Thumb folder on Xiaomi: what is this directory, why it takes up a lot of space and how to clean it

What is the Thumb folder on Xiaomi and why does it appear on your phone?

If you've ever looked into the file system of your Xiaomi smartphone through a conductor or connected the device to a computer, you might notice a strange folder called Thumb (or.thumbnails, DCIM/.thumbnails). It often takes hundreds of megabytes, and sometimes several gigabytes of memory — and this is despite the fact that the user did not create it. Where does it come from and why?

Thumb is a system directory that is automatically generated by Android (and MIUI in particular) to store thumbnails (previews) of photos and videos. Every time you open a gallery, view images in a file manager, or even flip through chats in instant messengers, the system creates smaller copies of the original files, which is to speed up the loading of sketches: instead of processing heavy photos at 4000×3000 resolution each time, the phone shows light previews of 200×200 pixels.

The problem is that these thumbnails are never automatically deleted — they accumulate over the years, even if the original photos have been erased long ago. And given that modern Xiaomi smartphones (such as the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ or Xiaomi 13 Ultra) take pictures weighing 10-20 MB, the Thumb folder can grow to incredible sizes.

Once a week.|Once a month|Only when the place ends.|Never clean.-->

Where is the Thumb folder on Xiaomi and how to find it

The folder location depends on the MIUI version and the phone model, but it is most often hidden in one of the following ways:

• 📁 /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.thumbnails — gallery-house.
• 📁 /storage/emulated/0/Pictures/.thumbnails — alternative path in some firmware.
• 📁 /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/Gallery/thumb — specifically MIUI 12–14.
• 📁 /data/media/0/DCIM/.thumbnails — root-access devices.

To see the folder:

1. Open any file manager (e.g., standard MIUI File Manager or Solid Explorer).
2. Enable the display of hidden files: in MIUI File Manager press ⋮ → Settings → Show hidden files.
3. Follow one of the paths mentioned above.

If you don't have a folder at these addresses, try searching for the keyword thumb (no register), sometimes called thumbnails or thumbnail.

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On some Xiaomi models (e.g. POCO F5), the Thumb folder can be subfolded by year: 2023, 2026, etc. This makes it easier to clean old thumbnails.

Can you delete the Thumb folder on Xiaomi without consequences?

Yes, you can delete Thumb without harming the system, and miniatures are just cache, and their absence will not affect the phone's performance or the integrity of the original photos.

• ⚡ After removing the preview, the gallery will load more slowly when it first opens, as the system will have to regenerate sketches.
• 🔄 Miniatures will recover automatically after a while (when watching a photo or video).
• 📱 On some devices (e.g. Xiaomi) 12T) The folder may appear again in a few days.

The only risk is that you accidentally delete the wrong folder, for example, if you confuse DCIM/Thumb with DCIM/Camera, where the original photos are stored, so always check the path before cleaning.

⚠️ Note: If you use third-party galleries (like Google Photos or Simple Gallery), they can create their own thumbnail folders. Deleting system Thumb won't affect these caches - they need to be cleaned separately in the app settings.

How to Clean Thumb Folder on Xiaomi: Step-by-step instructions

There are several ways to remove thumbnails, and choose the right one depending on your skills and phone model.

Method 1: Manual cleaning through file manager

1. Open MIUI File Manager or other conductor.
2. Go to DCIM/.thumbnails (or another path from the list above).
3. Select all files inside the folder (long press). → «Choose everything»).
4. Click "Delete" and confirm the action.

Method 2: Through Storage Settings (without root)

1. Open the Settings → Storage.
2. Click on “Clean” or “Free the place”.
3. Select “Cash of thumbnails” or “Sketch Gallery” (if such item is available).
4. Confirm the cleanup.

Method 3: With ADB (for advanced users)

If the folder is not deleted by standard methods, you can use ADB:

adb shell


su




rm -rf /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.thumbnails

This method requires enabled debugging over USB and root rights (on some devices).

Backup of important photos|Check the free space on the phone|Close the gallery and file manager|Make sure the folder is not system-based (e.g., not /system)-->

Why Thumb folder reappears after deletion

MIUI (like any Android) automatically restores thumbnails when you do the following:

• 📸 Viewing photos in a gallery or file manager.
• 🎥 Video playback (even in messengers like WhatsApp or Telegram).
• 🔍 Using image search features (e.g. Google Photos).
• 📱 Update the firmware or reset settings.

To minimize the re-accumulation of cache:

• 🛑 Avoid frequent leafing through the gallery "just so».
• 🗑️ Clean your folder regularly (every 1-2 months).
• 📴 Use cloud services (like Google Photos) to store originals and disable local caching.

⚠️ Note: On some Xiaomi devices (e.g. Redmi) K50) Thumb folder can be protected from removal by the system, in which case only disabling automatic preview creation in the gallery settings (if such an option is available) will help).

How to disable the creation of thumbnails on Xiaomi (if possible)

Unfortunately, most versions of MIUI don't have a direct option to disable preview generation, but there are workarounds:

The most reliable method is periodic cleaning. + Using cloud-based photo storage services, which will not completely shut down thumbnails, but will significantly reduce the size of thumbnails.

FAQ: Frequent questions about the Thumb folder on Xiaomi

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Thumb is not a virus, it's not a system bug, it's a tool that's designed to speed up the gallery, but it can and should be cleaned if it takes up too much space, and the key is not to delete the original photos or confuse them with other system folders.