How to Free Memory on Xiaomi Phone: The Complete Guide

Modern Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones, which are powered by MIUI shells or the new HyperOS, offer huge opportunities, but even they are not immune to internal memory overflows. When the device starts to run slower and space notifications are becoming more frequent, everyone knows this, not only because of the installation of a large number of games, but also because of the accumulation of temporary files, messenger cache and duplicate photos.

The lack of free space has a negative impact on the performance of the system, since the Android operating system requires a reserve for normal operation of processes in the background. Owners of budget models with drives of 64 or 128 GB face this problem especially acutely. Memory cleaning becomes not just a recommendation, but a necessity for comfortable use of the gadget.

In this article, we’ll look at proven methods for freeing up space, from using embedded tools to manually removing hidden folders, and learn to find the files that take up the most space and safely delete them without risking losing important data.

Storage analysis: Finding hidden place eaters

The first step to freeing up space is to analyze in detail what exactly takes up gigabytes on your device. Android and Xiaomi’s shell provide built-in tools for data visualization, but they don’t always show the full picture. Often users don’t even realize that tens of gigabytes are occupied by the videos they’ve watched on Telegram or the cache of cards.

To start, go to the settings and find the memory state item. Depending on the firmware version, the path may be slightly different, but the logic remains the same. Here you will see a pie chart of the space distribution between applications, images, videos and system files.

Notice the categories that occupy the most volume, often the "Other" section, where the system folds cache, archives and temporary files, and analysis of the storage allows you to identify specific record-breaking applications that have grown to unimaginable sizes.

• 📱 Applications and their data often occupy up to 40% of the total space.
• 📸 Gallery and basket – deleted photos can lie for months.
• 💬 Messengers – WhatsApp and Telegram save all media files.
• 🗑️ System and other – hidden cache and error logs.

It's important to understand that a standard analyzer might not show the contents of some folders that are only accessible through the file manager. So visual evaluation is just the beginning. HyperOS and newer versions of MIUI have more advanced compression algorithms, but manual control is still necessary.

⚠️ Note: Do not remove files from system folders with names like "Android", "data" or "obb" manually unless you are 100% sure of their purpose.

Use of the built-in "Security" application

The easiest and safest way to start cleaning up is to use a regular app from Xiaomi developers, called Security, preinstalled on every device, which can scan the device for temporary files, remnants of remote programs and advertising debris.

Launch the app and select Cleanup. The system will automatically scan the memory and prompt you to delete files that are considered safe to delete, usually browser cache, temporary installer files and error logs.

But remember, cleaning algorithms aren't always perfect, they can skip large files scattered across different directories, but it's perfect for quick daily hygiene.

In the Deep Cleanup section, you can find more specific data, such as large files or rarely used applications, and the Deep Cleanup feature allows you to free up significant space in one session.

There is also a section in the app to manage permissions and autoruns, which indirectly affects performance, although it does not free up physical space.

Cleaning up garbage in messengers: Telegram and WhatsApp

Social networks and instant messengers are the main culprits of memory overflow on Xiaomi smartphones. Telegram, WhatsApp, Viber and other applications by default store all received photos, videos and documents in internal memory. Over time, these folders can grow to tens of gigabytes.

In Telegram, the situation is solved most effectively thanks to the built-in settings. Go to the application settings, select "Data and memory" and then "Memory Use." Here you will see the "Clear Telegram cache" button.

Important: Clearing the cache in Telegram does not delete your correspondence and sent files from the server. You can re-upload photos or videos at any time just by opening the chat. This frees up space instantly and safely.

• 🚀 Telegram: Settings → Data and memory → Use of memory → Clear the cache.
• 💬 WhatsApp: Settings → Data and storage → Storage management.
• 📞 Viber: More → Settings → Memory. → Clear the cache.
• 📱 Discord: Settings → Annexes → Warehouse → Clear the data.

For WhatsApp, the process is a little more complicated, as there is no clear everything button without deleting the history.It is best to use Xiaomi's built-in file manager, find the Android/media/com.whatsapp folder, and manually delete Media or Databases folders if you don't need a backup right now.

Regularly checking attachments in chat rooms allows you to delete unnecessary video files, which often weigh the most. Modern versions of messengers have a function of sorting files by size, which makes it easier to find heavyweights.

Removal of duplicates and sorting in the Gallery

Photos and video are the second largest memory consumer. Xiaomi cameras are high-resolution, and one minute of 4K video can take several hundred megabytes. In addition, the gallery often accumulates screenshots, unsuccessful footage and duplicates.

The built-in Gallery app in the MIUI and HyperOS shells has smart algorithms to find similar shots. Go to the Albums section, scroll down to the Similar Photos category or search for images.

The system will suggest selecting the best shots from a series of similar ones and removing the rest, which is a great way to quickly make room without losing important moments, and it is also worth checking the Recycle Bin folder, where deleted files go and are stored there for 30 days.

Using cloud services like Google Photos or Xiaomi Cloud, you can store originals online, leaving only compressed copies on your phone. The Free Space feature in Google Photos automatically deletes files from your device that have already been uploaded to the cloud.

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Use Portrait or Pro mode only when you really need to. The normal shooting mode creates smaller files, which saves space in serial shooting.

Remember to check the video folder separately, and often short clips of instant messengers or screen recordings that you've forgotten about get there, and deleting them can give you several gigabytes of freedom instantly.

Working with Download folder and large files

Download folder is a smartphone black box where everything falls: installation APK-file, PDF-documents, browser-saved images and forgotten archives, and users often forget to clean this section, even though that's where you'll find a lot of extra stuff.

Open File Manager and go to Downloads. Sort files by size or date. You'll be surprised at how much space old app installers that have been installed for a long time take up.

Also worth looking at is the DCIM/.thumbnails folder, which is a hidden folder that stores thumbnails of your photos for quick viewing in the gallery, which can grow to 1-2 GB over time.

The path to hidden miniatures:


Internal memory. → DCIM →.thumbnails

Deleting the contents of the.thumbnails folder is safe, the system will recreate it the next time you run the gallery, but the file will be empty.

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Regularly cleaning up the Download folder and hidden thumbnails can free up to 5-10 GB of space without losing personal data.

It also has a big file search feature, so click on the menu (three dots) and select "Large Files" and it will show you a list of objects weighing more than 10MB, for example. Often, forgotten movies or TV shows downloaded for a trip are there.

Remove applications and clean the cache manually

If automated methods don’t work, you’ll have to move to manually managing applications, and some programs, especially social networks and browsers, accumulate a huge amount of cache that is not removed by standard cleaning.

Go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Sort the list by size of space occupied. Select the lead app (like TikTok, Instagram or YouTube) and click Memory.

So here you'll see two buttons: Clear cache and Clear all. One deletes temporary files, the other resets the app to just installed, including login. Be careful with the choice.

• 🧹 Cleaning the cache – securely, deletes temporary data.
• 💾 Clearing all data – resets the settings of the application and exit from the account.
• 🗑️ Remove updates – returns the system application to the factory version.
• 🚫 Disconnection – hides a system application that cannot be removed.

Xiaomi's system applications have a "Remove Updates" feature, which allows you to return the application to the original version, which takes up less space, but deprives you of new features.

⚠️ Note: When you clean up messenger data (WhatsApp, Telegram) without prior backup, you may lose your correspondence history. Use the "Clear Cache" function, not "Clear All of the Cache" function".

Also, you should remove apps that you haven't used in the last 3 months, and the system will tell you how to use them in the recommendations section. Unnecessary games often weigh 2-3 GB and take up space for nothing.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions