Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones sooner or later face a mysterious partition in the storage called “Other”, which can grow to tens of gigabytes, occupying precious space and slowing down the device, the user sees that the memory is full, but does not understand where the free resources go after deleting photos and applications.
The problem lies in the algorithms of the Android operating system and the MIUI shell or HyperOS. The system classifies files that cannot be uniquely classified into standard categories (photos, videos, music, applications), in this section, often containing messenger cache files, remnants of remote programs and system logs.
In this article, we will discuss safe and effective ways to free up space: you will learn how to find hidden files, clean the cache without losing data and use special tools for deep cleaning. Proper memory management will prolong the life of your gadget and return it to its previous speed.
What is hidden in the “Other” section really?
The Other section is not a single file, but a collection of data, and it's primarily an app cache, and messengers like Telegram and Viber store images and videos they've viewed in local memory to load them faster when they're reopened, and over time, that cache can take 10, 20, or even 50 GB.
Also included are temporary system files that are created during updates or background processes, sometimes from download folders that the system does not recognize as media or documents, and offline navigator maps and downloaded music tracks are often disguised as “Other.”
- 📦 Social media and messenger cache
- 📄 Temporary system files and error logs
- 🗺️ Offline navigation and streaming services data
- 📂 System and application update files
It is important to understand that deleting the contents of this section will not harm the smartphone if done correctly, however, blindly removing system folders through the file manager can lead to failures.
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Before you start cleaning, back up your important data to a cloud drive or computer to prevent accidental loss of information.
Use of the built-in "Security" application
The easiest and safest way to start cleaning is to use Xiaomi’s standard toolkit.* Every smartphone has a Security app preinstalled, which has a built-in cleaning module that analyzes the storage and suggests removing garbage.
Launch the app and click on the Cleanup button, and the system scans the device and finds temporary files, advertising debris and remnants of deleted applications. Click Clean to delete what you find. This method is safe, because MIUI algorithms do not touch important system files.
☑️ Quick cleaning algorithm
If the standard cleaning didn't help much, go to the Deep Cleaning section inside the same app, where you can find large files, duplicate photos and rarely used apps. Be careful when removing large files: make sure they're not important documents or work projects.
⚠️ Warning: Do not use third-party clicker apps from Play Market with aggressive advertising.They often require extra permissions and can delete the desired data or display intrusive advertising, slowing down the phone even more.
Clearing the messenger cache: Telegram and WhatsApp
The main culprit for overflowing the “Other” section is most often Telegram**, which stores all the media files viewed in the device’s memory by default, and to fix this, you need to go to the settings of the application itself, not the phone.
Open Telegram**, go to Settings → Data and Memory → Memory Use. Here you will see the amount of cache you are cacheing. Click Clear Cache. Don't worry, your photos and videos won't disappear from chat rooms - they will just be deleted from the device and re-downloaded from the cloud if necessary.
Why does Telegram take up so much space?
WhatsApp is similar, but there is a nuance: You can set up auto-delete media files in WhatsApp chat settings, and you can check the WhatsApp/Media/.Statuses folder through the file manager, which can store thousands of viewed statuses that formally refer to the Other.
- 🗑️ Telegram cache cleared without loss of correspondence
- ⚙️ WhatsApp can turn off auto-save in the gallery
- 📂 WhatsApp status folder often inflates the amount of data
- 🔄 Cleaning regularly once a month will prevent problems.
Storage analysis through file manager
For more advanced users, manual analysis through built-in Explorer is fine. Click on the menu (three bars) and select Analyzer. This tool will visually show which folders take up the most space, you can see the structure of files and find forgotten downloads.
Notice folders with names of remote applications, and often when you uninstall a game or program, you have a folder with a name and a weight of several gigabytes at the root of your internal memory, and you can delete those tails.
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The built-in storage analyzer is the best tool for visually understanding what exactly is taking up space on your drive.
It is also worth checking the Download folder. installation files often get there. APK, PDF-Deleting these files will instantly reduce the amount of memory you have.
Comparison of Memory Cleaning Methods
There are several approaches to solving memory overflow, each with its own advantages and risks, and below is a table to help you choose the best method depending on your situation.
| Method | Efficiency | Security | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard cleaning | Low. | Tall. | Minimum |
| Cleaning up the app cache | Medium | Tall. | Low. |
| Manual deletion of files | Tall. | Medium | Medium |
| Full reset (Wipe) | Maximum | Demands backup. | Tall. |
As you can see from the table, the first two methods are enough for regular maintenance. Manual removal requires care not to erase the excess. Complete reset is a radical measure that should be resorted to if other methods do not help or if the phone is unstable.
Radical method: Full reset to factory settings
If the Other partition takes up half the memory and doesn't shrink after cleaning the cache, there may be some errors in the file system, in which case a full reset will help, which will return the phone to the out-of-the-box state.
Before the procedure, be sure to save all contacts, photos and files to your computer or to the cloud. Google/Mi Cloud. Once reset, it will be impossible to recover data without a backup. → The phone. → Resetting settings → Erase all data.
⚠️ Warning: Make sure the battery is more than 50% before starting a reset. interruption of the process by turning off the phone can cause damage to the system partition and inability to boot.
Once you reboot, the phone will be clean. The Other section will be reduced to a minimum (a few hundred megabytes). When installing applications, try not to restore the entire system settings backup, but only download apps and media to avoid returning old errors.
Prevention: How to avoid overcrowding in the future
To prevent the problem from returning in a month, change your smartphone usage habits. In Xiaomi camera settings, you can choose to save a photo in a lower resolution or HEIF format, which takes up less space.
Use cloud storage. Google Photos with Free Space automatically removes images from your device that are already uploaded to the cloud. This is a great way to keep the gallery clean.
- 🚫 Turn off auto-save media in the gallery
- ☁️ Set up sync with the cloud
- 🧹 Once a month, start a standard cleaning.
- 📱 Watch the weight of installed applications
Regular storage control will allow your Xiaomi** to run fast and consistently for years to come.Do not allow critical memory filling, as this speeds up the wear and tear of the device’s flash memory.