Xiaomi smartphone owners are facing a slowdown and a lack of space, due to the accumulation of temporary files, residual data from remote applications and bloated messenger cache. Unlike automatic cleaners, manual cleaning allows you to penetrate deeper into the structure of the file system and remove exactly what is really taking up space.
In this guide, we will discuss safe methods for removing garbage without the need to obtain root rights. You will learn to find hidden folders, clean the cache of specific programs and use the built-in tools MIUI and HyperOS to optimize memory.
Xiaomi's Android system partition takes up to 15GB of space, and without regular cleaning, that volume could double in a year of active use. It's important to understand which files can be deleted without risking damage to the operating system, and which ones are strictly forbidden. Let's start with basic diagnostics.
Memory Occupation Analysis and Search for Place Eaters
Before you start deleting, you need to clearly understand what exactly occupies precious space. Xiaomi's built-in tools offer fairly transparent statistics, but often hide details. You need to go to Settings → Memory to see the overall picture of resource allocation.
Special attention should be paid to the "Other" section, which often hides caches of streaming services, downloaded files from messengers and temporary update files, if this section is bloated to unprecedented size, a standard cleaning may not help.
For more detailed analysis, third-party visualization tools like Files by Google or DiskUsage show a memory card in the form of graphical blocks, where you can immediately see which folder or application has eaten gigabytes.
- 📱 Check the Apps section in the settings to find programs that take up more than 1GB.
- 🗑️ Pay attention to the Download folder, where often lie forgotten installers APK.
- 📸 Gallery can store deleted photos in the basket for up to 30 days, taking up space.
- 💬 Messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp) create huge archives of media files.
⚠️ Note: Do not delete files from folders with the names Android, data or obb in their entirety unless you are sure of their belongings.
Clearing cache and temporary files through settings
The safest and first step to freeing up space is to work with the built-in Security app. This is Xiaomi's regular tool that has access to system temporary files. Launch the app, select Clean up, and wait for the scan to be completed.
However, automatic mode often skips large social media cache files. You need to go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Here you should manually go through the "heavy" programs: YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, browsers.
Inside each app's menu, look for the "Storage" button, and you'll see two options: "Clear cache" and "Clear everything." The first deletes temporary data (miniatures, avatars, video buffer), the second resets the app to factory status, requiring re-authorization.
☑️ Checklist of manual cleaning of applications
Regularly cleaning browser cache can free up 500 MB to 2 GB of space. In Chrome or MI Browser, this is done through the internal history menu. Remember that after this procedure, sites can load a little longer on the first visit, as the images will be downloaded again.
Manual removal of garbage through a conductor
For advanced users, a cleaning method is available through the standard MIUI Explorer. Open the Explorer app and go to the internal drive root folder, and there are folders with the names of the installed applications.
Look for folders with the prefix tencent (for products of this company), com.whatsapp, com.instagram.android. They often contain subfolders cache or temp. The contents of these directories can be safely deleted.
It's also worth checking out the DCIM folder, which may have a.thumbnails folder inside it that stores thumbnails of your photos. If you deleted thousands of photos but the space didn't vacate, it's probably this hidden folder that's bloated.
| folder | Description of the contents | Can I remove it? |
|---|---|---|
| /MIUI/debug_log | Logs of system debugging | Yeah, unless it's debugging. |
| /Android/data | Application data | Only the contents of the cache |
| /Tencent/MicroMsg | WeChat garbage | Careful, just the cache. |
| /Download | Downloads from the Internet | Yeah, after the check. |
Be careful when you delete files with the.apk extension. These are installation packages. If you've already installed an application, it's a very good idea to use it. APK-The file is no longer needed and takes up space. Find all such files through the Explorer extension search.
Hidden folders in Android
Cleaning messengers: Telegram and WhatsApp
Messengers are the main culprits behind the memory shortage on modern smartphones. Telegram, for example, by default caches all the photos and videos viewed, over time, this cache can reach 10-20 GB.
To clean up, go to the settings of the messenger itself. In Telegram, the path looks like this: Settings → Data and memory → Memory Use. Here you can not only clear the cache, but also configure autodelete files 3 days or a week after viewing.
WhatsApp is different: it stores files in a shared file system, you need to go to the Android/media/com.whatsapp folder (or just WhatsApp in older versions of Android), and there are Media folders that contain heavy video and voice messages inside.
- 🗣️ Voice messages take up little space, but thousands of them can be gigabytes.
- 🎥 Video files from work chats are often duplicated and not needed after viewing.
- 📎 Documents sent repeatedly are also copied to the device memory.
⚠️ Warning: Before manually cleaning messenger folders, make sure to back up important dialogs to the cloud. Deleting files from the Media folder will remove them from correspondence as well.
Use the built-in Memory Management feature in chat settings, which will show which dialogs occupy the most space, and allow you to delete media files selectively without losing text.
Delete residual files after deleting applications
When you delete an app in the standard way, you often have tails in your memory — folders with settings, logs, and time data — and Android doesn’t always work out the uninstallation process correctly.
To find these residues, use a keyword search in Explorer. Type the name of a remote game or program. If you find a folder with that name, check its contents. If there are no important saves, you can safely delete the folder.
A special case is large-catch games (Genshin Impact, PUBG) that can leave gigabyte files in the Android/obb folder. Make sure the game is removed completely before manually cleaning this directory.
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Tip: Install a file manager with a duplicate search function that will help you find copies of photos or documents that may have been left over from old applications and occupied space.
Some Xiaomi system applications also generate logs. The MIUI/log folder can grow if the system has crashed, and it is safe to clean, but logs can reappear after the next error.
Using ADB for deep cleaning of the system
For users who are not afraid of a computer, there is a method of cleaning through ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which allows you to remove system debris and cache that is not available through the usual interface.
You will need to turn on "Debugging by" USB" in the "For Developers" menu (to activate the menu, you need to click on the build number 7 times in Settings) → Then connect the phone to the PC and execute the cache clear command.
adb shell pm trim-caches 999999999This command forcibly trims the cache of all applications to a minimum, and you can use the adb shell pm clear command to completely clean a particular application, including its data.
⚠️ Attention: Working with ADB Incorrect commands can lead to the removal of system components. Use this method only if you understand what you are doing.
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ADB is a powerful tool, but it’s safer for the average user to limit themselves to built-in cleaning tools and manually cleaning Download and DCIM folders.
Prevention of memory overflow
So to avoid going back to the cleanup every two weeks, change your smartphone habits, turn off auto-save statuses on WhatsApp and Instagram stories, which you're unlikely to need, and you're not going to need.
Use cloud storage. Google Photos or Xiaomi Cloud can automatically upload and delete pictures from the device, freeing up gigabytes of space. Syncing will take 5 minutes, but saves memory.
Check the Downloads folder regularly, and the files you downloaded a month ago are probably no longer relevant, and the habit of manually running through the main folders once a month is more effective than any automatic accelerators.