool, but it's limited in scope. When the space runs out, the system starts reminding you to clean up, offering to delete files or buy extra space, but most users want to save photos and videos — the most valuable data — and make room for new backups.

The problem is that standard MIUI settings don’t always allow you to flexibly manage the content of the cloud. Many fear that cleaning will lead to loss of photos on the phone itself – especially if the sync is not configured correctly. In this article, we will discuss 5 ways to free up Xiaomi Cloud without affecting local files, and also explain how to avoid typical errors when working with the cloud.

Important: All instructions are relevant for Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones based on MIUI 12-14. If you have an older version of the firmware, some menu items may differ.

Why Xiaomi Cloud is Fast and What to Do About It

The main reason for cloud overflow is automatic data synchronization, and by default, MIUI saves to the cloud:

• 📸 Photos and videos (including screenshots and screen recordings)
• 📱 Contacts, notes, calendar (if synchronization is enabled)
• 🎵 Recordings from voice recorders and voice messages
• 📄 Documents from WPS Office or Mi File Manager applications
• 🔄 Application backups (caches, settings, game data)

The biggest places are junk app backups and photo duplicates, which are created every time you update MIUI or reset settings. For example, one WhatsApp backup can weigh up to 1-2 GB, and older versions of copies are not automatically deleted.

To understand what exactly is taking up space, open the Settings → Xiaomi Cloud → Storage app. Here you will see a diagram of the space distribution by category. If most of it is occupied by Other data or Backups, then this is the problem.

⚠️ Warning: Do not turn off syncing photos in the cloud if the phone has enabled the option to Delete from the device after download (located in Gallery → Settings → Cloud Sync), in which case deleting files from the cloud will lead to their disappearance on the smartphone.

Method 1: Remove unnecessary backups of applications

App backups are the main garbage in Xiaomi Cloud, created automatically when you update MIUI, reset your settings, or flash your phone, and are usually placed under the data:

• 🎮 Games (Genshin Impact, PUBG Mobile, Honor of Kings)
• 💬 Messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber)
• 📱 Social Networking (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook)
• 📊 Financial applications (banks, cryptocurrency wallets)

To remove unnecessary copies:

1. Open Settings → Xiaomi Cloud → Backup.
2. Click on Backup Management.
3. Select unnecessary copies (such as older versions of games or instant messengers) and click Delete.
4. Confirm the action by selecting Cloud Only (this will save data on the phone).

Outdated copies of games (over 3 months)

Messenger cache (if you don’t store important chats)

Backup copies of remote applications

Duplicate copies (e.g. two WhatsApp copies from one day)

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If you're not sure which copy you can delete, look at the date of creation. Copies older than 6 months are almost always deletionable - they contain outdated data.

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Before you delete backups, check if they contain important data (for example, the history of conversations in messengers). If in doubt, export chats manually through the application settings.

Method 2: Cleaning “Other Data” in Xiaomi Cloud

Xiaomi Cloud Data Category Other data often takes up to 30-50% of the space, but it’s not always clear what’s stored there.

• 🗑️ Temporary application files (cache, error logs)
• 📁 Files from remote applications (remain in the cloud even after uninstallation)
• 🔄 Failed or interrupted backups
• 📄 Documents from Mi File Manager or WPS Office that haven't been opened in a long time

To clear this category:

1. Go to Settings → Xiaomi Cloud → Storage.
2. Click on Other data.
3. Select the files you want to delete (you can sort by date or size).
4. Click Delete and confirm by selecting from the cloud only.

If you have a lot of files with names that are not clear (e.g. com.miui.backup.12345), it's probably junk data.

⚠️ Warning: Do not delete files with the.db or.sqlite extension unless you are sure of their purpose - these may be application databases (e.g., call history or SMS).

Method 3: Disable the synchronization of unnecessary data

By default, MIUI syncs almost everything to the cloud: contacts, notes, call records, system settings, and many of this data is duplicated in other services (like contacts on Google Accounts), so you can turn it off.

How to do this:

1. Open Settings → Xiaomi Cloud → Synchronization.
2. Scroll through the list and turn off the switches next to the unnecessary categories: 📞 Calls (if you don't log) 📝 Notes (if you use Google Keep or Evernote) 📅 Calendar (if synced with Google Calendar) 🎵 Records (voice notes if not needed)

Apply

Disabling sync will not remove the data already downloaded from the cloud, but will stop further accumulation of debris.To delete old synced files, return to Xiaomi Cloud → Storage and manually clear the relevant categories.

Method 4: Transfer photos to another cloud (without loss of quality)

If photos take up the lion’s share of the space in Xiaomi Cloud, but you don’t want to delete them, you can transfer them to another cloud storage.

• 🌥️ Google Photos – 15 GB free, automatic synchronization, easy search.
• 🍎 iCloud – if you have Apple devices, 5GB is free.
• 📦 Yandex Drive – 10 GB free, integration with MIUI via Mi File Manager.
• 🔗 Telegram (Saved Messages) is an unlimited storage for compressed photos.

How to transfer photos without loss of quality:

1. Install the selected cloud application (e.g. Google Photos).
2. In the application settings, enable Autoboot in original quality.
3. Wait until the synchronization is complete (it may take several hours).
4. Check that all photos have been uploaded, and then delete them from Xiaomi Cloud through Gallery → Albums → Cloud.

⚠️ Warning: If you use Google Photos, please note that, from June 2021, photos in their original quality have taken up space in the shared storage of Google Account (15 GB). To save space, select High Quality (unlimited storage, but with easy compression).

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Transferring photos to another cloud is the most reliable way to free up Xiaomi Cloud, but it takes time to download.Always make sure that files are successfully copied before removing them from the original storage.

Method 5: Cleaning the Cloud through the Web (for PC)

If you don't have the ability to manage files on your phone, you can use the web version of Xiaomi Cloud, which gives you more sorting and mass deletion options.

Instructions:

1. Go to i.mi.com and log in.
2. In the Warehouse section, select a category to clean (such as Photos or Documents).
3. Mark unnecessary files (you can use filters by date or size).
4. Click Delete and confirm the action.

Advantages of the web version:

• 🖥️ A convenient interface for working with large amounts of data.
• 🔍 The ability to search by file name.
• 📊 Detailed statistics on space use.
• 📁 Mass deletion (e.g., all files over a year old).

If you delete photos through the web, make sure they are saved on your phone or in another cloud. To do this, check the Gallery → Albums → Cloud folder on your smartphone before deleting.

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In the web version of Xiaomi Cloud, you can enable two-factor authentication (in account settings), which will protect your data if your password is compromised.

What to do if the cloud is not freed up after cleaning

Sometimes, after deleting files, the amount of free space in the Xiaomi Cloud does not change, this is due to the peculiarities of the Xiaomi servers.

If none of these methods worked, try the following:

1. Install the latest version of MIUI (via Settings → System Update).
2. Check if the beta version of Xiaomi Cloud is active (roll back to stable if it is).
3. Contact us via the official Xiaomi website.

FAQ: Frequent questions about cleaning up Xiaomi Cloud