Owners of brand smartphones Xiaomi often face a situation when the device starts to work slower or the keyboard offers irrelevant data when inserting text. This is due to the fact that Clipboard accumulates information: from simple links to copied passwords and card numbers. Over time, this volume can become significant, affecting system performance and creating privacy risks.
Unlike computers, where clearing occurs automatically when you reboot or copy a new item, on Android mobile platforms the copy history is retained longer. This is especially true for modern MIUI and HyperOS shells, which integrate advanced buffer managers directly into the system keyboard. Understanding how to manage this feature is key to keeping your system clean.
In this article, we will look in detail at all the available methods for deleting temporary data. You will learn how to use built-in system tools, keyboard settings Gboard and third-party utilities. We will also look at the nuances of working with the buffer on different firmware versions, so that you can choose the most suitable method for your model Redmi or Poco.
The principle of the clipboard in MIUI and HyperOS
Technically clipboard is a dedicated area of RAM intended for temporary storage of data. When you click Copy, the system places the object in that segment. Traditionally, Android would overwrite this data with each new copy, but modern versions of the shell have implemented a history feature. This feature allows the user to access the last few items that were copied. This is convenient for working with texts, but creates a load on resources. If you copied a heavy image or a long document, it may take up space in RAM until it is manually cleared or replaced with a new item. MIUI introduced a history function.
This function allows the user accessing the last few elements that were copied. This is convenient for working with texts, but creates a load on resources. If you copied a heavy image or a long document, it may take up space in RAM until it is manually cleared or replaced with a new item.
It is important to distinguish between the system buffer and the keyboard buffer. The system one stores the last active item for the Paste operation, while the keyboard (for example Gboard or SwiftKey) keeps its own history log. Clearing one does not always guarantee clearing the other, so a comprehensive approach to device maintenance is required.
⚠️ Warning: Some system processes may automatically buffer data without your knowledge. Regularly checking the history helps identify suspicious application activity.
If you often copy confidential data (passwords, codes from SMS), the habit of immediately clearing the buffer after use will be your first line of defense against information leakage.
Cleaning through the built-in Gboard keyboard
Most smartphones Xiaomi by default they use the keyboard Gboard from Google. This is where the bulk of the data available to the user most often accumulates. History management here is implemented intuitively, but is hidden behind a few touches of the screen.
To begin, open any application where you can enter text, for example, messenger or notes. Bring up the keyboard and find the clipboard icon. It is usually located in the top toolbar and looks like a rectangle with an image of a piece of paper. If there is no icon, click on the icon with four squares or a right arrow to open an additional menu.
After opening the panel, you will see a list of all saved items. To delete a specific entry, long-tap on it and select the trash can icon. If your goal is a complete cleanup, look for the “Clear All” button or the trash can icon in the corner of the panel. Confirm the action, and the history will be completely destroyed.
- 🗑️ Long pressing on an element allows you to delete only a specific entry from the history.
- 📌 The pin icon pins important information, protecting it from accidental deletion when clearing the entire list.
- ⚙️ In settings keyboard, you can completely disable the function of saving copy history.
☑️ Clearing algorithm in Gboard
It is worth noting that the privacy settings in Gboard allow you to configure automatic data deletion. You can set a timer after which old entries will be deleted without your participation. This is an excellent option for those who do not want to constantly monitor the cleanliness of the system manually.
Buffer management in third-party keyboards
If you do not use a standard keyboard, but installed a solution from third-party developers, for example SwiftKey or Yandex Keyboard, the cleaning procedure will be different. The principle remains the same - searching for a history section, but the interface can be located in other places.
In the keyboard SwiftKey the clipboard panel is called up through the icon in the predictive input row or through the Emoji menu. The function of pinning notes is also available here. To clear it, you need to go to the settings of the keyboard application itself through the Android system menu, find the “Clipboard” section and select the reset data option.
Users Yandex Keyboard may encounter the fact that the history is synchronized with the cloud. In this case, wiping on the device may not remove data from the cloud profile. You need to go to your account settings inside the application and disable buffer synchronization or clear it remotely.
| Keyboard | Menu location | Auto clearing option | Synchronization |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gboard | Panel tools | Yes (timer) | No (locally) |
| SwiftKey | Emoji menu/Settings | No | Yes (Microsoft account) |
| Yandex | Logo/Settings | No | Yes (Yandex account) |
What to do if the buffer icon is not displayed?
In some design themes or at a certain font size, the icon may be hidden. Try changing the keyboard theme to the standard one or check the panel display settings in the keyboard control menu.
Using the task manager and multitasking menu
One of the fastest, although not always guaranteed, ways to clear RAM along with the buffer is to use the multitasking menu. On smartphones Xiaomi with a shell MIUI this menu has expanded functionality.
Press the “Menu” button (square or swipe up and hold) to display all running applications. In some firmware versions, when you long press the clear button (“Cross”), the system prompts you not only to close applications, but also to clear the process cache. This action often resets the contents of the system clipboard.
It is also worth paying attention to the built-in Cleaner tool, which is available in the Security application. Running this utility scans the system for temporary files and can free up memory occupied by background processes, indirectly affecting the buffer state.
However, this method does not work on all versions of Android. From Android 10 onwards, memory management has become more restrictive, and simply closing applications does not always reset the buffer. Therefore, this method is best considered as an additional measure, rather than the main one.
The multitasking menu effectively resets the buffer only if the application that copied the data has been completely unloaded from RAM.
Third-party applications for managing the buffer
For advanced users who require complete control over the copied data, there are specialized applications from the store Google Play. Clipboard managers provide features not available in the standard system: history search, text editing and bulk deletion.
Popular solutions such as Clipper or Clean Clipboardwork in the background and intercept all copy operations. They allow you not only to view history over a long period, but also to set up automatic cleaning rules. For example, you can set to delete all data older than one hour.
When installing such applications, you must be careful about permissions. The buffer manager requires access to Accessibility Services to track user activity. This creates a potential security risk, so download apps only from trusted developers with high ratings.
- 🔍 Advanced search allows you to quickly find copied text by keyword.
- 🛡️ The Incognito function temporarily pauses history recording to protect privacy.
- 🔄 Automatic synchronization between devices (in paid versions).
⚠️ Attention: Third-party buffer managers have constant access to your data. Do not use them on devices where you enter critical financial information unless you trust the developer 100%.
Radical methods: reboot and reset settings
If software methods do not produce results or the clipboard behaves incorrectly (for example, inserts old text instead of new), it is worth resorting to radical measures. The simplest and most effective of them is to completely reboot the device.
When rebooting Xiaomi the RAM is completely cleared, and all temporary data, including the contents of the system buffer, are permanently deleted. This is a universal solution that also helps eliminate minor software glitches in the interface.
In extreme cases, when the problem is systemic and accompanied by other errors, you may need to reset the keyboard settings to factory settings. To do this, go to Settings → Advanced settings → Language and input, select your keyboard and click “Reset settings”. This will delete all history and personal dictionaries.
Settings → About phone → MIUI version (press 7 times for developer mode)
→ Advanced settings → For developers → Do not save actions (optional)
Using developer mode with the “Do not save actions” option forces the system to destroy background processes immediately after they are minimized. This ensures that the buffer is not clogged with data from closed applications, but may increase the startup time of apps when reopened.
The effect of reboot on user data
Rebooting the phone deletes only temporary data from RAM. Your photos, contacts and installed applications remain completely safe.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Is the clipboard deleted when the phone is turned off?
Yes, when the device is completely turned off or rebooted, the RAM is de-energized, and all data from the system clipboard are deleted. However, the history in the keyboard can be saved if it is written to the internal memory of the application.
Why does pasting still work after clearing the buffer?
This happens because at least one last element must always be stored in the buffer for the Paste function to work correctly. Clearing the history deletes previous entries, but the current active item remains available until the next copy.
Is it possible to recover deleted data from the clipboard?
No, after clearing the clipboard history, data recovery is not possible using standard Android tools. Third-party data recovery applications are also rarely able to access this memory segment after clearing it.
Does the clipboard take up a lot of space in the phone's memory?
Text data takes up negligible space (kilobytes). However, if you copy high-resolution images or large pieces of code, they can take up several megabytes of RAM, which is significant for devices with a small amount of RAM.
How to disable saving copy history permanently?
Go to the settings of your keyboard (for example, Gboard), find the “Clipboard” section and turn off the “Save copied text” switch. After this, the keyboard will store only the last element without forming a history.