X Cleaner on Xiaomi: Why You Need This App and How to Use It

If you own a Xiaomi smartphone, you probably noticed in the list of installed programs mysterious application X Cleaner. It appears on many devices of the brand - from budget Redmi to flagship Mi or POCO — And it often raises questions like, what kind of software is it, can it be removed, and does it harm the system? MIUI, and give clear recommendations on its use or uninstallation.

Now, the X Cleaner is not a virus or malware, although it sometimes behaves like one. It's a Xiaomi-branded tool designed to optimize the device's performance by clearing cache, controlling application auto-starts, and freeing up RAM. But its utility is a matter of debate: some users consider it an indispensable assistant, others an unnecessary ballast that only interferes. Then you'll know what category you belong to.

What is X Cleaner and Why You Need It on Xiaomi

X Cleaner (sometimes called Cleaner or Security Cleaner) is a system application built into firmware. MIUI. Its main task is the automated optimization of the smartphone in three key areas:

• 🧹 Cleaning up garbage: removing temporary files, application cache, uninstalled program residues and duplicate media files.
• 🔄 AutoRun control: Control applications that run when the device is turned on or run in the background, consuming resources.
• 📱 RAM release: forced closure of “hung” processes and optimization of RAM use.

On paper, everything looks useful, but in practice, X Cleaner often works too aggressively, for example, it can shut down the background processes of messengers (like WhatsApp or Telegram), which will stop you from receiving notifications, or delete the cache of games, which will lead to their longer load on the next run.

It is important to understand that X Cleaner is part of the ecosystem. MIUI, And its behavior is very much related to the system settings, so for example, if you activate Battery mode in the power settings, the cleaner will start to work more actively, closing the background processes to save charge. This can be useful for extending battery life, but will negatively affect multitasking.

How X Cleaner Works: Detailing Functions by Steps

To see if you can trust X Cleaner, let's take a closer look at its key features, and when you run the app, you'll see a few tabs, each one of which is responsible for its own aspect of optimization, and here's what they actually do:

1. Waste cleaning (Junk Cleanup)

This feature scans the device for:

• 🗑️ Application cache — temporary files that programs create to speed up work, and deleting them will not hurt, but it will not help much: the cache will recover the next time the application is launched.
• 📁 The remnants of the remote programs are folders and files that sometimes remain after the software is uninstalled. MIUI Rarely leaves a lot of this trash.
• 🖼️ Photo/video duplicates – the feature looks for the same media files, but often mistakenly taking similar pictures for duplicates.
• 📄 Large files – shows files larger than 10 to 50 MB, but it’s not always clear which ones can be safely deleted.

In practice, garbage cleaning rarely releases more than 100-300MB unless you’ve cleaned your phone in years. The bulk of the cache is usually cache, which will quickly recover, and some applications (like Google Play Services) begin to consume more traffic after cleaning the cache to reload it.

2. Acceleration (Boost)

This is a function that closes the background and releases RAM, which sounds good on paper, but:

• ⚡ Closing processes can interrupt file downloads, data synchronization, or messengers.
• 🔄 Android can control RAM itself: free memory is not always good. The system keeps frequently used applications in memory for quick access.
• 📉 After the “acceleration” the phone may even start to brake, as the system will have to reload data into memory.

Experts agree that manually freeing RAM on modern smartphones (even budget) is meaningless, except if the device really freezes due to a memory leak in some application, but even then it is better to restart the phone or close the problem program manually.

3. Deep Cleaning (Deep Clean)

The most controversial feature is that it promises to remove "deep residues" and "system debris," but in fact:

• 🔍 Often finds files that are actually needed to run applications.
• ⚠️ Can delete game data (e.g. saves) or program settings.
• 🛑 On some devices, after deep cleaning, widgets stop working or settings are reset.

⚠️ Warning: Never use Deep Clean without prior backup of important data.This feature can delete files necessary for applications to work properly, especially if they use non-standard data storage paths.

Auto-start (Auto-start) control

You can turn off auto-start apps when you turn on your phone, but it's a useful feature.

• 🚫 Disabling auto-run messengers (Viber, Telegram) will lead to a delay in notifications.
• ⏳ Some system processes (e.g. com.miui.securitycenter) are best left unattended, which may disrupt the operation of the system. MIUI.
• 🔄 After updating MIUI Auto Start settings may be reset.

If you want to really control autorun, it’s best to use specialized utilities like Greenify (requires root) or manually configure permissions for each application in the Settings menu. → Annexes → Permits → Auto-start.

Is X Cleaner Safe: Myths and Reality?

One of the most popular questions is, can you trust X Cleaner or is it spyware?

1. "X Cleaner is spying on me."

There is no evidence that X Cleaner collects users’ personal data beyond what any other system application does. MIUI. However:

• 🔍 The application has access to the list of installed programs, file system and process information – this is necessary for its operation.
• 📡 Like any Xiaomi software, it can send anonymous usage statistics (this can be turned off in the Privacy settings). → Diagnostics).
• 🔒 If you’re using unofficial firmware or a hacked version of X Cleaner, there are risks.

For complete confidence, you can block the application’s access to the Internet through Settings → Annexes → X Cleaner → Mobile data and Wi-Fi, which won't disrupt his work, but it will make it impossible to send statistics.

2. "It's ruining the phone."

X Cleaner can’t physically damage the device, but aggressive optimization sometimes leads to:

• 📱 Application failures (for example, notifications stop coming).
• 🔄 Slowing down the system due to the constant closure of background processes.
• 🗃️ Data loss if you use Deep Clean without caution.

Most often, problems arise for users who blindly trust the recommendations of the application and clean everything, for example, deleting the cache of Google Play Services can lead to errors in the work of Google services, and cleaning the system applications data can cause failures in the application. MIUI.

3. "It's a virus or a bloatware."

X Cleaner is not a virus, but it can be attributed to bloatware (pre-installed software that not all users find useful).

• ✅ It does not show ads (if it is the original version).
• ✅ Does not install third-party software without permission.
• ✅ You can disable or delete (more on this below).

However, on some devices (especially regional firmware for China), X Cleaner may be linked to Xiaomi’s ad services, and if you notice suspicious activity, check your phone for viruses using Malwarebytes or Dr.Web.

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If you suspect that X Cleaner is behaving suspiciously, check its digital signature. To do this, install the App Inspector app from Google Play and compare the signature with official Xiaomi data.

How to remove or disable X Cleaner on Xiaomi

If you decide you don't need X Cleaner, there are a few ways to get rid of it, from simply turning it off to completely removing it, depending on your firmware and root rights.

Method 1: Uninstall without removal (without root)

The safest option is to simply disable the app so it doesn’t get in the way of:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find X Cleaner (Can be called Cleaner or Security).
3. Click Disable (if the button is inactive, click Stop first).
4. Confirm the action. The application will stop working, but it will stay in the system.

This method is suitable for most users. minus: after the update MIUI The application may be activated again.

Method 2: Removal via ADB (without root)

If the shutdown is not enough, you can remove X Cleaner without root rights using the ADB:

1. Install ADB on your computer (instructions are available on XDA Developers).
2. Connect your phone to your PC and allow debugging USB (Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI (press 7 times) → Additionally. → For developers → Debugging by USB).
3. Execute the command: adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.miui.cleanmaster (if it doesn't work, try com.miui.securitycenter - sometimes the cleaner is built in there).

This way, the app is only removed for the current user, and after resetting or updating the firmware, it can return.

Method 3: Complete removal (root required)

If you have root access, you can remove X Cleaner permanently:

1. Install a file manager with root support (such as Root Explorer).
2. Go to /system/app/ or /system/priv-app/.
3. Find folders with CleanMaster, SecurityCenter or similar names and delete them.
4. Reset the device.

⚠️ Warning: Removing root-righted system applications can lead to unstable work MIUI. Before that, make a backup through TWRP Or OrangeFox.

Method 4: Replacement with an alternative

If you don't want to remove X Cleaner, but you don't want to use it, you can just install another cleaner and ignore the system cleaner.

• 🧹 SD Maid is a powerful tool for cleaning garbage (there is a free version).
• 🛠️ Files by Google – a simple cleaner from Google without unnecessary features.
• 🔍 CCleaner is a well-known cleaner, but with caution (there have been privacy concerns in the past).

The rule of thumb is, don't use multiple cleaners at once, they can conflict with each other and only impair performance.

Table: Comparison of X Cleaner with popular alternatives

* — In the original firmware MIUI. In modified versions, there are risks.

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If your goal is to simply free up space, it is enough to manually clear the cache and delete unnecessary files through a standard file manager. X Cleaner type cleaners give minimal memory gain, but can create system stability problems.

Frequent X Cleaner Problems and Solutions

Even if you choose to leave X Cleaner, it can be a problem, and let's look at the typical problems and the ways to solve them.

Permanent notification of “memory shortage”

Problem: Every few hours, the app shows a notification like, "Your phone is littered with garbage! Clean it right now!"

Decision:

• Open X Cleaner, go to Settings → Notifications and disable all alerts.
• Or completely disable notifications for the app in Android settings: Settings → Annexes → X Cleaner → Notifications → Shut down.

2.The phone brakes after cleaning.

Problem: After using the Boost function, the device starts to lag.

Decision:

• Don’t use Boost – Android manages memory better.
• If it is already slowing down, restart the phone - this will reset the memory state.
• In the X Cleaner settings, turn off automatic optimization: Settings → Auto-cleaning → Turn it off.

3. Files removed

Problem: After Deep Clean, photos, game saves, or app customizations are gone.

Decision:

• Check the Recycle Bin folder in the file manager – sometimes files are moved there.
• Use data recovery software such as DiskDigger or Recuva (requires root for deep scanning).
• If game saves are missing, check if the game supports cloud storage (e.g., through Google Play Games).

⚠️ Note: If system functions (such as the theme or widgets) stop working after cleaning, try resetting the X Cleaner settings to factory settings: → Annexes → X Cleaner → Warehouse → Clear the data. If that doesn't work, you may need to reset your phone to factory settings.

4.X Cleaner does not open or gives an error

Problem: The app dyes when it starts or shows a message "cleanup error".

Decision:

• Clear the cache and application data: Settings → Annexes → X Cleaner → Warehouse → Clear the cache/data.
• Update. MIUI Up to the latest version – the error can be corrected in new builds.
• If nothing helps, disable or uninstall the app (instructions above).

5. High battery consumption

Problem: The X Cleaner is constantly running in the background and drains the battery.

Decision:

• Limit its activity in the background: Settings → Annexes → X Cleaner → Battery → Limit background activity.
• Turn off autocleaning: Settings X Cleaner → Auto-cleaning → Turn it off.
• Remove or disable the app (see previous section).

Should you use X Cleaner: expert opinion

After analyzing all the functions and potential problems, the following conclusions can be drawn:

When X Cleaner can be useful:

• 📱 You use a budget smartphone Xiaomi with 2-3 GB of RAM and notice constant slowdowns.
• 🗑️ You rarely clean your phone and want to quickly free up 100-300MB of space.
• 🔋 It is critical to extend battery life (e.g. while traveling).

When to give up X Cleaner:

• 🚀 You have a flagship smartphone with 6+ GB RAM - Android will cope with memory management.
• 📲 You are actively multitasking (for example, you often switch between messengers and the browser).
• 🔍 You value stability and don’t want to risk losing data.
• 🛠️ You prefer manual control over automatic optimizations".

Our verdict is that X Cleaner is not a necessary application, and its features either duplicate the capabilities of Android or are too aggressive.

1. Regularly clean the cache manually through Settings → Warehouse → Cache data.
2. Delete unnecessary files through a standard file manager.
3. Control the auto-run of applications in the settings MIUI.

If you do want to use a cleaner, set up the X Cleaner as follows for minimal harm:

FAQ: Frequent questions about X Cleaner on Xiaomi