Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face situations where the internal memory of a device is rapidly filled with video content, which can be the result of active shooting in high resolution or the accumulation of files from messengers. Cleaning a gallery is not just deleting files, but a complex process that requires understanding the structure of the MIUI or HyperOS file system. Wrong actions can lead to the loss of important data or, conversely, leave “junk” files in the system.
The standard deletion procedure seems simple, but Xiaomi’s ecosystem has its nuances. For example, deleted files often don’t disappear completely, but move to a special basket, continuing to occupy space. In addition, many users are unaware of the existence of hidden albums or system folders where media files can be duplicated. In this article, we will discuss in detail all cleaning methods, from basic to advanced, including working with a file manager.
Effective management of the media library allows not only to free up gigabytes of space, but also to speed up the interface. When the storage is full, the system starts to work slower, and applications can close unexpectedly. Understanding how to remove video in the Xiaomi gallery correctly will help you keep the device in optimal condition without the need to buy memory cards or cloud subscriptions.
Basic video removal through a standard gallery
The most obvious way to free up space is to use the built-in Gallery app. The interface here is intuitive, but has hidden mass selection features. To start, open the app and go to the Albums or Photos section. Select the album you want, like Camera or Screenshots, where most of the video content is usually stored.
To delete one file, just click on it, and then select the basket icon. However, to clean up a lot of data, it is more effective to use multiple choice mode. Press and hold your finger on the first video, and then swipe across the screen or point to select the remaining files. In the upper corner, a counter of selected objects will appear.
⚠️ Note: When you delete a large number of videos (more than 100 pieces), the system may request confirmation of the operation or temporarily freeze.Do not try to abruptly close the application at this point, let the process terminate to avoid damage to the database of thumbnails.
When you press the delete button, the files don't get erased permanently, they go to a buffer that works like last logged in, first logged out, and it's a security mechanism for Android and its shells that allows you to recover something that's accidentally deleted, but if your goal is to free up disk space as quickly as possible, that step is not enough.
- 📱 Open the Gallery app on the main screen.
- 🗑️ Press and hold the video to go into Select Mode.
- ✅ Select all unnecessary files with a swipe or pinpoint press.
- 🚮 Press the basket icon and confirm the action.
Cleaning the basket to free up memory
Many users wonder why the memory of the phone hasn't increased after the video was deleted, and the answer lies in the folder "Recently deleted," which stores files for 30 days, and then the system automatically destroys them, and if you want space right now, this folder needs to be manually cleaned.
You can find the cart at the bottom of the gallery interface by going to the Albums tab and scrolling to the bottom of the list, and you'll see the item "Recently Deleted." Inside, you'll see all the photos and videos that have been deleted in the last month, and the option "Clean" or "Delete All" will permanently erase the data from the drive, and it will be impossible to restore them with standard means.
⚠️ Warning: Cleaning the cart is irreversible. Make sure that no important records are accidentally lost among the deleted files, since recovering from this will require the use of complex PC software and does not guarantee success.
Interestingly, the amount of space you can take up in the cart can reach several gigabytes if you regularly shoot video at 4K or 1080p at 60 FPS. Regularly checking this folder should become a habit, especially before installing heavy games or system updates, and this is the easiest way to maintain order without using third-party utilities.
Removing hidden and protected videos
In the MIUI and HyperOS shells, there is a Hidden Album feature designed to protect sensitive content with a password or fingerprint. Videos that get there are not displayed in the shared feed or visible during normal viewing. To remove them, you first need to access this secure partition.
To enter the hidden album, open the standard gallery and pull your finger down the center of the screen (swipe from the bottom up in some versions) until a password or biometric request appears. Once authorized, a separate space will open where hidden media files are stored. Deletion is similar to the usual mode: you select a video and press the delete button.
It is important to understand that after deleting from the hidden album, files also fall into the “Recently Deleted” basket if it is active. However, in some security configurations, the system may suggest removing them immediately permanently, bypassing the buffer.
- 🔒 Open the gallery and swipe up to enter the hidden album.
- 👆 Pass biometric authorization or enter a password.
- 🎬 Select the videos that need to be removed.
- ❌ Press the delete button and confirm the selection.
What to do if you forget the password from the hidden album?
File management through File Manager
Sometimes the gallery displays videos that are physically in messenger folders or app cache and it's not convenient to delete them through the standard interface, and in this case, the System File Manager comes to the rescue, and this tool allows you to see the real directory structure on the device.
Go to the Internal Drive section and find the DCIM folder. This is where the camera snaps and videos are saved by default. Your personal records are stored inside the Camera folder. It's also worth checking the WhatsApp, Telegram and Video folders, which often accumulate content from social networks.
Using a file manager gives you more precise control. You can sort files by size, which helps you quickly find the "heavy" videos that take up the most space. Deletion through this interface is instantaneous, bypassing some of the gallery's visuals, which speeds up the cleaning process.
☑️ Checking folders for cleaning
There's also the option of sorting by date of change, which is useful if you want to delete old archival records for a specific period, just highlight a range of files and delete them, which is especially true for users who rarely clean their phone and store terabytes of data.
Sync with the Mi Cloud and Google Photos
Xiaomi’s current smartphones are closely integrated with cloud services, and if you’re syncing with Mi Cloud or Google Photos, deleting videos on your device can affect their presence in the cloud and on other devices, a critical point that is often overlooked.
When you delete a file in a gallery, the system can ask, "Delete only from the device" or "Delete everywhere." The "Delete everywhere" option will erase the video from the cloud storage and from all the gadgets where you log in to this akka!unt. If you want to just free up space on your phone but save the video in the cloud, choose the appropriate option.
Google Photos has a Free Space feature that automatically removes photos and videos that are already successfully uploaded to the cloud and backed up, a safe way to clear up memory without risking losing data forever.
| Action. | Impact on the device | Impact on the cloud | Impact on other devices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Remove from the device | File disappears | File stays. | File stays. |
| Delete everywhere | File disappears | File is deleted | File is deleted |
| Clean the basket. | Place vacated | Place vacated | Place vacated |
| Hide the album | File hidden | File hidden/protected | Depends on the settings. |
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Before mass cleaning of the gallery, be sure to check the synchronization status. If the cloud icon next to the photo is crossed out or has an exclamation mark, then the backup is not created, and deleting the file will lead to its complete loss.
Solving problems: When videos are not deleted
Sometimes users are faced with a situation where the system gives an error when trying to delete a file or the process freezes, this can be caused by a file system corruption, a malfunction of the media scanner or a lack of RAM to perform the operation.
Try to reboot your smartphone first. This simple action often solves problems with hanging processes. If the error repeats, check for updates for the Gallery app and system components through the GetApps store or Play Market.
If the problem is systemic, you can try to clear the Gallery app cache. Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps → Gallery → Memory → Clear the cache. Note: do not confuse with Clear Data, as this will reset the application settings, but will not delete your photos.
⚠️ Note: If the video file is damaged (has broken sectors or an incorrect header), it may not be deleted by standard means. MTP and deleting the file via the computer or using the command line ADB.
In rare cases, safe mode helps, and when you download it, you disable all third-party applications that can block access to the file system, and if the video is successfully deleted in safe mode, then one of the applications you installed caused a conflict.
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If standard deletion methods don’t work, the problem is often a software conflict or damage to the media index, and rebooting and cleaning the cache solves 90% of these situations.