Where to look for thumbnails on Xiaomi: hidden folders, system paths and secure access methods

Have you ever noticed that the Xiaomi gallery loads faster than expected? Or wondered why deleted photos still show up as thumbnails? It's all about thumbnails, cached copies of images that the system creates to make things faster. These thumbnails take up space on internal memory, but they're not easy to find: they're hidden in system folders, and access to them is often limited.

In this article, we’ll look at where Xiaomi’s thumbnails are stored (including the MIUI 12-15 and the new HyperOS models), how to open them without root permissions, and whether you can safely remove them without disrupting the gallery. You’ll also learn why standard file managers don’t show these folders, and what tools will help you get around the restrictions. If you want to free up space on your device or are just curious about how the caching system works, read on.

What are thumbnails and why do you need them on Xiaomi?

The term thumbnails refers to smaller copies of images and videos that the system automatically creates, and their primary purpose is to speed up the download of a gallery, preview in a file manager or messengers, and instead of opening the original file every time it weighs several megabytes, the smartphone displays a light thumbnail.

On Xiaomi (as well as other Android devices), thumbnails are stored in special folders that are updated when:

• 📷 Adding new photos/videos to the gallery;
• 🔄 Changes to existing files (stripping, filters);
• 🗑️ Delete content (miniatures can remain in cache).

The problem is that these folders grow over time, for example, if you edit photos often in Google Photos or MIUI Gallery, the system can create multiple versions of a single thumbnail, resulting in internal memory accumulating up to 500 MB — 2 GB of junk files that are not visible to the user.

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If you notice that the gallery has slowed down and the free space is melting for no reason, check the folders with thumbnails. Cleaning them can return up to 10-15% of memory!

Where to store thumbnails on Xiaomi: standard ways

On Xiaomi smartphones, thumbnails are distributed across multiple system folders, and their location depends on the version of MIUI/HyperOS and the type of content (photos, videos, screenshots).

It is important to understand that the paths may vary slightly depending on the model. For example, on Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 with HyperOS, the.thumbnails folder may be located inside /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.miui.gallery/files/. And on older devices (for example, Mi 9 with MIUI 11) right at the root of the internal memory.

How to find thumbnails without root rights: step-by-step instructions

If you don't have root access, you can see hidden thumbnail folders with third-party file managers. Here's a working way for MIUI and HyperOS:

1. Install a file manager with support for hidden folders, for example: 📁 Solid Explorer (paid, but there is a trial period); 📁 FX File Explorer (free, with the option to "Show hidden files"); 📁 MiXplorer (requires manual installation) APK).

Open the manager and enable the display of hidden files:

• In Solid Explorer: Click on ⋮ (menu) → Settings → Show hidden files.
• In FX File Explorer: swipe right → Settings → Show hidden files and folders.
• Click on one of the paths in the table above. e.g.: /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.thumbnails If the folder doesn't show up, try an alternative path: /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.miui.gallery/files/.thumbnails

Make a backup of important photos

Close all applications that use the gallery

Connect the charger (the process may take time)

Check the free space on the device

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If the folders are still not visible, the reasons may be as follows:

• 🔒 Memory encryption is enabled on the device (solution: disable it in Settings) → Security → Encryption).
• 📱 Uses HyperOS with new access restrictions (solution: Update the file manager to the latest version).
• 🚫 Folder deleted or moved by the system (solution: check through ADB, see next section).

Standard MIUI File Manager|Solid Explorer|FX File Explorer|MiXplorer|Other |Not used-->

How to view thumbnails through ADB (without root)

If file managers don't help, you can use Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a debugging tool that allows you to access system folders without root permissions.

1. Turn on USB debugging on your smartphone: Go to Settings → About Phone. Tap 7 times on the MIUI version to activate Developer Mode. Go back to Settings → Additional → For Developers and turn on USB Debugging.

Connect your smartphone to your PC and open the command line (Windows) or terminal (macOS/Linux).

Enter a command to check the connection:

adb devices

If the device appears in the list, do:

adb shell ls /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.thumbnails

To copy the contents of the folder to the PC (for analysis):

adb pull /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.thumbnails C:\thumbnails_backup

(substitute C:\thumbnails_backup pathway).

Note: ADB commands give access to system files, but do not allow them to be modified without root. Attempting to delete thumbnails via ADB without superuser rights will result in a "Permission denied" error.

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ADB is the most reliable way to find thumbnails if the file managers don't show hidden folders, but you still need root rights or special utilities to clean the cache.

How to Safely Clean Your Tinnails on Xiaomi

Removing thumbnails manually is not recommended, as this can cause gallery disruptions, and instead use built-in tools or proven methods:

Method 1: Clearing the gallery cache

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the Gallery (or Google Photos if you use it).
3. Press Warehouse. → Clear the cache.

Method 3: Reset Gallery settings

If thumbnails take up too much space and don’t clear, reset the gallery settings:

1. Open the settings → Applications → Gallery.
2. Press Warehouse. → Management of space.
3. Select Reset Settings (this won’t delete the original photos, just cache).

⚠️ Warning: Do not delete.thumbnails folders manually through the file manager! this may cause the gallery to stop displaying previews until the next device restart.

What to do if your thumbnails take up too much space

If thumbnail folders have grown to a few gigabytes, it could indicate a system problem.

1. Update MIUI/HyperOS. New firmware versions optimize the caching mechanism. Check the updates in Settings → About Phone → System Update.
2. Turn off automatic thumbnail creation for unnecessary folders: Open the Gallery → press on ⋮ (menu) → Settings. Select Show hidden folders and mark those for which you do not need to create previews.

Use cloud services. If you upload photos to Google Photos or Mi Cloud, thumbnails will be stored on the server, not on the device.

Check for viruses. Some malware creates thousands of junk thumbnails. Scan the device with Malwarebytes or Dr.Web.

If the problem persists, the device may have damaged the gallery database, in which case the application settings reset (see the previous section) or a complete factory reset (extreme case).

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To reduce the size of thumbnails, disable the High Quality Preview function in the gallery settings. This will reduce the weight of thumbnails by 2-3 times.

Thumbnails on different models Xiaomi: features

The layout and behavior of thumbnails may vary depending on the model and firmware version, and here are the key features for popular devices:

On HyperOS devices (such as Xiaomi 14 or Redmi K70), the system can automatically archive old thumbnails. To see them, you sometimes need to unclose files with the.thumbdata extension.

FAQ: Frequent questions about thumbnails on Xiaomi