How to Remove Frequently Used Emoticons on Xiaomi: The Complete Guide

Emojis have become an integral part of messaging, but over time, Xiaomi’s “frequently used” emoji list turns into chaos: outdated characters, accidentally added icons or just unnecessary pictograms. If you want to clear up the history of emojis on your Redmi, POCO or Xiaomi 13/14 flagship, this guide will help you do it quickly and without consequences for the system.

The problem is that MIUI doesn't offer a direct "clear history" button for emojis -- it's been hidden in the depths of the settings or removed altogether in newer versions of the firmware. We tested all current methods on MIUI 12-14 (including HyperOS) and selected working solutions from keyboard reset to manually delete files via ADB. Important: some methods require superuser rights or PC connection, but there are also simple options for beginners.

Why are emojis not cleaned in the standard way?

Unlike iOS or pure Android, where the history of the emoji is reset in the keyboard settings, MIUI stores commonly used emojis in protected system files.

• 🔄 Data caching: Xiaomi aggressively caches user preferences, including emojis, to speed up their loading.
• 📁 Separation by app: Smiley history can be stored separately for WhatsApp, Telegram and standard Messages.
• 🔒 Reset protection: After the update MIUI 13→14 Some files are not available without root rights.

Also, MIUI 14 and HyperOS have removed a separate partition to control emojis in the keyboard settings, which makes it harder, but the workarounds still work, and we'll take them down the steps below.

Method 1: Reset the MIUI keyboard settings (without root)

The most secure method, which works on all models from the Redmi Note 10 to the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, resets the entire input history, including commonly used emojis, but does not affect personal data.

1. Open Settings → System and device → Language and input.
2. Slip on the current keyboard (usually the MIUI or Gboard keyboard).
3. Select Additional Settings → Reset (or Clear Data in Older Versions).
4. Confirm the action. The history of the emoji will be deleted after the reboot.

Important: This method does not clear emojis in third-party messengers (for example, in Viber or Signal), since they store their own databases.

Method 2: Cleaning the Messages app cache

If the emojis are “stuck” in the standard Messages app (com.android.mms), they can be removed by clearing the cache:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the Messages app (or Messages on English firmware).
3. Slip the vault. → Clear the cache.
4. If the emojis are left, repeat the action and select Clear Data (this will delete the entire SMS history!).

⚠️ Note: Clearing the data in the Messages will delete all correspondence, including MMS Pre-repair your files through Settings. → Memory. → Backup.

💡

If the emojis returned after clearing the cache, check if they are synced through the Mi Account. Turn off sync in Settings → Xiaomi Account → Sync and repeat the procedure.

Method 3: Manually delete files via ADB (for advanced ones)

For users willing to work with ADB, there is a way to delete emoji history files directly, a method that works on all versions of MIUI, but requires the phone to be connected to a PC.

You'll need:

• 🖥️ Computer with installed ADB Tools.
• 📱 Included Debugging by USB on the phone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times tap the version number, then return to the Additional settings → For developers).
• 🔌 Cable USB Type-C (preferably original).

Instructions:

adb shell


su




rm -rf /data/data/com.android.inputmethod.latin/files/emoji_*




rm -rf /data/data/com.miui.android.inputmethod/files/emoji_*




reboot

Critical: The rm-rf command permanently deletes files. If you make a mistake along the way, it can cause the keyboard to crash. Use only the paths above!

Method 4: Cleaning emoji in messengers

Messengers like WhatsApp, Telegram or Viber store their own databases of commonly used emojis to reset them:

• 📱 WhatsApp: Go to chat → tap on the input field → smiley-button → ⚙️ → Clear history.
• 💬 Telegram: Click on the smiley in the input field → ⋯ → Clear history.
• 🔵 Viber: Open the keyboard → pinch any smiley → Remove from frequently used (manual removal).

For Instagram and Facebook Messenger, the emoji story is only reset when the app is reinstalled or its data is cleared through Android settings.

Method 5: Completely reset the keyboard to factory settings

If the previous methods didn't work, the radical option is a complete keyboard reset.

• 🔤 All saved words and phrases.
• 🎨 Custom themes and settings.
• 😊 A History of Emojis and Stickers.

Instructions:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the keyboard (MIUI Keyboard or Gboard).
3. Select Warehouse → Clear the data (no cache!).
4. Confirm the action and restart the phone.

⚠️ Warning: After resetting, the keyboard will work as if it were first set up, adding languages, connecting the dictionary and adjusting gestures. We recommend exporting the custom dictionary beforehand (if you have this option).

What do you do if nothing helps?

If the emojis persist in coming back, the problem may be related to:

• 🔄 Sync with Mi Cloud: Disable it in Settings → Xiaomi account → Synchronization.
• 📲 Update MIUI: After major updates (for example, with the MIUI 13 by 14) history of emoji can be reconstructed from backup.
• 🛠️ Damage to system files: In this case, only a hard reset will help.

💡

If you use a keyboard from a third-party manufacturer (like SwiftKey or Fleksy), clearing your emoji history is done in the settings of the keyboard app itself, not in MIUI.

As a last resort, reset your phone to factory settings (Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset) and this is guaranteed to delete all user data, including emoji history, but will require reconfiguration of the device.

FAQ: Frequent questions