Why Telegram is taking up gigabytes of memory on Xiaomi and how to fix it
Telegram messenger on Xiaomi smartphones (including Redmi Note 10/11/12, POCO X3/X4/X5, Mi 11/12/13) often becomes the main “eater” of internal memory. Even after deleting chats, messenger files continue to take up space – this is cache, downloaded media, temporary data and hidden folders MIUI. Unlike WhatsApp, where cleaning is intuitive, Telegram stores data in several places, and standard deletion through the messenger settings does not always help.
The problem is compounded by Xiaomi modifying Android with its MIUI shell, which adds its own file storage mechanisms. For example, the /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/org.telegram.messenger/ folder can weigh a few gigabytes but not show up in a standard file manager. In this article, we will discuss 5 working ways to remove Telegram files on Xiaomi - from basic to advanced, including cleaning hidden data and resetting storage settings.
⚠️ Important: Before deleting files, check whether you are using secret chats or Telegram cloud storage. Some data (such as media from secret chats) are stored only locally and will be lost irretrievably.
Method 1: Clearing Telegram cache through Android settings
The fastest, but superficial, method is to remove cache through system settings, which is suitable if the messenger has started to slow down or takes up to 1-2 GB of junk data, which does not delete uploaded photos, videos or documents, but clears temporary files that can slow down.
Instructions:
- 📱 Open the Settings. → Annexes → Application management.
- 🔍 In the search bar, enter Telegram and select the messenger from the list.
- 🗑️ Press Warehouse. → Clear cache (not to be confused with Clear Data button – it will delete all chats!).
- 🔄 Reboot your smartphone to make changes take effect.
📌 Limitation of method: cache takes up relatively little space.If Telegram "eats" 5+ GB, move on to the following methods.
Method 2: Delete media files via Telegram settings
The messenger by default saves all uploaded photos, videos and documents in memory of the device. On Xiaomi, these files are duplicated in folders. DCIM/Telegram and Download/Telegram, But they don't always show up in the gallery. You don't have to search for folders manually to delete them, you just have to use the built-in tools of the messenger.
Step-by-step:
- Open Telegram and go to Settings (three lines in the upper left corner).
- Select Data and Memory → Use of Storage.
- Wait for the analysis (may take up to a minute), the system will show how much space it takes up: 📷 Photos (including stickers and animations) 🎥 Videos (including GIFs) 📄 Documents (PDF, APK, ZIP etc.) 🎵 Audio (voice messages, music)
Photo Photo
Delete
⚠️ Note: This method does not remove files from secret chats – they need to be manually erased via the chat menu (… → Clear history → Delete the media).
Remove the cache through Android settings|Clear media files in "Use of storage"|Check the folder. DCIM/Telegram file-manager|Remove unnecessary stickers and animations|Clean up downloads in the Download folder-->
Method 3: Manually delete Telegram folders through file manager
If previous methods didn’t work, you’ll have to manually search and delete Telegram folders on Xiaomi. The MIUI shell hides some directories, so you’ll need a file manager with root rights (like MiXplorer) or a standard Xiaomi Files with hidden file display mode enabled.
Where to look for Telegram files:
| folder | Way | What it keeps. | Can I remove it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telegram | /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/Telegram | Photos and videos from chat rooms | Yes (except for important media) |
| Telegram | /storage/emulated/0/Download/Telegram | Documents, APK, archives | Yes. |
| org.telegram.messenger | /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/org.telegram.messenger/ | Cash, temporary files, databases. | Partially (do not delete files and databases without backup!) |
| .Telegram (hidden) | /storage/emulated/0/ | Service files (such as session keys) | No (risk of logging out of account) |
🔹 How to remove:
- Open the Files (or MiXplorer)
- Enable the display of hidden folders: ⋮ → Settings → Show hidden files.
- Follow one of the paths from the table above.
- Select unnecessary files and click Delete.
Critical: Do not delete the org.telegram.messenger/files folder completely, as this will result in the loss of all downloaded files in chats, even if they are displayed as “saved in the cloud”.
💡
Before mass deletion of Telegram folders, back up chats: Settings → Chat → Export chat history. This will save text messages, but not media files.
Method 4: Reset Telegram storage settings (for power users)
If the messenger persistently restores deleted files or takes up memory of unknown, it will help to reset storage settings. This method does not delete chats, but resets all download and caching parameters. MIUI 12/13/14.
Instructions:
- Open Telegram and go to Settings → Data and memory.
- Scroll down and click Reset Storage Settings.
- Confirm the action. The messenger will restart.
- After reset, go to Settings → Data and Memory → Media Autoboot and set up the boot again (we recommend turning off autoboot for mobile data).
- Clean regularly: 🗓️ Once a month, log in to Use Storage and delete unnecessary files.
📌 Advice for Xiaomi: If you often download large files via Telegram, reconfigure the default download folder to the default one SD-a map (if any) for this purpose:
- Put it in. SD-smartphone-card.
- In Telegram, go to Settings → Data and memory → Download folder.
- Choose. SD-card (if the option is not active, check the permissions to access the drive in the settings) MIUI).
💡
On Xiaomi with MIUI 14+, Telegram can ignore the startup settings due to optimizing power consumption. To fix this, add messenger to exceptions: Settings → Battery → Application Selection → Telegram → No Limits.