How to completely remove an album in a gallery on Xiaomi: all working ways

Removing unnecessary albums in the Xiaomi gallery is a challenge that most users of MIUI smartphones face. Despite the apparent simplicity, standard actions through the gallery interface often do not give the expected result: albums disappear only visually, continuing to occupy space in memory, or do not delete at all. The problem is complicated by the fact that different versions of firmware and models (Redmi Note 12, POCO X5, Xiaomi 13T, etc.) algorithms may differ.

In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to remove albums – from basic to hidden features. MIUI, including work with system folders and cloud storage Mi Cloud. we will pay special attention to the nuances that the manufacturer does not advertise: Why some albums can't be deleted by standard methods, how to clear gallery cache without losing data, and what to do if files continue to appear in search after deletion. MIUI 14/15 and relevant to devices 2022–2026 release.

Why Xiaomi Gallery Albums Aren't Deleted in the Standard Way

The problem with removing albums on Xiaomi is related to the architecture of MIUI Gallery, a standard media viewing app, and unlike pure Android, albums fall into three categories:

• 📁 Local albums – user-generated or automatically grouped into folders (e.g. Camera, Screenshots) can be manually deleted.
• 🔒 System albums – related to applications (WhatsApp, Telegram) or features MIUI (For example, Mi Video. Only deleted through the settings of these applications.
• ☁️ Cloud albums synced to Mi Cloud or Google Photos, require you to turn off sync before deleting.

The main reason why the album is not being removed is because it is hidden from system processes or cloud services. For example, the DCIM/.thumbnails folder contains thumbnails that the gallery perceives as a separate album, but it cannot be removed through the interface. Another example is that the album Recently Deleted (recently deleted) appears even after cleaning the cart due to a caching error in MIUI 14.0.5+.

⚠️ Note: If you deleted files through the file manager, but the album is still displayed in the gallery, the problem is in the media scanner. The system does not update the database of media files automatically. The solution is forced rescanning (described in the section below).

Also, it is worth considering that some models (POCO F4, Redmi K50) have branded gallery add-ons with additional albums for game screenshots or screen recordings. These albums are deleted only through Settings → Special features → Game Tools.

Method 1: Removal of the album through the standard MIUI gallery

This method works for custom albums (manually created) and some automatically generated folders (e.g. Downloads or Bluetooth). MIUI 12–15:

1. Open the Gallery app (flower icon).
2. Go to the Albums section (bottom of the screen).
3. Find the album you want to delete and long-click on its preview.
4. In the upper right corner will appear the icon 🗑️ Basket, tap it.
5. Confirm the removal by clicking Delete in the pop-up window.

If the button 🗑️ The basket is inactive or absent:

• 🔄 Try updating the gallery through Google Play (if you don’t use the system version).
• 📂 Check if the album is system-based (see the list in the previous section).
• 🔒 Make sure that the files in the album are not password protected (Private Safe function in the album) MIUI).

⚠️ Attention: B MIUI 14+ After the album is deleted, its thumbnail can stay in the recently deleted section for up to 30 days, even if the basket is empty.

Method 2: Delete via file manager (for hidden albums)

If the album is not deleted through the gallery, it can be manually erased through the file manager.This method is suitable for system folders that MIUI hides from the user (for example,.nomedia or thumbnail cache).

1. Open the Files app (yellow folder icon).
2. Go to Categories → Images or Internal Memory.
3. Find the folder corresponding to the album (for example, DCIM/Camera for the camera photo).
4. Hold the folder with your finger → select Delete.
5. Confirm the action by pressing OK.

For hidden system folders (e.g.,.thumbnails or MIUI/Gallery/editor):

1. In the file manager, tap on ⋮ → Settings → Show hidden files.
2. Go to /storage/emulated/0/ (Inner Memory)
3. Find the folders with the prefix. (dot) – they are hidden by default.
4. Remove unnecessary folders, but don’t touch them:.android_secure — Data of protected applications;.data – system settings;.miad – advertising identifiers MIUI.

💡

If the Xiaomi file manager doesn’t show hidden folders, use a third-party application, such as Solid Explorer or FX File Manager, which gives you more rights to work with system files.

After manually deleting the folder, be sure to rescan the media files:

Settings → Applications → Application Management → Gallery → Storage → Clear cache

Method 3: Clearing the cache of the gallery and forced updating of the media base

If an album has disappeared from the file system but is still displayed in the gallery, the problem is the media scanner cache. MIUI caches thumbnails and album structure, which sometimes leads to ghost folders.

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the gallery on the list and tap it.
3. Select Warehouse. → Clear the cache.
4. Return to the gallery and wait for the scan to be re-scanned (may take 1-2 minutes).

If cleaning the cache didn’t help, use the command to force the scan:

adb shell am broadcast -a android.intent.action.MEDIA_SCANNER_SCAN_FILE -d file:///storage/emulated/0/

This command can be executed via ADB (by connecting your phone to your PC) or the Terminal Emulator app on your phone, and after you run the gallery, it will restart the database of media files.

Method 4: Remove albums related to Mi Cloud and Google Photos

Cloud albums (Mi Cloud, Google Photos) are deleted by different rules. 🌥️, It's synchronized to the remote storage, to erase it:

For Mi Cloud:

1. Open your Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Go to the gallery. → Album management.
3. Find the right album and click on it. ⋮ → Delete.
4. Confirm deletion on your phone and in the cloud (the option is "Delete everywhere").

For Google Photos:

1. Open the Google Photos app.
2. Go to the Library. → Albums.
3. Choose an album. → ⋮ → Delete the album.
4. If the album is linked to Backups, turn off autosynchronization in the app settings.

Important: Once removed from the cloud, local copies of files will remain on the phone unless they were downloaded in Storage Optimization mode, to delete them completely:

Settings → Storage → Free up space → Select “Large Files” or “Dublicates”

⚠️ Note: If you deleted the album from Mi Cloud but it is still visible in the gallery, check the sync settings in Settings → Xiaomi account → Sync. Turn off the Gallery option and reboot your phone.

Method 5: Radical measures - reset gallery settings

If none of these methods work, you'll reset the Gallery app settings, which will delete all user settings (favorites, hidden albums, sorting), but return the gallery to factory status.

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → Gallery.
2. Slip Storage → Clear the data (NOT “clear the cache”).
3. Confirm the action. The app will restart.
4. Wait for the media files to be re-scanned (it can take up to 5 minutes).

After discharge:

• 🔄 All albums will be recreated based on current memory files.
• 🔒 Passwords from hidden folders (Private Safe) will be reset – they will need to be configured again.
• ☁️ Cloud Albums (Mi Cloud, Google Photos) Will Remain, but Their Contents Will Be Updated.

If the dump didn't work, the problem could be the damaged storage.

1. Create a backup copy of important files.
2. Go to Settings → About Phone → Resetting → Erase all data.
3. Select Delete Internal Storage (this will delete all files, including albums).

How to Prevent Automatically Creating Unnecessary Albums

MIUI automatically creates albums for screenshots, downloads from messengers and other categories, to control this:

• 📸 Turn off auto sorting: Open the gallery → ⋮ → Settings. Turn off Auto Sort or Folder Grouping.
• 🤖 Stop apps from making albums: Settings → Annexes → Permits → Warehouse → [Select the application] → This applies to WhatsApp, Telegram and other messengers.
• ☁️ Set up cloud sync: In Mi Cloud, turn off autoloading screenshots and downloads. In Google Photos, select Settings → Backup → Copy folders and uncheck the boxes from unnecessary folders.

For advanced users, you can create a.nomedia file in folders that shouldn't be displayed in the gallery, for example, to hide a Bluetooth album:

1. Open the file manager and go to /storage/emulated/0/Bluetooth.
2. Create a new text file called.nomedia (without extension).
3. Reboot the phone.

FAQ: Frequent questions about removing albums on Xiaomi