topic Re: Thumbdata file in DCIM folder keeps reappearing eating up all space in XPERIA archive

Thumbdata file in DCIM folder keeps reappearing eating up all space

Basant — Fri, 25 Oct 2013 12:47:43 GMT

A funny problems started in my L.. in the DCIM folder a thumbdata file which gets bigger n bigger keeps reappearing.. wot is it and how do i get rid of it?

Re: Thumbdata file in DCIM folder keeps reappearing eating up all space

Trubo_XL — Fri, 25 Oct 2013 13:47:01 GMT

The folder you are referring is usually the caching folder of the phone's Album app (or other imaging apps)...

Every time you open up the Album app to check your photos, the app will scan for all existing images/photos in your phone. Then, the app creates little "scaled down" preview thumbnails of the images so that you can easily navigate and find the images...

These images are of course keeps expanding if you have an ever increasing of images stored in your phone...

In a nutshell, you can safely delete it even though the app will regularly performe clean ups of the folder...

But it will keep coming up the next time you open up any photos just to view them.

Re: Thumbdata file in DCIM folder keeps reappearing eating up all space

Basant — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 06:33:32 GMT

Trubo pal I know all that.

What you are referring to are the thumbnails. The thumbnails are the way the app gains quick access to the images. This is a file called thumbdata.3xxxx which keeps increasing phenomenally fast.

Re: Thumbdata file in DCIM folder keeps reappearing eating up all space

nomemory — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 13:19:28 GMT

Well there isnt any good fixes for this issue. Report this issue to android issue tracker . Go here (Brings you to Android issue tracker) to upvote the issue so it can seen by developers and get it fixed early.

Re: Thumbdata file in DCIM folder keeps reappearing eating up all space

gigavolt — Tue, 19 Aug 2014 21:06:08 GMT

Hello all.

Solution exists. I tried and it works. It is easy:

Use some browser on your PHONE (not in computer) for example Total Commander:

1) Create FOLDER with the same name as big thumb file ".thumbdata3--XXXXXXX". NOT FILE, but FOLDER!!!

2) Delete file .thumbdata3--XXXXXXXXX

(There will not be possible to have folder and file with the same name in one folder. For example create new folder on different place and move it.)

3) If Total Commander shows the same value of free space in phone, switch OFF and ON the phone (normal way) and look into folder "LOST.DIR". Delete files inside.

Thats all. Enjoy.

My phone works faster and thumb file was not created again although I was using Album and Camera app. very intensively.

If You are satisfied with this solution, give SOLUTION.

Re: Thumbdata file in DCIM folder keeps reappearing eating up all space

stogies — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 05:21:02 GMT

My speculation is that the '.thumbnail' isn't literally as big as it looks. Upon closer inspection my album takes up 1.3GB on my internal storage. Likewise there are two hidden cached files in my DCIM each equal to 1.3GB. Here's the kicker my storage graph, or bar in settings only accounts for the 1.3GB of pictures and videos, not the cached '.thumbdata's'. 📈 The actual thumbnail jpegs are tiny and probably aren't really encroaching on my device storage.

What still puzzles me is the deleted pictures and videos are being cached as tiny jpeg thumbs. Why then when I clear all cached data for all apps that won't apply to my pictures' and videos' thumb data?

Re: Thumbdata file in DCIM folder keeps reappearing eating up all space

sebdub — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 16:31:20 GMT

@gigavolt Thanks, you rock !

It does work great, and browsing pictures has never been faster.

I had a little bug with apps icons at the restart of the phone, but it's gone now.