Ranking updated
File manager apps: find, move and clean up files on your phone
Every phone has a file manager, and it is often enough. Files from Apple on iPhone and Samsung My Files on Galaxy phones show what is on the device, on a memory card and in the cloud. Files by Google also frees up space, and Documents by Readdle on iPhone adds archives and PDF editing.
How we chose: the file managers from Apple, Google and Samsung and one independent app from a registered company, with features taken from each app’s store description.
Where the files are on iPhone
On iPhone files live in Files from Apple. Recents shows what you opened lately, and Browse lets you move through folders, tag files, move them and search. It opens iCloud Drive and other clouds such as Dropbox, Box and OneDrive, reads an external drive or SD card, connects to a file server at work or at home over SMB, and shares iCloud Drive files with a link.
Documents by Readdle on iPhone
Documents by Readdle is a file manager, document viewer, PDF editor and archive tool. It browses and renames local files with colour tags, imports from a computer, downloads from the web and works with iCloud, Dropbox and Google Drive. It opens and creates ZIP and RAR archives, edits text in a PDF, merges and splits pages and adds a signature to contracts and forms.
Files by Google and Samsung My Files on Android
Files by Google shows how much space is left on the phone, SD card and USB drive and suggests what to clean, such as old photos from chat apps, duplicates and cache. It searches and sorts files by size, shares them offline with Quick Share, moves them to Google Drive or an SD card and protects private files with a PIN or pattern separate from the phone lock. Samsung My Files works like a file explorer on a computer and manages files on the phone, an SD card, a USB drive and connected cloud storage at the same time, with a storage analysis button on the main screen.
Which one to choose
iPhone, start with Apple Files. Archives and PDFs on iPhone, Documents by Readdle. Short on space on Android, Files by Google. A Galaxy phone, Samsung My Files. To keep files in the cloud, see cloud storage apps, and to edit documents, PDF apps.
| App | Platform | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Apple FilesApp Store | iPhone, iPad | Recents and Browse, tags, iCloud Drive and other clouds, external drives, file servers |
| Documents by ReaddleApp Store | iPhone, iPad | file browser, colour tags, ZIP and RAR, PDF editing and signing, cloud drives |
| Files by GoogleGoogle Play | Android | cleaning suggestions, search, offline sharing with Quick Share, backup to Google Drive, PIN for private files |
| Samsung My FilesGoogle Play | Galaxy phones | phone, SD card, USB drive and cloud in one place, storage analysis |
Frequently asked questions
Where are downloaded files on iPhone?
In the Files app from Apple, which shows files on the device, in iCloud Drive and in other connected clouds.
Which file manager frees up space on Android?
Files by Google suggests what to clean, and Samsung My Files has a storage analysis button.
Which file manager is in Ukrainian?
On the App Store, Apple Files and Documents by Readdle list Ukrainian.