Home / News / Where to store a personal album on Xiaomi: 5 ways to find hidden and protected photos

A personal album on Xiaomi smartphones is not just a folder of photos, but a secure storage that many users accidentally hide or lose sight of, you could have moved important pictures there years ago, and now you can't remember how to get there, or, on the contrary, you found that part of the photo disappeared from the main gallery, they could automatically move to the hidden partition after the MIUI update.

In this article, we will look at all possible places where Xiaomi can store personal photos, from standard folders to system directories, accessible only through the file manager, and also tell you how to restore access if the album suddenly disappeared after resetting or changing your Mi Account.

Important: Album hiding algorithms have changed with the release of new versions of MIUI. If you have a smartphone older than 2020 (for example, Redmi Note 8 Pro or Mi 9T), some of the features may work differently. For modern models (Xiaomi 13 Ultra, POCO F5), all the methods described below are relevant.

Before you start searching, check the obvious: your photos may just be archived in Google Photos or synced with Mi Cloud. But if you're sure the photos were stored locally, read on.

1. Standard path: The Personal Album folder in the Gallery

In most cases, personal photos on Xiaomi are hidden in a separate section of the standard Gallery app.

1. Open the Gallery app (an icon with multi-colored squares).

2. Slip on the three horizontal lines in the lower right corner (album menu).

3. Scroll down the list – there should be a folder “Personal Album” or “Private Safe” (on English firmware).

If the folder is not available, try swiping down the album screen — sometimes it's hidden behind the Show Everything button. On some models (Redmi 10, POCO X3), a personal album may be called "Secure Files" or "Hidden."

• 🔍 What if the folder isn't displayed? It may be disabled in the settings. Go to Gallery Settings. → Hidden albums and activate the switch.
• 🔐 How do you reset your password? PIN-access code, you will have to reset your phone settings (see section 5).
• ⚙️ Why are the photos missing from the album? MIUI 14+ Automatic cleaning function enabled - check Settings → Warehouse → Cleanup.

2. Hidden system folders: where Xiaomi hides photos from the user

Xiaomi uses several hidden directories to store protected data, which are not visible in the standard gallery, but can be found through a file manager (for example, Mi File Explorer or Solid Explorer).

The main ways in which personal photos can be found:

/storage/emulated/0/MIUI/Gallery/cloud/private/


/storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.miui.gallery/files/Private/




/storage/emulated/0/Pictures/.hidden/

To see these folders:

1. Open Files (standard manager from Xiaomi)
2. Slip on three dots in the upper right corner → Settings → turn on Show hidden files.
3. Follow one of the paths mentioned above.

Warning: Do not delete.nomedia files in these folders, which are responsible for hiding content from the gallery, and if you delete such files, photos can suddenly appear in the main album.

3. Access via Mi Account: Cloud storage of personal photos

If your Xiaomi account was linked to Mi Account, your personal photos could be synced to the cloud.

1. Open Settings → Accounts → Mi Account.

2. Select Mi Cloud → Gallery.

3. See if the synchronization of the "Personal Album" is enabled**.

If yes, you can recover the photo even after the phone is reset:

1. Sign in to the same Mi Account on any device.
2. Go to i.mi.com (the web version of the cloud).
3. In the Gallery section, find the “Private” or “Secure” folder.

⚠️ Note: Xiaomi only stores photos deleted from the cloud for 30 days, and then you can’t restore them without backups.

4. Recovery of deleted photos from personal album

If a photo is missing from your personal album, check the cart in the gallery first (Recently Deleted section) for up to 30 days.

1. Use applications like DiskDigger or Recuva (root rights required for full scanning).

2 Connect your phone to your PC and scan the internal memory with EaseUS MobiSaver.

For devices with MIUI 12+, there is a built-in recovery function:

Settings → Memory → Cleanup → File Recovery

⚠️ Warning: Do not write new files to your phone after losing a photo - this reduces the chances of recovery. It is better to immediately remove the memory card (if you have one) and connect it to the PC through the card reader.

Check the basket in the gallery|Look in the folders. /MIUI/Gallery/private/|Try to recover via Mi Cloud|Scan your memory with specialized programs|Check backups on Google Drive-->

5. Reset the password of a personal album without loss of data

If you've forgotten your personal album password, there's no official way to reset it without losing your data.

1. Reset via Mi Account (works on MIUI 13+):

Go to Settings → Passwords and Security → Personal Album.

- Select Forgot a password? and confirm the action via SMS or email.

2. Delete the key file (requires root or ADB):

Connect your phone to your PC and execute the command:

adb shell rm /data/system/private_space_key

After the reboot, the album will be unlocked, but the photos will remain.

3. Reset settings (extreme case):

- Settings → About the phone → Resetting settings.

- Important: Pre-return through Settings → Additional → Backup.

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If you have Mi Cloud sync enabled, check before resetting your password if the photos are uploaded to the cloud. Once unlocked, they can be duplicated in the main gallery.

6.Alternative methods: ADB, TWRP and third-party applications

For advanced users, there are methods to access a personal album through an engineering menu or custom recovery.

Method 1: ADB-teams (without root):

adb shell


su




ls /data/media/0/MIUI/Gallery/private/

If the folder exists, copy its contents to the PC:

adb pull /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/Gallery/private/ C:\Backup\

Method 2: TWRP Recovery (requires an unlocked bootloader):

1. Install TWRP for your model.
2. Download to recovery, select Mount → System.
3. Connect your phone to your PC and copy /data/media/0/MIUI/Gallery/private/.

Method 3: Applications for viewing hidden files:

File Manager+ (shows system folders without root)

FX Explorer (with ADB support)

Root Browser (only for rooted devices)

⚠️ Attention: Use ADB and TWRP This can lead to the loss of warranty on Xiaomi devices. on models with a locked bootloader (Redmi Note 11, Xiaomi) 12T) These methods will not work without prior unlocking.

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The most reliable way to save a photo from a personal album is to regularly back up to Mi Cloud or an external drive, and system failures or resets can permanently delete local data.

FAQ: Frequent questions about a personal album on Xiaomi