Xiaomi’s Mi Cloud: How to Clean Up Your Cloud from Unnecessary Files and Free Up Space

Xiaomi’s Mi Cloud cloud storage is a handy tool for backing up data, syncing contacts and photos between devices. However, over time, even free 5GB (or 10GB for some regions) are filled with unnecessary files: duplicate photos, outdated backups or app cache. If you encounter a notification “Not enough space in the Mi Cloud”, it’s time to clean up the whole thing.

In this article, we’ll look at all the ways Xiaomi can clean the cloud, from manually deleting files through the web interface to hidden settings in the mobile app, how to safely delete unnecessary data without losing important information, and which files can be safely cleaned and which ones should be left, and focus on backups, which often take up the lion’s share of space, and synchronized data from applications like Gallery or Notes.

The instructions are relevant for all modern smartphones Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO (including models 2023-2026) and work independently of the version MIUI. If you are using an Android One device (e.g. Mi) A3), Some menu items may be different – we will point this out separately.

Why Mi Cloud is Full and What Takes Place

Before you start cleaning, it is important to understand what data is stored in your cloud.

• 📸 Photos and videos from the Gallery app (including screenshots and uploaded images).
• 📱 Backups of the device (system settings, installed applications, SMS call-book).
• 📝 Notes from the standard Mi Notes app.
• 👥 Calendar contact and data.
• 🎵 Recordings from the recorder (if synchronization is enabled).
• 📁 Files from My Drive (similar to Google Drive in Xiaomi ecosystem).

The most voracious elements are backups (they can weigh 1-3 GB each) and media files. For example, one copy of the Xiaomi 13 Pro smartphone with installed games and applications easily takes 2-4 GB. Many users do not even suspect that their device automatically backs up once a week or when connected to Wi-Fi.

To check what is taking up space in your cloud:

1. Open the Settings app on your smartphone.
2. Go to the Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud.
3. Click on the icon. ⚙️ Storage management (or Warehouse in new versions) MIUI).

So here you'll see a diagram of the categorization of space, and if the backup section takes up more than 50 percent, then cleaning it will have the maximum effect.

Method 1: Cleaning with the Mi Cloud mobile application

The easiest way to free up space is to use the built-in Mi Cloud app on your smartphone, a method that is suitable for deleting individual files, photos or notes without risking losing important data.

Step-by-step:

1. Open your Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Select the category you want to clear (e.g. Gallery, Notes, or Backups).
3. Click on the desired file or folder, then select Remove (basket icon).
4. Confirm the action in the pop-up window.

For mass removal of photos:

• 📂 Go to Mi Cloud. → gallery.
• 🔍 Click on the search icon (magnifying glass) and enter the keyword (e.g., “screenshot” or “2020").
• ✅ Select unnecessary files with a long press, then click Delete.

Note that deleted files are sent to the Mi Cloud Recycle Bin, which is stored for 30 days, and to make room, remember to clean it up:

1. In the Mi Cloud app, go to the Recycle Bin.
2. Click Clear the Recycle Bin or select individual files for recovery/deletion.

Method 2: Delete backups (most effective)

Backups are the main devourer of space in the Mi Cloud. Many users do not even suspect that their smartphone automatically creates backups every 7 days. One copy can weigh from 500 MB to 3 GB, and if they have accumulated 10-15 pieces, the cloud is clogged completely.

How to remove unnecessary backup copies:

1. Open Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud → Backups.
2. You'll see a list of devices and copy dates. Click on the line with your smartphone's name (e.g. Redmi Note 12 Pro).+).
3. Select an unnecessary copy (usually the oldest dates) and click Delete.
4. Confirm the action. The vacated area will be displayed immediately.

Tip: If you don't plan on recovering your smartphone from the cloud, you can leave only one of the most recent copies and delete all the others, which will free up to 80 percent of the space you're using.

How to disable automatic backups:

• 🔄 Go to Settings. → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud → Backup.
• 🔕 Turn off the slider Automatic backup.
• 📅 If you want to leave backups, but less often, click Backup Settings and select the interval (for example, once a month instead of a week).

⚠️ Note: If you sell or transfer a smartphone to another person, be sure to remove all backups from the Mi Cloud in advance, which may contain personal data, including Wi-Fi passwords, message history, and even banking application data (if installed at the time of the backup).

Method 3: Cleaning through the web version of Mi Cloud (from a computer)

The Mi Cloud web interface is convenient for mass file deletion, especially if there is little space or slow internet on your smartphone, and it is also the only way to download all data from the cloud to your PC before cleaning.

How to access Mi Cloud from your computer:

1. Open your browser and go to the address: https://i.mi.com/.
2. Sign in with the same Xiaomi account as you do on your smartphone.
3. At the first entry, confirmation may be required through SMS email.

What can be done in the web version:

• 🖼️ Delete photos in bundles: highlight several files with Ctrl keys+click+click, then click Delete.
• 📄 Download the data archive: select the files → More. → Download (suitable for backup before cleaning).
• 🗑️ Clean the basket: the section of the basket in the left menu.
• 📱 Delete backup copies: Backups section → Select the device → Remove unnecessary versions.

The advantage of the web version is that you can sort files by date and size, for example, you can display the largest files first and delete them first.

1. In the Gallery or My Disk section, click on the sort icon (usually next to the search).
2. Choose the size of the slate.
3. Delete files as large as 50MB or higher (if you don’t need them).

💡

Before you delete your photos in Mi Cloud, check if they are synced with Google Photos, and if so, delete duplicates in only one cloud to avoid losing your photos.

Method 4: Disable the synchronization of unnecessary data

Many Xiaomi apps sync data to Mi Cloud by default, even if you don’t notice it, such as Notes, Recorder, or Mi Browser, which can upload gigabytes of unnecessary information to the cloud.

How to turn off sync for individual applications:

1. Go to Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Scroll down to the Synchronization of Application Data block.
3. Disable sliders in front of unnecessary applications (for example, Browser, Recorder, Themes).

What data can be safely disabled from synchronization:

⚠️ Note: Disabling contact or gallery sync may result in data loss when you reset your phone or replace your device.If you decide to disable these options, pre-export the contacts to a.vcf file (via Contacts). → Settings → Exports and copy the photos to your computer.

Method 5: Using third-party cleaning applications

If Mi Cloud’s built-in tools seem inconvenient, you can use third-party cloud storage management apps to find duplicates faster, sort files by type, and even analyze which data takes up the most space.

Popular applications for working with Mi Cloud:

• 🔍 Files by Google: has a built-in storage analyzer that shows which files in the cloud take up the most space.
• 📊 Mi Cloud Manager (unofficial): allows you to massively manage files in the cloud, including backups. Careful: requires access to your Xiaomi account.
• 🗃️ Solid Explorer: File Manager with support for cloud storage, including Mi Cloud.

How to Clean Mi Cloud with Files by Google

1. Install the app from Google Play.
2. Open the Cleanup tab.
3. Select Storage Analysis → Cloud.
4. The app will show file categories sorted by size. Click on unnecessary ones (like "Large Files") and delete them.

⚠️ Note: Unofficial apps like Mi Cloud Manager request usernames and passwords from Xiaomi accounts. This is risky – it’s best to use them only if you are confident in the sources (for example, download from the site). 4PDA Most of the time, there are enough official tools from Xiaomi.

What to do if the Mi Cloud space is running out

If after cleaning the free space is still not enough, consider the following options:

1.Buy extra seat

Xiaomi offers paid rates for the expansion of the Mi Cloud:

• 💰 50GB — ~1$ month-to-month ~10$ yearly.
• 💰 200GB — ~3$ month-to-month ~25$ yearly.
• 💰 2 TB — ~10$ Monthly (not available in all regions).

To subscribe:

1. Go to Mi Cloud. → Warehouse → Buy a place.
2. Select the rate and pay via a linked card or Google Pay.

2. Transfer data to another cloud

If you do not want to pay, you can transfer some files to other services:

• 📁 Google Drive: 15GB free (but syncing with Xiaomi requires manual downloading).
• 📸 Google Photos: unlimited storage for photos in compressed quality (until 2021; now rates like Google Drive).
• 🌍 Yandex Disk: 10 GB free, convenient for users from Russia.

3. Optimize the storage of photos

Photos take up the lion's share of the cloud space, to save space:

• 🔍 Put it in the gallery. → Settings → Cloud sync option "Save originals on the device" (then the cloud will download compressed versions).
• 🗑️ Regularly delete screenshots and duplicates (for example, through the Gallery) → Albums. → Screenshots).
• 🎞️ Video in the video 4K Take up a lot of space – transfer them to an external disk or other cloud.

💡

If you are actively using your smartphone camera, set up automatic uploading of photos in Google Photos in parallel with Mi Cloud. This will create a backup in case of failures in one of the services.

FAQ: Frequent questions about cleaning up Mi Cloud