How to finally remove photos from the phone Xiaomi: 5 proven methods

Ever wondered what happens to photos after they are deleted from Xiaomi? A simple click on Delete in a gallery only hides files from the user's eyes - they remain in the device's memory until they are overwritten with new data. This means that with special programs (like DiskDigger or Recuva), they can be restored even after months. Especially a problem for owners of Redmi Note 12, POCO X5 or Xiaomi 13T, where the internal memory reaches 256 GB, here photos can "lay to the bottom" for a long time.

In this article, we will discuss 5 ways to permanently delete photos from Xiaomi phones based on MIUI 14/13 (including global and Chinese versions of firmware), how to erase files so that they can not be restored even in the service center, and what hidden MIUI features allow you to bypass the restrictions of Android on low-level formatting.

Why Normal Deletion Doesn’t Work: How Xiaomi Stores Files

When you delete a photo through a standard Gallery or Files, MIUI performs two operations:

• 📁 Moves the file to the.Trash folder (if the basket is enabled) or marks it as “deleted” in the file table FAT32/exFAT.
• 🔄 Frees up busy clusters to write new data, but doesn’t physically erase the data itself.

This means that until these clusters are overwritten (for example, when taking new photos or installing apps), the original files can be restored. Moreover, on Xiaomi with encrypted storage (application protection in Settings → password and security), recovery is difficult, but does not become impossible for professional tools.

The speed of the rewrite depends on:

• 📱 Memory: 128 GB free space is overwritten longer than 64 GB.
• 🔄 User activity: if you often shoot videos 4K If you install games, the chances of recovering old photos are reduced.
• 🛠️ Like a memory: UFS 3.1 (in Xiaomi 13 Pro) rewrites data faster than eMMC 5.1 (in Redmi) 9A).

⚠️ Note: If you sell or transfer a phone, even after resetting to factory settings (Settings) → The phone. → Resetting) photos can be restored. Complete cleaning requires encryption + formatting.

Method 1: Removal through “Safe Deletion” in MIUI

Starting with MIUI 12, Xiaomi added a built-in secure delete feature that rewrites files by zeros before erasing.This method does not require root rights and works on all models, including the POCO F4 and Redmi K50.

Instructions:

1. Open the Files app (folder icon).
2. Go to Images or find the DCIM/Camera folder.
3. Select the photos by holding your finger on one of the files.
4. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Safe Deletion.
5. Confirm action. The system will begin the process of rewriting (can take up to 5 minutes for 100 photos).

How it works:

• 🔢 The file is first filled with random data (DoD algorithm) 5220.22-M).
• 🗑️ Then a standard removal occurs.
• ⏳ Time depends on file size and processor performance (Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is faster than Helio). G88).

⚠️ Warning: Safe Deletion is not available if photos are stored on SD-For this, use Method 3 (formatting).

Method 2: Use low-level erasure applications (without root)

If your version of MIUI does not have Safe Delete feature, use third-party utilities.

Step-by-step instructions for iShredder 6:

1. Install the app from Google Play.
2. Open iShredder and select File Shredder.
3. Click Select Files and select photos in /storage/emulated/0/DCIM folder.
4. Select the Gutmann algorithm (35 passes) for maximum security.
5. Confirm deletion. The process can take up to 30 minutes for 1GB of photo.

Advantages of the method:

• 🔒 It works without root rights.
• 📊 Supports choice of security level (from 1 to 35 passes).
• 📁 You can delete files selectively, not the entire folder.

💡

Before using third-party shredders, disable battery optimization for the application in Settings → Apps → Permissions → Battery Optimization. This will prevent the process from interrupting.

Method 3: Complete formatting of internal memory (reset + encryption)

If you want to delete all the photos at once (for example, before selling your phone), the most reliable way is to combine the formatting:

1. Encryption (turns data into an unreadable form).
2. Reset to factory settings (removes encryption keys).
3. Formatting via Fastboot (optional for paranoids).

Instructions for Xiaomi:

1. Activate encryption: Go to Settings → Password and security → Encrypt the phone. Install it. PIN-code (if not installed) Click Encrypt the phone and wait until it's complete (1-2 hour).
2. Reset: Open Settings → About Phone → Reset. Choose Erase all data. Enter your password and confirm.
3. (Optional) Fastboot Format: Turn off your phone and press Power + Vol Down to log into Fastboot. Connect to your PC and execute the command: fastboot erase userdata

Why it works:

• 🔐 Encryption makes files inaccessible without a key that is erased when reset.
• 🧹 Fastboot erase physically cleans the userdata section where photos are stored.

⚠️ Note: On some models (Redmi) 10C, POCO M4 Pro) after reset, the encryption is automatically disabled. Check this in Settings → Password and security.

Method 4: Remove via TWRP (for hard-wired phones)

If your Xiaomi has a custom TWRP recap on it, you can use it to format the photo partition in a low-level way, which ensures that the data is erased without recovery.

Instructions:

1. Turn off your phone and press Power + Vol Up to log in to TWRP.
2. Go to the Wipe section → Advanced Wipe.
3. Check the Data box (not Dalvik/ART Cache!).
4. In the Format Options field, select Format Data (this is full formatting, not just cleaning).
5. Enter yes to confirm.
6. After completion, reboot to the system.

What happens with Format Data:

• 🗃️ Section /data (where the photos are stored) formatted in F2FS or ext4 (firmware-dependent).
• 🔥 All data, including the remnants of deleted files, are erased.
• ⚠️ Recovery after this method is impossible even in laboratory conditions.

Warnings:

• 🚨 This method will remove all data from the phone, including apps and settings.
• 🔧 Pre-installation required TWRP and unlocked loader.

💡

Formatting via TWRP is the only way to guarantee data erases from phones on MediaTek processors (like the Redmi Note 11 with the Helio G96), where a standard reset often leaves tails.

Method 5: Rewrite free space (for power users)

This is a good way to remove photos selectively, but ensure that they can't be recovered, and the idea is to manually rewrite the clusters where the files were stored with random data.

You'll need:

• 📱 Phone with root rights (or PC with root rights) ADB).
• 💻 Annex SD Maid or DiskUsage.
• 🔧 Patience (the process can take several hours).

Instructions via SD Maid:

1. Install SD Maid and provide root access.
2. Open the CorpseFinder section (search for file bodies).
3. Choose to clear the free space.
4. Specify the number of passes (recommended 3-7 for speed and safety balance).
5. Press Start and wait until it is completed.

Alternative via ADB (for PC):

adb shell


su




dd if=/dev/urandom of=/storage/emulated/0/tempfile bs=1M




rm /storage/emulated/0/tempfile

This command fills the free space with random data, and then deletes the temporary file. Repeat it 2-3 times for reliability.

⚠️ Attention: On phones with UFS 3.0/3.1 (Xiaomi 12S Ultra, Black Shark 5) This method can reduce memory life because of the many write cycles. 1 half-yearly.

What to do with the photos on SD-map

If the photos are stored on a microSD, standard deletion methods will not work — the memory cards use a different controller and do not support functions like Safe Deletion in MIUI.

Ways to do this SD-map:

• 🔄 Full Formatting via Phone: Go to Settings → Warehouse → SD-Select Format as internal storage (if the card is supported). After formatting, format it again as Portable storage.
• 💻 PC usage: Connect the card to your computer via a card reader. Open Disk Management (Windows) or GParted (Linux). Delete the partition and create a new one (this will lead to overwriting the file table).

Physical destruction

1. If the card is not needed, break it or burn the contacts with a lighter.
2. For complete confidence, use a degausser (degausser device).

Important:

• 📌 SanDisk Ultra and Samsung Maps EVO They have a built-in controller that can hide damaged blocks, and the formatting through the phone doesn't always clean them completely.
• 🔍 Use it to check. H2testw (Windows – it will show the real size of the map after formatting.