How to view hidden photos on Xiaomi: all the ways to MIUI 12-14

Have you accidentally hidden important photos in Xiaomi’s “Secret Album” or suspect someone has hidden photos on your device? The MIUI operating system has several built-in mechanisms for hiding media files, from the standard “Secure Album” to system folders that are not available through the gallery. This article will help you figure out how to find hidden photos on Xiaomi in any of 5 working ways, including recovering deleted files and bypassing passwords.

We analyzed current versions of MIUI 12-14 (including shells for Redmi, POCO and Black Shark) and identified all possible locations for hidden images, from obvious to obscure. Importantly, some methods require root rights or PC connectivity, but most work without additional tools. If you're looking for specific information, use the table of contents below.

We warn you in advance that attempts to hack other people’s hidden albums without the permission of the owner may violate privacy laws (Article 137 of the Criminal Code), which is designed to restore your own lost files or parental control.

1. Standard "Secure Album" at Xiaomi Gallery

The easiest way to hide photos on Xiaomi is to use the built-in Secure Album (formerly the Secret Album) feature, which is available in the standard Gallery app and does not require third-party software installation.

1. Open the Gallery app on your smartphone.
2. Slip along three horizontal lines (menu) in the upper right corner.
3. Select Protected Album (may be called Private Safe in English).
4. Enter the password, fingerprint or pattern lock you previously set.

If you forget the password for a protected album, you can reset it through Settings → Passwords & Security → Privacy → Secure Album → Forgot the password?. However, you will need to enter the password from the Mi Account account associated with the device.

⚠️ Note: When you reset your password through Mi Account, all files in the protected album will be deleted without recovery.

In some versions of MIUI (e.g., POCO F5 or Redmi Note 12), the protected album can be hidden in the settings to enable it:

1. Go to Settings → Privacy → Secure album.
2. Activate the slider Show the album in the Gallery.
3. Set a new password or use biometrics.

2. System folders with hidden files (without root)

Even if you haven't used a secure album, Xiaomi automatically creates hidden folders for temporary files, cache and backups, which can be found through any file manager with access to the root directory (such as Mi File Explorer, Solid Explorer or FX File Manager).

• 📁 /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/ExtraScreenShot/ — Screenshots taken via the “Advanced Screen” (screen duplication function).
• 📁 /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/ScreenRecorder/ — Screen recordings (sometimes thumbnails are saved).
• 📁 /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.miui.gallery/ — cache and temporary gallery files (may contain thumbnails of deleted photos).
• 📁 /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.thumbnails/ — Reduced copies of all photos (even deleted ones).

To see hidden folders in Mi File Explorer:

1. Open the Files app.
2. Slip on three points in the upper right corner → Settings.
3. Enable the option to show hidden files.
4. Go to the root directory (/storage/emulated/0/) and manually check the paths above.

Important: The.thumbnails folder can contain thumbnails of photos you deleted from the gallery long ago, which can't be opened in full size, but can tell you what photos existed on the device.

Enable the display of hidden folders in the file manager

Check the.thumbnails folder in DCIM

Search MIUI/ExtraScreenShot and MIUI/ScreenRecorder

View the cache of the gallery in Android/data/com.miui.gallery/

Use search by extensions (.jpg,.png)-->

3. Recover deleted photos via DiskDigger

If photos have been removed from the gallery (including from a protected album), you can try to recover them using the DiskDigger utility, which works even if the files are not displayed in standard folders.

1. Download DiskDigger from Google Play (free version supports photo recovery).
2. Launch the application and give access to the storage.
3. Select the scan method: No root: Basic scan (find thumbnails and file fragments). From root: Full scan (restore the originals in full resolution).

Wait until the process is completed (it can take 10–30 minutes).

Restore

Restored files will be saved to the DiskDigger folder on the internal drive. Please note that without root permissions, the program will only find photos that have not yet been overwritten by the new data. The more time has passed after deleting, the lower the chances of success.

⚠️ Warning: Don't save recovered files to the same medium they were deleted from! Use cloud, PC, or external flash drive to avoid overwriting.

4. Access to hidden files via PC (ADB and MTP)

If you have disabled the display of hidden folders or blocked access to the file manager, you can connect Xiaomi to your computer and view all data through the MTP or ADB protocol. This is especially useful if you suspect that the photos are hidden in non-standard places.

Method 1: Through Windows Explorer (MTP)

1. Connect your smartphone to your PC through USB-cable.
2. On your phone, select File Transfer (MTP) mode.
3. Open This Computer on PC → Find a Xiaomi Device
4. In the address bar of the conductor, enter the path: \%Name Device%\Internal shared storage\(replace %Name Device% with the real name of your phone).
5. Enable the display of hidden files in Windows (View → Hidden Items).
6. Check the folders: 📁 MIUI\Camera\ — photobackups. 📁 Android\data\com.miui.gallery\cache\ — gallery-cash. 📁 Pictures\.nomedia\ — Folders excluded from media scanning.

Method 2: ADB (for advanced users)

If MTP doesn’t show all files, use ADB (Android Debug Bridge) which requires USB debugging:

1. Activate Developer Mode on Xiaomi (7 times tap the MIUI version in your phone settings).

💡

If ADB doesn’t recognize the device, update Xiaomi drivers via Mi PC Suite or install Google Platform Tools.

5. Password circumvention of a protected album (ways for the forgetful)

If you have forgotten the password from the protected album, but remember the data from Mi Account, use the official reset method:

1. Go to Settings → Passwords and Security → Privacy → Secure Album.
2. “Forgot the password?”
3. Enter the username and password from your Xiaomi account.
4. Confirm the reset – the album will be unlocked, but all files inside will be deleted.

If Mi Account access is also lost, alternative methods remain, one of which is to use a backup (if any)

1. Go to Settings → About Phone → Backup and Reset → Local Backups.
2. Find the backup created before the album was blocked.
3. Restore data from the backup (Warning: This will overwrite the current settings!).

⚠️ Warning: Attempts to hack a protected album through root or modified firmware (custom) ROM) This can lead to loss of warranty and blocking of Mi Account for suspicious activity.

6.Search for hidden photos in the Mi Cloud

If your Xiaomi had Mi Cloud sync enabled, the hidden photos could have been saved to the cloud to be found:

1. Go to i.mi.com and log in.
2. Select the Gallery or Photos section.
3. Turn on the Hidden Filter (if any) or check the Private folder.
4. Download the necessary files to a PC or other device.

Note that Mi Cloud only stores photos that were uploaded to the cloud before they were hidden in a secure album, and if you first hid the photos and then switched on sync, they won't get to the cloud.

To check if synchronization is enabled:

1. Open your Settings → Accounts → Mi Cloud
2. Make sure the gallery slider is active.
3. Slip around the gallery and check which folders are synced.

💡

Mi Cloud stores photos in original quality only for premium subscription. Free account saves photos in compressed form (resolution up to 2048×2048 pixels).

7. Verification of third-party applications to hide files

In addition to standard MIUI tools, users often install third-party apps to hide photos.

• 🔒 KeepSafe – Creates a secure environment PIN-code-book.
• 🔒 GalleryVault – masks the application as a calculator.
• 🔒 Hide It Pro (Audio Manager) – Hide It Pro (Audio Manager.
• 🔒 Vaulty – automatically hides screenshots and photos on schedule.

To find such applications:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Sort the list by Size or Installation Date.
3. Check out apps with suspicious names (e.g. Calculator%, Audio Hide).
4. Delete or reset the password through the app settings (if you set it).

Some applications (such as Hide It Pro) are disguised as system utilities to detect them:

• Check the list of Special Access Rights in the security settings.
• Look for programs with Overlay rights over other applications or Device Administrator.

FAQ: Frequent questions about hidden photos on Xiaomi