How to go personal album on Xiaomi Redmi 7: all ways + error solving

Xiaomi Redmi 7 is still a popular budget smartphone, but its owners often face one problem: how to find and open a personal album, where some photos and videos are automatically hidden. Unlike new models with MIUI 12+, the logic of this section is not obvious here - the folder can be hidden in the depths of the system or protected by a password.

In this article, we’ll look at all the current ways to access a personal album on Redmi 7 (including the MIUI 10/11), explain why photos get there, and what to do if the system requires a password you didn’t set, and learn how to transfer files from a personal album to a regular gallery without losing quality — this is critical for backup.

What is a personal album on Xiaomi and why you need it?

A private album (Private Album in English) is a secure storage in MIUI that automatically hides:

• 📸 Photos and videos taken in incognito mode (if supported by your version of the camera)
• 🔒 Files marked as “Hidden” through the context menu in the Gallery
• 📱 Screenshots of some system windows (e.g. notifications from banking applications)
• 🔄 Media files imported from other devices labeled "Private"

Redmi 7 has a different version of the album than Xiaomi’s new smartphones, which doesn’t have a separate icon on the desktop and often doesn’t appear in the main menu of the Gallery, and is blocked in some firmware until the lock screen is password-set.

It's important to understand that a personal album is not the same as a.nomedia folder, which simply hides files from the Android multimedia scanner, whereas a personal MIUI album encrypts content at the system level, which means that even if you connect your smartphone to your computer, the files from this album will not be visible without special manipulation.

Method 1: Access through the Standard Gallery (official method)

The easiest way is to use the built-in Gallery app, but on Redmi 7, the entry to a personal album can be hidden behind additional activities:

1. Open the Gallery app (a icon with multi-colored squares).
2. Tap it on. ⋮ (three dots in the upper right corner) → Select Settings.
3. Scroll down to the Personal Album (or Private Album) section.
4. If the item is missing, go back to the main menu of the Gallery and swipe left until the end - sometimes the album appears as a separate tab.

If after these actions, the system requests a password, but you did not set it, try:

• 🔢 Enter the last 4 digits of your phone number (if your Mi Account is linked)
• 📱 Use the pattern lock from the lock screen
• 🔑 Restoring access through Settings → Passwords and security → Personal album

Make sure that your phone has a password/pattern lock.|

Update the Gallery app to the latest version|

Check if the incognito mode is turned off in the camera settings |

Reboot your phone if the album doesn’t show up-->

Attention! On some MIUI 10 firmware for Redmi 7, the personal album is activated only after the first manual hiding of the file.

1. Open any photo in the gallery.
2. Tap it on. ⋮ → Move to Private Album (or Move to Private Album).
3. After that, in the settings of the Gallery, an item will appear to access the album.

Method 2: Search through Explorer (for experienced users)

If the Gallery doesn't show a personal album, you can try to find its files manually through File Manager.

The album files are stored along the way:

/storage/emulated/0/MIUI/PrivateAlbum/

But you can't see them because the folder is protected by the system.

1. Install Root Explorer (such as FX File Explorer or Solid Explorer).
2. Enable the display of hidden files in the Explorer settings.
3. If the folder is empty, the files are stored in encrypted form (see method 3).

⚠️ Warning: Do not attempt to manually copy or move files from the PrivateAlbum folder! this may result in their loss or damage, as MIUI It uses its own encryption system. If you need to transfer a photo, do it through the Gallery interface (see "File Export" section").

Method 3: Using ADB for Advanced Users

If the first two methods didn't work, you can try extracting files through Android Debug Bridge (ADB), which is a good way for those who are ready to work with the command line.

• 🖥️ Computer with installed ADB Tools
• 📱 Included debugging by USB Redmi 7 (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times to tap → return to → For developers)
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original)

Instructions:

1. Connect the phone to the PC and confirm the debugging permission.
2. Open the command line (or Terminal on Mac/Linux) and execute: adb shell su ls /data/system/users/0/privateapp
3. If you see a file private.db, the files are encrypted, and you need a special script to extract them (for example, to extract them, miui_private_album_decrypt.py).

⚠️ Attention: Working with ADB System files can disrupt stability. MIUI If you are not sure about your actions, you should contact the Xiaomi service center.

💡

Before working with ADB, back up your data through Settings → Additional → Backup and Reset. This will save your photos even if something goes wrong.

How to export files from a personal album

If you managed to open a personal album but need to transfer the photo to a regular storage (for example, for a backup), follow these steps:

1. Open your personal album through the Gallery (see Method 1).
2. Select the desired files with a long tap or through Select in the menu.
3. Press More (⋮) → Export (or Move to Public Album).
4. Specify the target folder (for example, DCIM/Camera).

Important: When exporting, MIUI can compress photos if they were taken in high resolution mode, to avoid loss of quality:

• 📁 Use the option "Copy" instead of "Move".
• 🔄 Before export, check the settings of the Gallery: Settings → Laboratory → Maintain original quality (if any).

💡

Export files in small batches (10-20 pieces each) to avoid hanging Gallery. On Redmi 7 with 2 GB of RAM, processing large amounts of photos can lead to the forced closure of the application.

Addressing access problems

If your personal album doesn’t open or requires an unknown password, try these methods:

1. Reset password through Mi Account

If the album is secure, but you have forgotten the password:

1. Go to Settings → Accounts → Mi Account.
2. Make sure you are authorized.
3. Open the Gallery → Personal album → Press Forgot the password?
4. The system will offer to restore access through SMS or email associated with the account.

2.Update MIUI

Older versions of MIUI 10 for Redmi 7 had bugs displaying a personal album.

1. Settings → About the phone → System update.
2. If there are no updates, download the latest version. MIUI for Redmi 7 from the official website and install manually through the Update → ⋮ → Select a firmware file.

3. Resetting Gallery settings

If the album is not displayed at all:

1. Settings → Applications → Application management.
2. Find the gallery → Warehouse → Clear the data.
3. ⚠️ This will delete the cache and temporary files, but will not affect the photos themselves.

Frequent questions about the personal album on Redmi 7