How to completely clean up the history on the Xiaomi smartphone: instructions for all models

Xiaomi’s MIUI-based smartphones collect a huge amount of data about your activity: browser history, call log, instant messenger correspondence, geolocation, even microphone recordings. If you plan to sell the phone, transfer it to relatives, or just want to ensure privacy, a complete cleanup of history becomes a must. But standard deletion methods through the settings menu often leave “digital footprints” that can be restored with special utilities.

In this article, we will look at all the ways to clean up history on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices, from basic (delete via settings) to advanced (reset via Recovery and Fastboot), focusing on hidden system logs that are not deleted through standard menus, as well as the nuances for different versions of MIUI (12 to 14).

1. How to clear your browser history on Xiaomi

Xiaomi smartphones use the Mi Browser browser by default (or Google Chrome if you installed it), both store your browsing history, cookies, cache and autocomplete data, and even after deleting the history through the browser menu, some of the data may remain in the MIUI system logs — they will have to be cleaned separately.

To remove the story in Mi Browser:

• 📱 Open the browser and click on the three dots in the upper right corner.
• 🗑️ Choose a History. → Clear the data.
• ✅ Check boxes: “History”, “Cookies and Site Data”, “Cached Images».
• 🔄 Click “Clean” and confirm the action.

For Google Chrome, the path is different:

• 🔍 Tap it on three points. → History → Clear the data.
• 📅 Select a period (e.g., "All Time»).
• ✅ Mark all points and click "Delete data».

⚠️ Note: If you used Incognito mode in Chrome, the history of visits is not saved, but DNS-Requests may remain in the logs MIUI. A complete cleanup will require a reset of the network (see Section 5).

2. Delete call and message history

Call logs and SMS are stored in separate parts of the system, and unlike the browser, you can delete data selectively (individual contacts or messages) or completely. However, there is a caveat: MIUI reserves some logs in the Mi Cloud, if you have synchronization enabled, you need to work in two steps to delete them irrevocably.

Clearing the call log:

1. Open the Phone app.
2. Press three points. → Call magazine.
3. Hit three points again. → Delete.
4. Select “All” or specific records → confirm deletion.

Removal of SMS and MMS:

• 📩 Open the Messages app.
• 🔍 Press three points. → Settings → Clearing of messages.
• 🗑️ Select “Delete all messages” or filter by date/contact.

Make sure important messages are saved in the cloud or on PC

Disable sync with Mi Cloud (if you want to delete the data completely)

Check if SMS is linked to two-act authentication (2FA)

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If you want to delete messages without recovery, use Factory Settings (see Section 6) as the only way to erase data from system partitions where standard methods don’t get to.

3. Clearing history in applications (YouTube, Google Maps, social networks)

Google apps and social networks (Facebook, Instagram, VK) store their own activity history, which is not deleted through Xiaomi settings, for example, YouTube remembers videos viewed, and Google Maps remembers routes and places visited, and to clear this data, you need to go to the settings of each application separately.

For YouTube:

• 🎥 Open the app, tap on the avatar. → Your story.
• 🗑️ Click on three dots next to the video → Remove from viewing history.
• 🔄 For complete cleaning: Settings → History and confidentiality → Clear viewing history.

For Google Maps:

• 🗺️ Open the app. → tap on the avatar → Your chronology.
• ⚙️ Press three points. → Settings and privacy → Delete chronological data.
• 📅 Select a period (e.g., “All Time”) and confirm.

Social media is more complicated: Facebook and Instagram don't let you delete your activity history at a time, you have to manually erase likes, comments and search queries through the web version or mobile app, you can use scripts (like Facebook Activity Log Cleaner) to speed up the process, but they require technical skills.

4. Hidden MIUI Logs: What Remains After Standard Cleaning

Even if you have deleted your browser history, calls, and messages, the MIUI shell continues to store system logs in folders:

• /data/log/ – error logs and debugging information
• /data/system/ – data on Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, geolocation connections;
• /data/misc/ is the cache of Google and MIUI services.

These files are not visible through standard conductor, but can be viewed using a Root Explorer (such as Root Explorer) or ADB. To clear them without root rights, you will have to reset them to factory settings (see Section 6).

⚠️ Note: If you sell a phone, it is not enough to simply erase the history through settings. A customer using programs like Dr.Fone or EaseUS MobiSaver will be able to recover some of the data. Use Fastboot commands to guarantee deletion (section 7).

5. Cleanup of connection history (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, geolocation)

Xiaomi smartphones remember all the Wi-Fi networks you have connected to, Bluetooth devices (earphones, fitness bracelets), and geolocation history.

• 📶 Settings → Wi-Fi → Save networks;
• 🔵 Settings → Bluetooth → History of devices;
• 📍 Settings → Confidentiality → Location history.

To remove them:

1. Wi-Fi: Go to Settings → Wi-Fi, tap on the network → Delete.
2. Bluetooth: In Settings → Bluetooth, click on the gear next to the device → Disable/Delete.
3. Geolocation: In Settings → Privacy → Location History, select Clear History.

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If you want to reset your network settings completely (including: VPN, APN and proxy, go to Settings → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Reset the network settings. This will delete all saved Wi-Fi passwords!

For advanced users: If you need to remove all Wi-Fi networks right away (like before selling your phone), use the ADB-team:

adb shell pm clear com.android.providers.settings

This command will reset all network settings, including saved passwords.

6. Complete reset (Hard Reset)

If you want to delete all data (including hidden MIUI logs) guaranteed, the only reliable way is to reset to factory settings.

• 📱 All applications and their data;
• 📂 Photos, videos, music (if stored in the phone’s memory);
• 🔑 Wi-Fi passwords, accounts Google/Mi;
• 📊 System logs and cache.

How to make a Hard Reset:

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Select to erase all data (reset).
3. Enter. PIN-code (if requested).
4. Confirm the action and wait for the reboot.

⚠️ Note: After resetting, the phone will require you to enter data from the last associated Mi Account (if Mi Cloud protection was enabled).If you forget the password, it will be difficult to unlock the device - you will need to contact Xiaomi support.

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Hard Reset does not erase data from a microSD card, if it has stored photos or documents, retrieve it before reset or format it separately.

7. Advanced methods: Cleaning through Fastboot and ADB

For users who want to delete all data as securely as possible (for example, before selling a phone), a standard reset may not be enough, in which case cleaning through Fastboot or ADB modes will help.

Method 1: Clean up via Fastboot (for all Xiaomi models)

1. Turn off your phone and press the Power button + Volume down to log into the Fastboot.
2. Connect your phone to your PC and open the command line.
3. Enter the command for complete cleaning: fastboot erase userdata fastboot erase cache
4. Reboot the device: fastboot reboot

Method 2: Cleaning through ADB (without data loss but with logs deleted)

If you don’t want to reset your phone completely, but you need to delete your system logs, use:

adb shell pm clear --user 0 com.miui.system


adb shell rm -rf /data/log/*




adb shell rm -rf /data/misc/location/*

FAQ: Frequent questions about cleaning up history on Xiaomi