Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often face a shortage of free space in the device’s memory. One of the most “heavy” categories of data that inflate the amount of space they occupy is messaging multimedia files. Especially audio messages that accumulate for months and can take up gigabytes. If your phone starts to slow down or the system warns you about overflowing storage, cleaning WhatsApp cache is the first thing to do.
Simply removing chats inside an app doesn't always free up space, because files can stay in system folders. In the Android operating system, which runs the MIUI or HyperOS shell, the structure of messenger data storage has its own peculiarities. To (radically) solve the problem, you need to understand where these records are physically located and how to get to them.
In this article, we will look at proven methods of cleaning voice messages, we will look at both the regular means of the messenger itself, and work with the file system through the built-in conductor. Deep cleaning will return your smartphone performance and hundreds of megabytes of free space.
Analysis of the occupied space in the settings of the application
Before we start mass removal, we need to assess the scale of the problem. WhatsApp provides a built-in tool for analyzing disk space, which shows how much space is occupied by audio files, which helps us to understand whether the game is worth the candle, or the reason for the lack of memory lies in another.
Open the app and go to the settings menu. You need to find the data section. The path may vary depending on the version of the interface, but it usually looks like Settings → Data and Storage → Storage Management. Here you will see detailed statistics.
The system will show you a list of chats, sorted by the amount of data you're taking in, and if you click on a particular dialog, you'll see a breakdown by file type, and voice messages will be categorized as a separate category, and it's a convenient way to remove the whole "heavy" conversation without going through every message manually.
⚠️ Warning: Deleting chat via storage settings will delete all correspondence and media files irrevocably.
Removal through the built-in storage manager
The safest and easiest way to get rid of unnecessary files is to use the regular functionality of the messenger, which ensures that you do not delete excess and do not disrupt the operation of the application's system files, and it is ideal for selective cleaning.
Go to the storage management section that I mentioned above, and you'll see the memory usage scale, and then you'll see a list of files that are sorted by date or size, and you can filter the display by leaving only audio.
☑️ Memory cleaning plan
To delete the file, press your finger on one of the files to activate the highlight mode. Then, check any unnecessary entries or use the "Select All" feature at the top of the screen. Once confirmed, the files will be deleted from the application database.
However, it is worth remembering that this method removes files from the messenger interface. In some cases, especially when using older versions of Android or specific MIUI builds, physical files can remain in the cache until it is forced to clean.
Search and clean folders through the Explorer
For Xiaomi owners, manual file system work is the most effective method. The standard File Manager app lets you get to the root of the problem. Starting with Android 11 and up, access to the Android folder can be limited, but Xiaomi Explorer usually asks for the necessary permissions.
Open the Explorer app on your phone. You need to follow the following path: Internal Memory → Android → media → com.whatsapp → WhatsApp → Media → WhatsApp Voice Notes. This is where every voice message ever received and sent is stored.
Why can the folder be called anything else?
Inside the WhatsApp Voice Notes folder, you'll see a lot of subfolders with dates or random names, and inside them are files with the.opus or.mp3 extension, and you can sort files by date or size to find the oldest or heaviest entries.
When you highlight unnecessary files, press the delete button. Physical deletion through the explorer frees up space instantly, unlike deletion inside the application, which sometimes takes time to sync.
| Location. | The way to the folder | Type of file | Access. |
|---|---|---|---|
| The new Android (11+) | Android/media/com.whatsapp/... | .opus,.mp3 | Requires permission |
| Old Android | WhatsApp/Media/... | .opus,.mp3 | Direct access |
| Cash system. | Settings → Applications | Temporary | Through settings |
Using the "Cleanup" app on Xiaomi
The MIUI and HyperOS shells have a powerful built-in Security app that includes the Cleanup tool, which can find large files and duplicates, including audio from instant messengers.
Run the Security app and select Clean up. The system scans the device. After scanning, scroll down to the Big Files or WhatsApp Files section. There you can find voice messages that take up a lot of space.
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Use the Deep Clean feature in the Security app to find forgotten audio files left over from remote chats.
The advantage of this method is that the system itself ranks files by size, and you'll immediately see which audio recordings weigh the most, and often older voice messages can weigh unexpectedly much because of the encoding format or length.
However, be careful: automatic cleaning may suggest that you delete files you still need. Always check the content before confirming. It is better to double-check the date of the creation of the file than to lose important information.
Set up auto-removal and prevent overflow
To avoid future memory overload, it's wise to set up automatic deletion. WhatsApp has a "Disappear Message" feature, but it only works for new chats. For old data, it's better to use the autoload settings.
Go to Settings → Chats. Find Save in Gallery or Media Visibility. Turn off saving media if you don't want it to be duplicated in your phone gallery. You can also turn off autoloading media in Data and Storage.
⚠️ Warning: Turning off the autoload means you won’t be able to listen to a voice message without an internet connection when the chat opens.
Regular memory hygiene is key to a long-term Xiaomi smartphone. Flash memory works faster when it is not full. Try to check the WhatsApp Voice Notes folder once a month and remove any debris.
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Automatically deleting old messages through privacy settings is the best way to keep order without manual intervention.