Use the Files app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

View and manage your files from any iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. The Files app makes it simple to find what you're looking for, no matter what device you're currently using.

Find your files

The Files app includes files on the device you're using, as well as those in other cloud services and apps, and iCloud Drive. You can also work with zip files.* To access your files, just open the Files app and choose the location of the file you're looking for.

Save a copy of your file locally

You can find locally stored files in On My [device], under Locations. On your iPad, simply drag files into the On My iPad folder to store them directly on your device. If you want to save a file locally on your iPhone or iPod touch, follow these steps.

  1. Go to the file that you want to store on your device.
  2. Tap Select > the file name > Organize.
  3. Under On My [Device], choose a folder or tap New Folder to create a new one.
  4. Tap Copy.

You can also long press on a file, choose Move, and select which folder you want to copy it to.

On iOS 12 or earlier, tap the file and choose Move. Then, under On My [device], choose Numbers, Keynote, or Pages, and tap Copy.

Move iCloud Drive files

  1. Go to the file that you want to move.
  2. Tap Select, then choose the file.
  3. Tap Organize.
  4. Under On My [Device], choose a folder or tap New Folder to create a new one.
  5. Tap Move.

You can also long press on a file, choose Move, and select which folder you want to copy it to.

Look for files on your Mac or PC

  • On your Mac, choose Go > iCloud Drive from the menu bar, or click iCloud Drive in the sidebar of a Finder window.
  • On iCloud.com, go to the iCloud Drive app.
  • On your PC with iCloud for Windows, open File Explorer, then click iCloud Drive.

* Password protected zip folders or directories are not supported in the Files app.

Organize your files

It's easy to organize all of the files stored in iCloud Drive — including Pages, Numbers, and Keynote documents. When you make changes on one device, your edits are automatically updated on every device using iCloud Drive.

You can make your own folders. Or rename the files and folders you already have when you press firmly on them.

Create new folders

View your files by name, date, size, or the tags that you add. With colorful and custom labels, you can assign tags to your files any way that you like. That means you'll quickly find just the project or document you need.

Add a tag

Rename a tag

  1. Go to Locations.
  2. Tap More > Edit.
  3. Tap the name of an existing tag.
  4. Enter the name of your new tag.
  5. Tap Done.

Delete files

Select the files that you don't want anymore and tap Delete. If you delete files from the iCloud Drive folder on one device, they delete on your other devices too. iCloud Drive removes the files from every device that you're signed in to with the same Apple ID.

When you delete a file from iCloud Drive or On My [device], it goes into your Recently Deleted folder. If you change your mind or accidentally delete a file, you have 30 days to get it back. Go to Locations > Recently Deleted. Select the file that you want to keep and tap Recover. After 30 days, your files are removed from Recently Deleted.

You can also sign into iCloud.com from your Mac or PC, then go to iCloud Drive and check Recently Deleted.

Want to share with a friend or colleague? You can share any folder or file stored in iCloud Drive directly from the Files app. In iCloud Drive, tap Select, choose the file or folder that you want to share, tap Share , and select Add People. You can share a folder or file through AirDrop, Messages, Mail, and more. Learn more about how folder sharing and file sharing work in iCloud Drive.

Or maybe you want to collaborate on a project in real time. The Files app lets you do that too with your Pages, Numbers, and Keynote documents. Select the file and tap Share or > Add People. You can invite them to collaborate through Messages, Mail, or copy and paste a link. Your participants are color-coded. And you can see when they're online, actively working on your shared document.

Use third-party apps in Files

The Files app lets you add your third-party cloud services — like Box, Dropbox, OneDrive, Adobe Creative Cloud, Google Drive, and more — so that you can access all of your files on all of your devices. The files you keep in iCloud Drive automatically appear in the Files app, but you need to set up your other cloud services to access them in the Files app too.

Add third-party apps

  1. Download and set up the third-party cloud app.
  2. Open the Files app.
  3. Tap the Browse tab.
  4. Tap More > Edit.
  5. Turn on the third-party apps that you want to use in the Files app.
  6. Tap Done.

If you don't see one of your third-party cloud services in the Files app, check with your cloud provider.

On iOS 12 or earlier, open the Files app then tap Locations > Edit to add third-party apps.

Move third-party cloud files

  1. Open the file that you want to move.
  2. Tap Share > Copy.
  3. Open the folder where you want to move your file.
  4. Firmly press the screen.
  5. Tap Paste.

Do more with Files on iPadOS

If you're on iPadOS, you can access files on a USB flash drive, SD card, or hard drive through the Files app on iPadOS. Just connect the storage device, and then you can select it under Locations. You can also connect to unencrypted storage on a file server, if that storage is using the APFS, Mac OS Extended, MS-DOS (FAT), or ExFAT format. You also have the option to view your files in Column View, which is helpful if you have files nested in multiple folders. Column View lets you see previews of files and offers access to tools like markup and rotate without even opening a file.

Connect to a file server

  1. Open the Browse tab.
  2. Tap More.
  3. Select Connect to Server.
  4. Enter the SMB address.
  5. Tap Connect.
  6. The server name appears under Shared in the Browse menu.

Switch to Column View

If you need help

  • Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to the latest iOS, or iPadOS.
  • Set up iCloud on all of your devices and turn on iCloud Drive.
  • Make sure that you're signed in to iCloud with the same Apple ID on all of your devices.
  • If you want to upload, download, or share files using cellular data, open Settings, select Cellular, scroll down to iCloud Drive and any third-party cloud services you use, and turn it on for each service.

If you don't want to access your iCloud Drive files in the Files app, you can choose to download and add only third-party cloud services instead.

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