Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones sooner or later face a shortage of free space; the MIUI or HyperOS system starts to work slower, and notifications of memory overflow appear at the most inopportune moment; most often, the culprits are accumulated messenger files, social media cache and remnants of remote programs.
In this article, we'll look at proven ways to free up space, learn how to safely remove excess without losing important contacts and passwords, and clean up data is not just about deleting files, it's about optimizing your device properly.
What is the difference between cache and application data
Before you delete something, you need to understand the structure of the storage. In the Android operating system, which runs the MIUI shell, memory is divided into logical sections, and confusion in these concepts can lead to the loss of important information.
Cache is a temporary file that the app creates to quickly load content, it can be thumbnails of images, saved pages of a web browser or snippets of videos, deletion of the cache is safe and does not affect your authorization in the services.
These apps are your personal information inside the program, and they include your correspondence, your account settings, your game progress, your downloaded files, and if you click Clear Data, it will go back to a state that you just installed from the store.
⚠️ Before cleaning the full data of messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber), be sure to create a backup copy of chats in the cloud storage, otherwise it will be impossible to restore correspondence.
The difference between these two types of cleaning is huge, and if your goal is to just free up a couple hundred megabytes, you'd better just clean up the cache, and if the app doesn't work properly, or you want to completely remove traces of it, then you're going to reset.
Why is the cache growing so fast?
Basic cleaning through the standard "Safety" application
The easiest and most affordable way to get your phone in order is to use a built-in system tool, which is called "Security" on Xiaomi smartphones, and has a green icon with a shield, which is already preinstalled and does not require an Internet connection.
Run the app and select "Clean up." The system automatically scans the device for debris files, residues. APK-The process takes 10 to 30 seconds, depending on the amount of information accumulated.
After scanning, you will see a list of categories that can be deleted, and it is recommended to carefully review each item, as the system sometimes marks as “junk” files that you may need, such as screenshots or downloaded documents.
- 🧹 Garbage: Temporary system and application files that do not carry a payload.
- 📸 Photo: duplicate images and screenshots that take up a lot of space.
- 📦 Applications: rarely used programs that can be removed.
- 📱 Big files: videos and archives you might have forgotten in your download folder.
To do more work, click on the Clear Cache button at the bottom menu, and here you will see a list of all installed programs, sorted by the amount of time storage you occupy, which allows you to pinpoint cache removal from the most “heavy” consumers, such as TikTok, Instagram or YouTube.
☑️ Checklist for quick cleaning
Deep cleaning through storage settings
The standard utility is good for quick prevention, but you have to go deeper for detailed control, and you have a menu hidden in the system settings that shows the real picture of the memory distribution, and this is especially true for models with a small amount of built-in storage.
Go to Settings, then look for About Phone and select Storage, and here the system visualizes memory occupancy, and you'll see colored bars for different file types: apps, images, video, audio, and so on.
Click on Apps. The full list will open, where the programs are sorted by space, click on any app to see the detailed statistics, and you can see the Clear Cache and Clear All buttons.
| Type of cleaning | What's removed | Impact on the account | Recommended frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clear the cache | Temporary files, thumbnails | No (remain in the system) | Once a week. |
| Clear the data | Settings, logins, database | Full exit (entry required) | Failure or removal |
| Delete the appendix | All content and executable file | Deletion of the programme | If necessary, |
| Stop it. | Freeze the process in the background | No. | For the hanging programs |
You can also manage permissions and notifications in the same menu, and it's often the case that an application takes up little space but is actively running in the background, consuming CPU resources, and Forced Stop helps reset the process if the program is stuck.
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Use the Storage menu to find hidden heavyweights that aren’t visible on the home screen but take up gigabytes of storage.
Cleaning messengers: Telegram, WhatsApp, Viber
Messengers are the biggest memory eaters on any smartphone today, they store every photo, video, and voice message they send, and without regular cleaning, a folder of media files can grow to a point where it's not easy to get a single message sent. 10-20 GB or more.
In Telegram, the cleanup is most efficient thanks to the built-in cloud storage. Go to Settings → Data and memory → Memory Use. There you can configure the autodeletion of the cache, for example, store files only for 3 days or a week.
WhatsApp stores all media locally. To clean up, go to Settings → Data and Storage → Storage Management. Here you can selectively delete large videos or files sent in chats without deleting the correspondence itself.
- 🗑️ Auto Delete: Set up automatic cache cleanup once a week.
- 📂 Download folder: check if files are saved to the shared gallery.
- 🎥 Video: Delete heavy video files first, they take up 80% of the space.
It is important to understand that cleaning the data inside the messenger through the Android system menu (as described in the previous section) will lead to a full logout. You will have to re-enter the phone number and wait for the arrival of SMS for authorization.
⚠️ Note: In Telegram, when you clear the cache, your photos and videos don’t disappear from chats forever. They just disappear from the device and download from the cloud again if you open the dialogue again.
Removing System Garbage and Android Folder
With the release of new Android versions (11, 12, 13 and above), access to the Android/data system folder has been restricted for security reasons. However, on Xiaomi smartphones, you can still find remnants of old installations, error logs and temporary update files.
You can use built-in Explorer or third-party file managers like Files by Google or Total Commander to access hidden files.Look for folders with names of remote applications - they often remain dead weight.
Special attention should be paid to the Download folder, which includes all files from the browser, documents, APK installers and attachments from mail. Often users forget about them for years.
It's also worth checking the folder. MIUI → debug_log. This can accumulate debugging logs if the developer function was once enabled. Log files can take up hundreds of megabytes and do not benefit the average user.>
Manual check path:
Internal Memory → Android → Data
Internal memory → MIUI → debug_log
Internal Memory → DownloadDo not delete files that you do not know the purpose of, especially if they are in system directories, which can lead to unstable interfaces or malfunctions in specific services of Google and Xiaomi.
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Use the Size Sort feature in Explorer to instantly see the heaviest files hidden deep in folders. Often 10 videos take up more space than 1,000 documents.
Use of third-party utilities and cloud services
If there's not enough built-in tools, specialized applications come to the rescue, but be careful: many cleaners consume a lot of resources and display intrusive advertising, and you'd better choose proven solutions.
One of the best solutions is Files by Google, which is the official app from the search giant that safely analyzes the contents of a phone, and it can find similar photos, screenshots, and suggests removing old screenshots that have been in use for more than a month.
Another option is to move data to the cloud. Google Photos or Yandex.Disk can automatically upload your photos and videos, freeing up space on your device with a single “Free Space” button.
- ☁️ Cloud: Move photos and videos to cloud storage.
- 🧹 SD Card: Move music and movies to the memory card if the model supports.
- 📉 Lite versions: Use lightweight versions of applications (Lite) to save space.
Using a microSD card is a great way to expand the storage of Redmi's budget models. Photos and music can be configured to save immediately to the map, leaving internal memory free to operate the system.