How to clean a phone using Total Commander on Android

Owners of smartphones based on the operating system Android sooner or later face the problem of lack of free space. The system begins to slow down, applications are unloaded from memory, and notifications about full storage appear more and more often. Standard cleaning tools often remove only superficial debris, ignoring hidden folders and duplicate files that take up gigabytes of valuable space.

A file manager is ideal for deep and professional cleaning of the device. Total Commander. Unlike automatic cleaners, this tool gives the user complete control over the file system structure. You will be able to see the real size of folders, find forgotten downloads and remove system junk that other apps bypass.

In this article we will look in detail at how to use the power Total Commander to optimize your smartphone. We won't rely on blindly pressing the "clear" button, but will teach you how to consciously manage your memory. This will speed up the operation of the gadget and free up space for new photos and applications without the risk of deleting important data.

Installation and initial setup of Total Commander

The first step is to install the application itself. Total Commander distributed free of charge through the official store Google Play. After installation, run the app and grant it the necessary permissions to access the storage. Without this step, the file manager will not be able to scan the internal memory and SD card.

The app interface may seem unusual after modern minimalistic designs, but it is this that ensures high speed. The screen is divided into two panels, making it easy to move and copy files. To get started, it is important to understand the navigation: the upper part of the screen displays the path to the current directory, and the lower part shows buttons for quick access to functions.

In the application settings, it is recommended to enable the display of hidden files. This is critically important for high-quality cleaning, since many temporary data and application logs are hidden in hidden folders starting with a dot. Go to Settings → Contents → Show hidden files and activate this option.

⚠️ Attention: When enabling the display of hidden files, be extremely careful. Do not delete files with extensions .db or .xml from system folders if you are not sure of their purpose, as this may break applications.

Analyze occupied space and search for large files

Before deleting anything, you need to understand what exactly is taking up space on your device. Total Commander has a built-in analysis tool that visualizes memory allocation. This allows you to avoid deleting small files that add up to insignificant results, and focus on the “heavyweights”.

To start the analysis, go to the root directory of the internal memory and use the search function. Enter the mask * and in the search parameters specify sorting by size. The system will display all files sorted from largest to smallest. Often forgotten video files, disk images or archives appear at the top of the list.

Particular attention should be paid to the folder Android/data i Android/obb. Cache files of games and heavy applications are stored here. If you deleted a game, but the space was not freed up, most likely, its data remains here. Manually deleting these folders for already deleted apps is safe and effective.

Data type	Typical location	Is it possible to delete	Risk of data loss
Application cache	Android/data	Yes (for deleted applications)	Low (reset application settings)
Downloads	Download	Yes (after verification)	Medium (important documents are possible)
Thumbnails photo	DCIM/.thumbnails	Yes	No (will be created again)
System logs	log or logs	Yes	No

Clearing the cache of instant messengers and social media networks

The most voracious applications on a modern smartphone are instant messengers. Telegram, WhatsApp and Viber save every received photo and video to the device’s memory, creating huge archives of duplicates. Automatic cleaners are often afraid to touch these folders so as not to delete the correspondence, but Total Commander allows you to do this precisely.

Find the folder with the name of the messenger in the internal memory. For example, for Telegram this is usually a directory Telegram, and for WhatsApp - WhatsApp/Media. Inside you will see subfolders such as Telegram Images, Telegram Video or WhatsApp Video. By going into them, you can sort files by date and delete old media that is no longer valuable.

An important advantage of the manual method is the ability to save important documents and photos, while removing promotional stickers and random pictures from group chats. You can select files for a certain period, for example, last year, and delete them with one click using the function File → Delete.

The secret of clearing Telegram

In the Telegram cache folder, there is often a “cache” folder, which can weigh several gigabytes. Its contents can be completely deleted without harm to correspondence, since these are only temporary preview files.

Search and delete duplicate files

During the active use of a smartphone, copies of the same files are often created. This can happen when editing photos, re-downloading documents, or cloud service synchronization failures. The presence of duplicates not only takes up space, but also makes it difficult to find the information you need.

Total Commander has a powerful tool for finding duplicates, which works based on comparing the contents of files, not just their names. To run this feature, use a plugin or built-in search with the "Search for duplicates" option. Specify the folders to scan, for example, DCIM and Pictures.

After scanning is completed, the app will display a list of pairs or groups of identical files. Please review the list carefully before deleting. Sometimes files can be the same size but have different contents, although the checksum comparison algorithm minimizes this possibility. Delete copies, leaving originals with better quality or a more convenient name.

⚠️ Attention: Interfaces and plugin algorithms can be updated by developers. If the standard duplicate search function is not found, check the "Plugins" section in the settings and install the current version of the Compare Files utility from the app repository.

Working with the recycle bin and permanent deletion

Unlike the Windows operating system, Android there is no single system recycle bin for all files. When you delete a file via Total Commander, it is erased immediately. This requires extra care, but also allows you to instantly free up space without having to empty the trash later.

However, it itself Total Commander offers a custom trash feature that can be activated in the settings. If you enable this option, deleted files will be moved to a special hidden folder inside the app directory. This serves as insurance against accidental deletion of important data, allowing you to restore it over time.

For maximum cleaning efficiency, it is recommended to periodically empty this built-in recycle bin. Go to the cart plugin settings and select "Empty cart". Remember that after this action, file recovery will become impossible without the use of specialized data recovery software.

Using plugins for advanced cleaning

The real power Total Commander is revealed when using plugins. There are many add-ons written by enthusiasts that turn the file manager into a real system maintenance machine. Plugins allow you to analyze a database of media files, clean the application registry and search for empty folders.

One ​​of the most useful is a plugin for working with databases SQLitewhich many applications use to store caches. With its help, you can safely reset cache tables in messenger database files without deleting the settings files themselves. This is a complex method that requires an understanding of the database structure, but it gives the best results.

There are also plugins for quickly calling system cleaning functions. They can add buttons to open the application management menu or clear the system cache directly from the file manager interface. Installation of plugins is carried out through the menu Settings → Plugins → Install plugin, specifying the path to the downloaded .tcplugin file.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Is it safe to delete the Android/data folder?

Deleting the entire folder is not recommended, as this will reset the settings of many applications. However, it is safe to delete subfolders inside datathat correspond to games or apps that you have already deleted from your smartphone. You can also clean the contents of folders cache inside the directories of active applications.

Why does Total Commander not see files on the SD card?

In new versions Android (starting from 11), access to the SD card for third-party applications is limited. The first time you access the card, the file manager will ask for special permission. You will need to click "Allow", go to the root of the map and confirm access by clicking the "Use this folder" button at the bottom of the screen.

How to find the largest files quickly?

Use the built-in search (File → Find files). In the name field, enter *, and in the search options, select sort by size in descending order. You can also use the "TreeSize" plugin or analogues that build a visual map of the occupied space.

Is it possible to restore files after deletion in Total Commander?

If the built-in recycle bin of the application itself was not enabled, then the files are deleted directly from the file system. Recovery is only possible using special utilities for data recovery (for example, DiskDigger), and this is not guaranteed, especially if new information has already been written to the place of the deleted files.