How to return a hidden album in the gallery Xiaomi: from simple ways to ADB-team

Hidden albums in the Xiaomi gallery are a handy feature for sensitive photos, but sometimes they disappear from view against your will. Users face this problem after updating MIUI, resetting settings or accidentally clicking on "hide." Unlike standard removal, such albums do not fall into the cart - they just become invisible in the gallery interface, but continue to occupy space on the device.

In this article, we’ll look at all the current ways to bring back hidden albums on Redmi, Poco and Mi smartphones, from basic MIUI settings to working with ADB and system files. Importantly, the methods vary depending on the firmware version (especially after MIUI 14), so we’ll give you nuances for each. If you’re not sure about your actions, start with the simplest steps.

Why the album disappeared from the gallery (and where it really is)

In Xiaomi, hidden albums are not physically deleted, but are moved to a secure folder called.hidden or.nomedia on the internal drive.

• 🔄 Update MIUI: Upgrade to a new version (for example, with the MIUI 13 on MIUI 14) the path to hidden files may change, and the gallery will no longer display them.
• 📱 Settings reset: Even a "soft" reset sometimes drops album visibility flags in the gallery database.
• 👆 User error: accidentally clicking on “Hide Album” in the gallery context menu (especially relevant for Redmi Note) 10/11 touchscreen).
• 🛠️ System Optimization: Cleaner or Security can mark an album as junk if it hasn’t opened for a long time.

Where do you find the hidden files physically? They're stored in one way or another.

/storage/emulated/0/MIUI/Gallery/cloud/private/


/storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.hidden/




/storage/emulated/0/Pictures/.nomedia/

⚠️ Note: Do not rename.hidden or.nomedia folders manually through the file manager – this may result in duplicate files or loss of files the next time you update the gallery.

Method 1: Enabling Hidden Albums to be Displayed in MIUI Settings

The easiest method is to use the built-in gallery options, which works on all devices with MIUI 12-14, including the Poco X3/X4, Redmi Note 12 and new models.

1. Open the standard gallery (not Google Photos!).
2. Slip on three dots in the upper right corner → select Settings.
3. Scroll down to the Show Hidden Albums section and activate the switch.
4. Return to the gallery's main screen - hidden album will appear with an icon 🔒.

If there is no option:

• 📌 Check the gallery version in Settings → The phone. → App version. Update it through Play Market or App Store.
• 🔄 On some firmware (MIUI 13 for Redmi 9) you need to first click on the profile avatar in the gallery → Account settings → Hidden albums.

Method 2: Search through the file manager (no root)

If the gallery settings don’t work, find the files manually, and any file manager with access to hidden folders (such as Mi File Manager, Solid Explorer, or FX File Explorer) will do.

Instructions:

1. Open the file manager and enable the display of hidden files (in Mi File Manager: three points → Settings → Show hidden files).
2. Go to /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/Gallery/cloud/private/ or check out the alternative paths in the first section of the article.
3. Copy the files you want (photo/video) to any other folder, such as DCIM/Camera.
4. Restart the device – the files will appear in the gallery.

If the private folder is empty:

• 🔍 Try a keyword search: enter.nomedia or hidden in the file manager.
• 📁 Check the folder. /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.miui.gallery — Sometimes files are duplicated there.

⚠️ Note: Do not move files directly from the private folder – copy them first to avoid data loss in the event of a crash.

Method 3: Use ADB-Teams (for experienced users)

If previous methods have failed and hidden files are critical, use ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires connecting your smartphone to a PC and basic command line knowledge.

Step-by-step:

1. Turn on USB Debugging on your phone: Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (Tap 7 times) Settings → Additional → For Developers → Debugging on USB
2. Connect the device to the PC and confirm trust in the computer.
3. Open the command prompt (Windows) or terminal (macOS/Linux) and type: adb shell su ls /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/Gallery/cloud/private/ (if it requests root, unlock it in advance).
4. To make files visible, delete the.nomedia file in the folder: rm /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/Gallery/cloud/private/.nomedia
5. Reboot the phone.

Critical: If the.nomedia file is not in the folder, but the album is still not displayed, the problem is in the gallery database, in which case only resetting the gallery settings or reinstalling the firmware will help.

Method 4: Recovery through MIUI backup

If you have previously backed up through Settings → System & Device → Backup, you can recover hidden albums from it. This method is suitable for users who regularly make backups.

How to restore:

1. Go to Settings → System and Device → Backup.
2. Select the latest backup (check the date of creation!).
3. Click Restore and select only Gallery (do not restore all data so as not to overwrite the current settings).
4. After recovery, restart the phone.

Nuances:

• 🔄 Recovery will re-record current albums in the gallery - if you added new photos after backup, they will disappear.
• 📁 Backup copies MIUI Do not save files from the private folder separately – they are restored only with the rest of the gallery data.

⚠️ Note: If the backup is created on another Xiaomi model (for example, the backup with the Redmi Note 10 is restored to Poco) X5), Hidden albums may not appear due to differences in folder structure.

Method 5: Reset Gallery settings (last chance)

If none of the methods worked, you have to reset the Gallery app settings, which will delete all user data (albums, tags, display settings), but return the hidden files to visible state.

Instructions:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the Gallery (or com.miui.gallery) and tap on it.
3. Select Warehouse → Delete Data (not to be confused with Clear Cache!).
4. Confirm the action and restart the phone.

After discharge:

• 🔍 Hidden albums will appear in the main list, but without previews – you need to open each one so that the gallery generates thumbnails.
• 📌 If there are no albums, check the folder. DCIM/.thumbnails — Sometimes the miniatures block the display.

💡

Before resetting your gallery, export your important albums to Google Photos or PC. Select your files in the gallery → Export → Select a cloud or local folder.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When recovering hidden albums, users often make critical mistakes that lead to data loss.

Additional recommendations:

• 🔄 After any interference with hidden folders, restart your phone – this forcefully triggers scanning of media files.
• 📁 Do not use third-party cleaners (such as CCleaner or CCleaner). SD Maid – they can delete files from private as “junk».
• 🔒 If the album was hidden through a Secure folder (function) MIUI 14), it must be unlocked in Settings → Confidentiality → Secure folder.

💡

Before any manipulation of system folders, back up your data via Mi Cloud or locally on your PC. This is the only way to ensure that you don’t lose files.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions