Traditionally, the iPhone has lacked a good file manager in which to view documents, photos and other information stored in the folders of the phone. However, it has been an app for years that allows you to manage all this, and you can even more comfortably view the downloads made from Safari, Google Chrome and other browsers. In this post we tell you where you can locate these.
Files App, what is it?
If you have an iPhone with iOS 11 or a later version , you may have noticed that in your app drawer there is a folder-shaped file called Files. This is the native file manager of your device, just like the Finder is on Mac and on Windows PC we find the multiple folders of Documents, My Computer and others. If you do not find it, it is possible to download it again from the App Store, since despite its importance it is possible to delete it from the phone.
When you open this app you will find several locations. On the one hand you will have iCloud Drive , a folder in which you can find all those files that you have uploaded to Apple‘s cloud storage service. Saving documents in this place is very useful if you want to later see them from other devices, whether or not they are from Apple. You can also view the content of other platforms such as Google Drive or Dropbox from this place, being able to edit, delete or add new files.
On the other hand you will have a folder called “On my iPhone” in which you can store content that will only be available on your iPhone. If you delete the app, it is possible that what is found here will be deleted, so you will have to be careful. On the other hand, you have the “Just deleted” folder, in which the files you delete will be kept for 30 days until they are completely deleted, although you can delete them manually if you wish before the system does it. It will also be possible to recover these files and move them to another folder before they are permanently lost.
It also highlights the possibility of adding labels to certain files and folders. You can use the default ones and edit their name or create new ones. It is a good way to categorize the different files to access them quickly by clicking on the corresponding label. However, there is also a search box at the top where those files can be found by typing their names.
How to save downloads on iOS
There are many types of downloads and the truth is that it can be somewhat confusing. Some of these, such as songs from platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify or Tidal, will be stored directly in these applications in order to be able to enjoy the content without having to be connected to the internet. The same happens with audiovisual content such as those from Apple TV +, Netflix or HBO. For photos we can find the native Photos app itself as the recipient of these downloads.
The downloads of documents and other files that we make from the browser or other platform, which have the option to save in the aforementioned Files app. When saving the file, you can choose the destination folder , as well as the name of the document. In the folder “On my iPhone” there may be a folder dedicated to downloads of this type of document, although they may also be found in others with different names depending on the file. For example, if you have the Adobe Reader app installed, you will find a folder with that name in which the downloaded PDFs will appear.
As for documents that are received through WhatsApp , we have to say that unfortunately it is not possible to store them by default. If they are photographs or videos, these are being saved in a folder called WhatsApp in the Photos app. However, audios and files are not stored anywhere that is normally visible to the user. If there is a document that you are especially interested in saving, you can open it with a specialized app and save it in it. We return to the case of PDFs and Adobe Reader, since if we receive this type of document through WhatsApp, they can be saved through said app and then viewed in Files.
In any case, there are a multitude of platforms and applications in which content can be saved using the corresponding extension for Files. This should appear when you click on the share options.
