Xiaomi’s ‘Other’ folder: where does memory go and how to clean it

Every Xiaomi smartphone owner is faced with a nasty situation sooner or later: the built-in storage is full, and the system insists on asking for space. The biggest mystery for users lies in the “Other” section (sometimes marked as “Other” or “System files”), which can occupy tens of gigabytes, turning into a “black hole” for usable space.

Understanding what exactly is behind the name is key to quickly optimizing the device. Unlike obvious categories like Photos or Apps, the contents of the Other folder are not always transparent to the average user. It's not just garbage, it's a complex collection of data that the system considers important for its work, but that you can safely delete.

In this article, we will take a closer look at the structure of hidden files in the MIUI and HyperOS shells, which data can be deleted without risking system stability, and which is better left alone, and we will look at both standard cleaning methods and advanced memory management methods.

What is hidden in the category "Other"

When you see the Other section swelling to unimaginable sizes, it means that the system has accumulated a lot of temporary and service files, primarily the cache of applications, social networks, messengers and browsers save previews of images, videos and web pages to speed up their loading in the future.

The second important component is the residual files of remote programs, and even if you delete a game or an application, its folders with settings and logs often remain on the system, as well as offline maps, downloaded music tracks on streaming services and temporary system update files.

⚠️ Note: Not all files in this category can be deleted. System logs and databases may be required to run the installed programs correctly. Blindly removing all content through the file manager can cause crashes.

Analytics and telemetry files are a special feature. A smartphone constantly collects usage, error and geo-location data, storing it in hidden directories. Without regular cleaning, this digital fat can take up a significant portion of memory.

The main reasons for the growth of system files

One of the main reasons for fast memory filling is an aggressive policy of caching multimedia applications. For example, Telegram or TikTok can store gigabytes of watched videos in the background. The system sees this data as “user”, but classifies it in a heap if the application does not provide accurate statistics through the system APIs.

Another reason is that applications fail to work properly or file downloads fail, and if downloads are interrupted, a broken file may remain dead, and some applications back up their data locally, duplicating information that is already in the cloud.

The frequency of smartphone use also affects: the more you use your device, the faster the volume of temporary files grows. Browsers save cookies, history and scripts of sites. Games load additional resources (textures, sounds) that also settle in the “Other” section.

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Use the built-in Cleanup feature in the Security app once a week to prevent critical cache proliferation.

Importantly, after major updates to the MIUI or Android shell, install packages can remain, usually being removed automatically, but if they are mistaken, they remain in storage, taking up 2 to 5 GB of space.

How to Clean the Other with Standard Means

The safest way to free up space is to use built-in optimization tools. Xiaomi shells are equipped with a powerful memory analyzer that can find duplicates and large files. First, go to the Security app and select Cleanup.

The system will scan the device and suggest that you delete temporary files. However, for a deeper cleaning, you need to go to the storage settings. Go to Settings → About Phone → Storage. Here you will see a detailed breakdown by category. Click on the Apps section to see which ones take up the most space.

When cleaning the cache of a particular application, be careful: the “Clear All” button** or “Erase Data” button will delete your logins, passwords and correspondence within this application. Use the “Clear Cache” option, which only deletes temporary files.

For junk files in a folder MIUI Or Android, you can use a built-in cleaner, and it'll find files with the.apk extension,.log log files, and temporary thumbnails.>

Manual cleaning through the file manager

For advanced users, you can manually clean through a standard conductor. Open the Explorer app and go to the root folder of the internal drive, and you have to be very careful to remove only the one you are sure of.

First, look at the Download folder, which often contains forgotten documents, installers, and instant messenger pictures, and it’s worth checking your Bluetooth folder if you’ve ever transferred files over the air.

Pay special attention to messenger folders. Android/media/com.whatsapp or Android/media/org.telegram.messenger store all received media files. Deleting them will free up a lot of space, but you will lose access to old photos and videos in chat rooms (unless they are saved separately in the gallery).

⚠️ Warning: Never delete folders with system service names (e.g. com.android.providers or com.miui.securitycenter) and this will lead to unstable interfaces and possible bootloops).

Using the “Conductor” application for analysis

Xiaomi’s regular Explorer has a hidden Occupied Spot Analysis feature. To get into it, open Explorer, go to the Files tab and click on the folder icon in the top corner (or select Internal Drive). Then click three dots in the corner and select Storage Analyzer (or similar item depending on the MIUI version).

This tool visualizes memory as color blocks, and you'll immediately see which file types take up the most space, and it often turns out that "Other" is actually a TikTok video or an Instagram cache that's just misclassified.

With the analyzer, it’s convenient to find large files scattered across different folders, sort content by size, and delete unnecessary archives, old videos, or forgotten game installation files, the most effective way to quickly “cure” a crowded storage.

Advanced methods: ADB and third-party utilities

If standard methods don't work, you can use a computer and USB debugging. ADB (Android Debug Bridge) allows you to delete the system cache and files that are not available to the average user, and this requires you to turn on the developer mode and debugging over USB in the phone settings.

By connecting your smartphone to your PC, you can execute a command to clean up the Dalvik cache and system temporary files, but this method requires technical literacy. One mistake in the team can lead to loss of personal data.

adb shell pm trim-caches 999999999

This is going to make room by removing the cache of apps, starting with the oldest ones, and there are third-party analytics apps like Files by Google or Total Commander, which often find more trash than the regular tools, thanks to deeper scanning algorithms.

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Use of the ADB-team `pm trim-caches` — The most effective way to clean the cache without removing application data, but requires a connection to a PC.

Prevention of memory overflow

To prevent the problem of the Other from returning, you need to change your smartphone usage habits. Check your messenger settings regularly. In Telegram, for example, you can set automatic cache deletion: Settings → Data and memory → Memory Use → Maximum cache size. Set a limit of 1-2 GB.

Disable auto-save photos from chat rooms to the gallery. This will prevent duplicate files: they will remain in the application, but will not take up space in the system folder of images, which also affects overall statistics. Regularly transferring photos and videos to your computer or to the cloud (Google Photos, Yandex.Disk) is also critical.

Remember to update applications and systems. Developers often optimize code to reduce the amount of garbage they create. Older versions of software may have memory management holes leading to excessive cache growth.