How to completely remove thumbnails on Xiaomi: from gallery to system files

Miniatures on Xiaomi are miniature copies of images, videos, and even app icons that the system automatically creates to speed up preview loading, take up space in memory, can be uploaded in the background, and sometimes contain sensitive information (such as screenshots of bank applications or personal photos), and despite the usefulness of the feature, many users want to get rid of it — whether for the sake of freeing up memory, privacy, or just for order in the file system.

The problem is that MIUI hides these files in system folders, and standard cleaning methods (such as Settings → Memory) often leave some of the sketches intact. In this article, we will discuss 5 working ways to remove thumbnails - from simple (via the gallery) to radical (using ADB and manual cache cleansing). All methods are tested on MIUI 14/15 and are relevant to the models of Redmi Note 12/13, Poco X5/F5, Xiaomi 13/14 and other devices based on Android 13/14.

Before you start, consider that some methods require root rights or PC connectivity. If you're a beginner, start with the first three methods, which don't require any deep technical knowledge. ADB-manual cleaning and commanding of system folders.

1. Removal of thumbnails through the standard gallery

The easiest way is to use the built-in MIUI tools. It is suitable for removing photo and video sketches, but does not affect application system thumbnails or screenshots.

Open the Gallery app, then:

• 📁 Go to the album All files or videos.
• ⚙️ Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Settings.
• 🧹 Find the garbage cleaner or memory management section (name depends on version) MIUI).
• 🗑️ Choose Clean sketches or Remove thumbnails.

This method only removes sketches that the gallery recognizes as “junk.” System thumbnails (for example, for Google Photos or YouTube) will remain intact, and it is worth considering that after cleaning, previews can be regenerated the next time files are opened.

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If the gallery settings don’t have a thumbnail clean option, try updating the app via Google Play or using an alternative gallery, such as Simple Gallery or QuickPic.

2.Cleaning gallery and media storage cache

Miniatures are often stored in the cache of applications responsible for displaying media files. Clearing the cache does not delete the files themselves, but resets all temporary data, including sketches.

Do the following:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find and open the Gallery (or Google Photos if you use it).
3. Select Warehouse and Cache → Clear the Cache.
4. Repeat the steps for Media Storage applications (com.android.providers.media) and Downloads.

After cleaning the cache, the thumbnails will disappear, but temporarily – they will appear again when you view the files. To prevent their generation, turn off automatic sketch creation (more about this in the next section).

3. Disable automatic creation of thumbnails

To prevent thumbnails from reappearing, you have to prevent the system from creating them, and in MIUI, you can do this in two ways: through gallery settings or with ADB (for advanced users).

Method 1: Through Gallery settings

• 🖼️ Open the gallery. → Settings.
• 🔍 Find the option to Show sketches or Auto-Create thumbnails (in some versions) MIUI This item may be called Optimization of previews).
• ❌ Turn off the slider.

Method 2: ADB (for experienced users)

If the gallery does not have the necessary option, you can turn off the generation of thumbnails through the command:

adb shell settings put global thumbnail_generation_disabled 1

Once you've done the command, restart the device. To get it back, replace it with 1 for 0.

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Turning off automatic thumbnail creation does not remove pre-existing thumbnails – they need to be cleaned separately (see section 1 or 2).

4 Manual removal of thumbnails through file manager

System thumbnails are stored in hidden folders that are not visible in standard Explorer, and to remove them, you will need a root file manager (such as Root Explorer or Solid Explorer) or a PC connection.

Where to look for miniatures:

To delete files:

1. Open a file manager with root support.
2. Follow one of the paths indicated.
3. Select all files (usually with a.thumb or.jpg extension with a small resolution).
4. Remove them and clean the basket.

Back up your important data | Make sure your battery is over 50% charged | Use a reliable file manager (e.g. Solid Explorer) | Do not delete files with unknown extensions-->

Note: Deleting files from /data/data/com.android.providers.media/ without root permissions may cause the media scanner to crash, in which case only resetting or flashing will help.

5. Complete cleaning of thumbnails through ADB (for advanced)

If previous methods didn't work, you can use ADB (Android Debug Bridge) for deep cleaning, which removes all system sketches, including those that are not visible in file managers.

What you need:

• 🖥️ A computer with installed Xiaomi drivers and ADB.
• 📱 Included debugging by USB on a smartphone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times to unlock the developer menu, then Settings → Additionally. → For developers → Debugging by USB).
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).

Cleanup commands:

adb shell pm clear com.android.providers.media


adb shell rm -rf /data/data/com.android.providers.media/*




adb shell rm -rf /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.thumbnails/*




adb shell rm -rf /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/thumbnail/*




adb shell reboot

After the commands are executed, the device will restart and all thumbnails (including system ones) will be deleted.Warning: this method will also reset the settings of the media scanner, so after a reboot, the gallery can be updated for a long time.

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If the thumbnails reappear after cleaning through ADB, check if sync with cloud services (Google Photos, Mi Cloud) is enabled.

6. Alternative methods: third-party applications and resetting settings

If you do not want to mess with manual settings, you can use third-party utilities or a radical method - resetting settings.

Applications for cleaning miniatures:

• 🧹 SD Maid – finds and removes unnecessary sketches, cache, duplicates.
• 🗃️ Files by Google – has a built-in garbage cleaner, including thumbnails.
• 🔍 CCleaner scans the system for temporary files.

Resetting settings to factory

This is an extreme method that will remove all data from the device, including thumbnails, and is suitable if other methods have failed or you plan to sell a smartphone.

⚠️ Warning: Before reset, back up all important files. After the procedure, the device will return to the out-of-the-box state and all settings (including accounts) will be deleted. → The phone. → Reset. Choose to erase all data. Confirm the action and wait until the process is complete. FAQ: Frequent questions about thumbnails on Xiaomi Can thumbnails take up a lot of space? Yes, especially if you often take pictures or shoot videos. 100 MB to 1-2 GB, depending on the number of media files, 10 000 miniature 10 CB's all taken. ~100 MB: Why do thumbnails come back after you delete them? It's because Android and Android are the same. MIUI automatically generate sketches when you open files. To prevent them from being created, turn off the option in the gallery settings (see below. section 3) Or use alternative photo-viewing apps (e.g. Simple Gallery, where you can turn off caching). Can you remove thumbnails without root rights? Yes, but not all. Without root, you can clean: Gallery sketches through the app settings. Cache of media storage (com.android.providers.media). folder /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.thumbnails (available without root. To remove system thumbnails from /data/data/ root rights will be required or ADB. Does removing thumbnails affect performance? Short term, yes. Once cleaned, a gallery or video player can take longer to load, as the system will have to recreate previews. However, in the long run, this frees up memory and can speed up the device, especially if there were a lot of thumbnails. How to delete thumbnails of a particular app (e.g. YouTube or Telegram)?summary> App miniatures are stored in their own cache.To delete them: Go to Settings → Apps → [App Name]. Select Storage and Cache → Clear cache. To completely clean up, click Clear data (but this will delete all app settings!). For YouTube, you can also disable video preloading in the app settings.