MIUI and its modern HyperOS have a sophisticated system of protection against accidental deletion of data, which includes a buffer storage area. Many users face a situation when after removing unnecessary photos or documents, the memory of the device is not freed, which causes confusion and the need for urgent unloading of storage. Understanding the principles of this feature allows you to effectively manage the free space on your smartphone without the risk of losing really important information.
The process of clearing the clipboard is not a trivial action, accessible through a single click, as it requires moving to specific sections of system applications. Depending on the firmware version and the type of content to be deleted (gallery, file manager or voice recorder), the paths to settings can vary significantly, which often confuses inexperienced gadget owners. Recycle bin cleaning is the final stage of deleting data, after which recovery becomes impossible by standard means of the system, so this operation should be approached consciously.
In this guide, we will take a detailed look at all the existing ways to free up space hidden in the depths of your Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO menu. You will learn how to find hidden folders with deleted files, how to set up automatic cleaning and what to do if standard methods do not work. Deleted files in the cart take up space in memory for exactly 30 days, after which the system automatically erases them forever.
Removal buffers in MIUI and HyperOS
The Chinese company’s shell has implemented a temporary storage mechanism for remote objects to minimize user errors. When you press the delete button in a gallery or explorer, the file does not physically disappear from the flash memory, but is only marked as hidden and moved to a special system partition, an approach similar to the one on a Windows personal computer, providing an additional level of data security.
It is important to understand that different applications use their own isolated storage for remote content. Photos deleted through the standard gallery end up in one section, and documents deleted through Explorer end up in another. There is no synchronization between these sections, so cleaning one of them won't affect files in the other.
The buffer data is usually 30 days long, but this may vary depending on the settings of the Xiaomi Cloud or Google Photos cloud service, if activated. As long as the file is in this intermediate state, it continues to occupy useful space of the device’s internal memory, which can critically affect system performance when resources are scarce.
⚠️ Attention: Auto Cleaning after 30 days only works if the device was on and connected to the network during this period.
Users should be aware that the amount of available temporary storage space can be limited to a percentage of total storage capacity.If you delete gigabytes of video, the system may suggest immediate cleanup or not putting all files in a buffer, deleting them permanently immediately.
Cleaning the basket in the Gallery appendix
The most common scenario requiring free space is media overflow. The standard image and video viewing app has a built-in protection mechanism that must be activated manually to completely delete data. First, open the Gallery app on the home screen or in the application menu.
Once you start the app, go to the Albums tab, which is usually located at the bottom of the interface. Scroll down the album list to the bottom of the system folders. You need to find a section called Recently Deleted (or Recently Deleted in the English version), which is where all the photos and videos you deleted over the past month are stored.
Inside the folder, you'll see a preview of all deleted objects with the remaining time before they are automatically erased. To manually clean, click on Clear All or select specific files, and then click the Recycle Bin icon or Delete button. The system will request confirmation of action, warning you that recovery is not possible.
- 🗑️ Click “Clean All” to immediately free up all occupied space.
- 📸 Select individual photos to delete only them while saving the rest.
- ↩️ Use the Restore button if cleaning is done accidentally.
There is a nuance associated with cloud services: if the device is synced with Mi Cloud, the deleted photos can first get into the cloud cart, rather than the phone’s local memory, in which case cleaning the local folder “Recently Deleted” may not give the expected result, and you will need to go to the cloud settings through the browser or system menu.
Delete files through the Explorer
The MIUI file manager (often referred to as simply “Conductor”) has its own independent shopping cart that is not associated with the gallery, which stores deleted documents, APK installation packages, archives, audio recordings and other types of files that are not media content, accessed through a separate application interface.
Launch Explorer and look at the top of the screen where file categories (Images, Videos, Documents) are located. In the upper right corner or in the side menu (depending on the shell version), find the menu icon (three bars or dots).
The list that opens will contain all files deleted through this manager. The mechanism is similar to the gallery: files are stored for 30 days. You can choose specific documents to delete or clear the list completely. Note that files deleted inside third-party applications (for example, a browser loader) may not get into this basket, but be erased immediately.
☑️ Checking before cleaning
In some versions of the firmware, the interface may be different, and access to the basket may be hidden in the Settings section of the conductor itself. If you don't see the Recycle Bin item in the main menu, try clicking on the document folder icon and then searching for the control menu.
Specificity of cleaning in the application Dictaphone
Special attention should be paid to the Dictaphone app, which also has its own remote recording buffer. Users often forget about long lectures or interviews that have been deleted, but continue to occupy space. The Dictaphone interface is minimalist, and access to hidden functions is implemented in an unusual way.
Open the Recorder app and go to the All Records tab. In the upper right corner of the screen, click on the menu icon (three dots). In the drop-down list, select the recently deleted option. This will show all audio recordings deleted in the last 30 days.
The removal procedure is similar to previous methods: you can choose specific tracks or clear the entire list.
| Annex | The way to the basket | Storage period | Type of file |
|---|---|---|---|
| gallery | Albums. → Recently deleted | 30 days | Photos, Videos |
| Conductor | Menu → Basket | 30 days | Documents, APK, Archives |
| Dictaphone | Menus. → Recently deleted | 30 days | Audio recordings |
| Notes | Menus. → Recently deleted | 30 days | Text, Screens. |
Set up automatic maintenance
To avoid worrying about manually deleting files in the future, MIUI offers automatic maintenance tools, but the standard Cleanup feature in a security application often ignores the gallery cart, requiring separate setup or third-party solutions.
You can set up automation scenarios or use the built-in Security app. Go to Clean up and check the scan settings. While direct auto-delete settings from the gallery cart in the standard menu are limited, regular use of Deep Cleanup helps you find large files that can be manually deleted.