How to remove photos from the Xiaomi cloud: 5 proven ways

Xiaomi’s Mi Cloud cloud storage automatically stores your photos, freeing up space on your smartphone. But over time, the accumulated images take up precious gigabytes in the cloud, and removing them is not as easy as it seems. Many users face problems: photos come back after deletion, synchronization continues to restore old files, and some photos do not want to disappear from the gallery at all. In this article, we will discuss all the working methods of cleaning the cloud, from basic to hidden functions that are not written in the official documentation.

It’s important to understand that removing a photo from the Xiaomi cloud is different than deleting it from your phone, and even if you erase it from the gallery, it can stay in the Mi Cloud and reappear the next time you sync. We'll show you how to completely delete photos without recovery, how to disable autosynchronization, and what to do if the cloud is crowded and you don't plan to pay for it. MIUI 12–14, including Xiaomi 13/14, Redmi Note 12/13 and POCO F5/X5.

1.Removing photos directly from the Xiaomi cloud

The most obvious way to delete photos is through the web version of Mi Cloud or mobile app, which is suitable if you need to get rid of individual pictures or small folders, but it has limitations: for example, you can not massively delete all photos at a time, and the basket stores files for 30 days.

To delete the photo via the browser:

• 🌐 Go to i.mi.com and log in to your Xiaomi account.
• 📁 Select the Gallery section (or Photos in English version).
• 🗑️ Tick the photos and click Delete (or drag them to the cart manually).
• 🔄 For complete removal, go to the basket and clean it.

The Mi Cloud mobile application uses the same algorithm, but the interface may vary depending on the version of MIUI. The main caveat is that if you have sync enabled, deleted photos may reappear in the cloud the next time you back up. To avoid this, first disable autoload (more on this in the next section).

⚠️ Note: If you delete photos through your smartphone gallery, they may stay in the cloud.Always check the contents of Mi Cloud after cleaning!

2. disable autosynchronization of photos

Xiaomi automatically uploads photos to the cloud when connected to Wi-Fi, which is convenient, but it can restore even deleted photos. To get rid of unnecessary photos, first turn off sync:

Instructions for smartphones:

1. Open Settings → Accounts and Sync → Mi Cloud
2. Slip on the item Gallery (or Photos).
3. Turn off the switch to Sync Gallery.
4. Confirm the action by clicking Disable.

You can then safely delete photos from the cloud, they won't come back. If you need selective sync (for example, only for certain folders), use the Album feature in the Mi Cloud settings, where you can manually choose which folders to download and which to ignore.

3. Massive removal of all photos from Mi Cloud

If the cloud is full of thousands of images, it's not rational to delete them one at a time. Unfortunately, Xiaomi doesn't provide a "Delete Everything" button, but there are workarounds.

The algorithm for PC:

• 🖥️ Open i.mi.com in Chrome or Edge.
• 📂 Go to the Gallery section and open the folder with the photo.
• 🔘 Press Ctrl. + A (Windows) or Cmd + A (Mac) to highlight all files.
• 🗑️ Click Delete and confirm the action.
• 🧹 Clean the cart in the section Recently deleted.

If the photo is too much and the site is "hanging", break the process into parts: delete 200-300 pictures at a time. ADB-commands to reset cloud data, but this requires technical skills and may result in the loss of other backups (contacts, notes).

4. Delete the photo through the app "Gallery"

The standard MIUI gallery has a hidden cloud photo management feature that allows you to delete images directly without going to the Mi Cloud.

Step-by-step:

1. Open the Gallery app on your smartphone.
2. Slip on the three dots in the top right corner and select Mi Cloud.
3. Go to the photo or album section.
4. Select unnecessary pictures and click Delete.
5. Confirm the removal and clean the cart in Mi Cloud.

This is a useful method for removing photos from your phone without a computer, but it doesn't work on all versions of MIUI -- some of the firmware doesn't have a Mi Cloud in the gallery, so use the web version or the Mi Cloud mobile app.

⚠️ Note: If photos reappear in the cloud after deleting, check your backup settings in Settings → Additionally. → Backup. Automatic data recovery may be enabled.

5. Recovery of accidentally deleted photos

If you delete important images from Mi Cloud, they can be returned within 30 days, which is how many files are stored in the Recycle Bin.

Ways to return photos:

• 🗑️ Through the web version: go to the Recycle Bin on i.mi.com, highlight the desired photos and click Restore.
• 📱 Using the mobile app: Open the Mi Cloud → Recycle Bin, select files and tap Restore.
• 💾 If the cart is cleaned, try to restore the photo through Settings → Accounts. → Mi Cloud → Data recovery (not available on all devices).

If it's been more than 30 days, the chances of getting a photo back are minimal.

• Check backups on Google Drive (if sync with Google Photos was enabled).
• Use data recovery software (such as DiskDigger or Recuva) if the photos were stored on your phone.

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Before mass removal of photos from the cloud, copy them to an external drive or PC. To do this, in the web version of Mi Cloud, select files and click "Download".

6 How to Free Up Space in Mi Cloud Without Deleting Photos

If the cloud is crowded but you don’t want to delete the photo, there are alternative ways to make space:

The most radical way is to drop the cloud to factory settings.

1. Go to Settings → Accounts → Mi Cloud.
2. Select Delete Account (the data will be saved for 30 days).
3. Create your account again, and the cloud will be empty.

⚠️ Note: When you delete your Mi Cloud account, you will lose access to all synchronized data: contacts, notes, calendar entries!

7.Why are photos not removed from the Xiaomi cloud?

Sometimes users are faced with photos not being deleted or returned after cleaning.

• 🔄 Autosynchronization enabled: Disable it in Settings → Mi Cloud → gallery.
• 📱 Duplicates in the gallery: Delete the photo and from the local phone storage (Settings) → Memory. → Files. → Images).
• 🔄 Cloud syncs with another device: Check if your account is connected to another smartphone or tablet.
• 🛠️ Mi Cloud crash: Reboot your phone, update the Mi Cloud app, or clear its cache (Settings) → Annexes → Mi Cloud → Warehouse → Clear the cache).

If the problem persists, try:

• Delete and re-add Mi Cloud account in your phone settings.
• Contact Xiaomi via the official website (specify the phone model and MIUI version).

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Before radical actions (cloud reset, account deletion) always back up your data on an external medium!

FAQ: Frequent questions about removing photos from Mi Cloud