# Files

> Unified file access and organization across devices and cloud storage. (iPhone/iPad app by Apple.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/files/id1232058109 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Apple](https://appshunter.io/developer/284417353)
- Category: Utilities
- Price: Free
- Rating: 2.91/5 from 6,588 App Store ratings · 2,462 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 11.0 · 3 MB
- Languages: Arabic, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German and 23 more
- Released: 2017-05-18
- Data updated: 2026-08-28
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/files/id1232058109/reviews.md

## What is Files?

Access and organize your files no matter where they’re located — on your device, in the cloud, on an external drive or file server— with Files. The Recents view displays the files you’ve been working on lately in high-resolution thumbnails. Use the powerful Browse view to navigate folders, organize your files with tags, move files between folders, and search. Files also makes it easy to access iCloud Drive and third-party cloud storage services such as Dropbox, Box, and OneDrive.

Features

• Press the Files icon in the Dock or Home screen to quickly open a file from anywhere

• Connect an external drive or SD card to your device to access the files

• Connect to a file server at work or a home PC using SMB from Files

• Use tags to organize files stored with different cloud providers and across different apps.

• Pin your favorite folders in Browse view for quick access to the ones you use most.

• Give people access to any file stored in iCloud Drive by sharing a link from the Files app

• Drag and drop to select files and organize them into folders

## Key features

- Access files from device, cloud, and external drives
- Recents view with high-resolution thumbnails
- Organize files with tags
- Search and navigate folders
- Connect to cloud services (Dropbox, OneDrive, etc.)
- Connect to file servers (SMB)
- Pin favorite folders

## What do users think of Files?

Overall sentiment: neutral

**Pros**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Smooth performance
- 💡 Useful for storing and organizing files
- 🔒 Secure file storage

**Cons**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes
- 🐛 Files disappearing or not saving properly
- 🐛 Unreliable sync with cloud services
- 🐛 Limited functionality compared to desktop file managers
- 🐛 Buggy PDF annotation and editing

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Files app not showing any files after iOS 15 update
- Inability to delete downloaded files
- Keyboard glitches when editing documents
- Inconsistent behavior when transferring files to external storage

**Most requested features**

- Add ability to view file extensions
- Improve search functionality
- Allow more customization of the interface
- Integrate better with other Apple apps and services
- Add support for more cloud storage providers

## Recent user reviews (10 of 2,462)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/files/id1232058109/reviews.md

### 2/5 — can’t even search anymore. WTF!

*2026-08-18, version 1.6*

just to check this, I literally saved a document named it, copied and paste the exact name and paste it into the search bar and nothing came up. I don’t know what’s wrong with it but it’s absolute garbage now and Apple doesn’t care because they have already made their trillions of dollars.

### 1/5 — Not opening

*2026-08-17, version 1.6*

The app doesn’t open

### 1/5 — Download

*2026-08-17, version 1.6*

It randomly deletes the covers of me downloads

### 1/5 — I hate u

*2026-08-16, version 1.6*

It won’t let me download it

### 5/5 — Most Improved Award ⭐️

*2026-08-16, version 1.6*

App is now great, haven't had many problems with in the past while.

Old Review:
Crashes half the time I use it, requiring me to restart my whole phone just to get it to work again. Critically, all file management even within other apps is broken when files crashes so I have to restart my phone to do much of anything at all.

Search is also pretty bad, sometimes when you search a substring of the name of a file, including correct capitalization, nothing shows up.

Additionally, it is missing many important file management features like "keep downloaded to device" for icloud drive. Many file attributes are just not displayed when you get info on a file. There is no way to show hidden files (dotfiles). 

While you _technically can_ open, say, a .mkv file in VLC from the files app (the files app doesn't support playback of many common video formats), you have to go through the share sheet, which makes no sense because i am just viewing the file and not sharing it. This is one of the many ways that the files app is awkward to use even besides the missing features and frequent instability.

These issues have existed for quite a while now so in my opinion they have no excuse for not fixing them. Apple has the resources to do so, they have just chosen not to.

### 3/5 — ???

*2026-08-16, version 1.6*

Weird files start appearing in my iPad!

### 3/5 — Issues

*2026-08-15, version 1.6*

App is not loading my recent files keeping me from accessing my resume. I’ve checked for updates, reset the app, and tried refreshing it several times.

### 1/5 — Crashes upon opening

*2026-08-13, version 1.6*

If I delete to reinstall later, will all my files be gone?

### 3/5 — Scanning Unusable

*2026-08-13, version 1.6*

Can scan OK but then gives you no idea how and where to save the scan. Thus useless and had to use scan function in another app..

### 1/5 — What is the point of this pile of Trash?

*2026-08-13, version 1.6*

It doesn’t do anything worth taking up Space for, it’s useless. Apple hires the dumbest morons Seriously who build a pile of trash that has all the functionality of 1980’s Texas Instruments Calculator.

## Frequently asked questions about Files

### What does the Files app do?

The Files app allows you to access and organize all your files from various locations. This includes files stored directly on your device, in cloud storage services like iCloud Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive, as well as on external drives and file servers.

### How can I organize my files with this app?

You can organize your files using tags, which allows you to group related documents regardless of where they are stored. The app also features a powerful Browse view where you can navigate folders, move files between them, and pin your favorite folders for quick access.

### Is the Files app free to use?

Yes, the Files app is available for free. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements mentioned, indicating a completely free experience for users.

### What devices is the Files app compatible with?

While the description doesn't explicitly list compatible devices, it mentions features like connecting external drives and SD cards, and accessing iCloud Drive, which are common functionalities on iOS devices. It's designed to work with Apple's ecosystem.

### Can I access files on my computer from the app?

Yes, the app allows you to connect to a file server at work or a home PC using SMB. This enables you to access files stored on your computer directly from the Files app on your device.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.6 — 2025-12-12

Bug Fixes and Feature Enhancements

### 1.5 — 2025-09-15

Bug Fixes and Feature Enhancements

### 1.4 — 2020-09-16

Bug Fixes and Feature Enhancements

### 1.3.3 — 2019-09-19

Bug Fixes and Feature Enhancements

### 1.3.2 — 2019-01-11

Bug Fixes and Feature Enhancements

## Apps similar to Files

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Google Chrome](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/google-chrome/id535886823) | 4.7 (3,774,186) | Free | Utilities |
| [Google](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/google/id284815942) | 4.6 (4,980,281) | Free | Utilities |
| [File Manager & Documents](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/file-manager-and-documents/id1478159954) | 4.5 (4,721) | Free | Utilities |
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| [Safari](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/safari/id1146562112) | 4.4 (147,157) | Free | Utilities |
| [Xender: Transfer, Share Files](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/xender-transfer-share-files/id898129576) | 4.1 (17,356) | Free | Utilities |

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All apps by Apple: https://appshunter.io/developer/284417353

## Related topics

[download](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/download) · [file downloader](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/file-downloader) · [folder](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/folder) · [iclouds](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/iclouds) · [download folder](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/download-folder) · [archivos](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/archivos) · [deleted](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/deleted) · [fil](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/fil) · [files](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/files) · [filled](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/filled) · [icloud manager](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/icloud-manager) · [files downloader](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/files-downloader) · [find hidden apps](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/find-hidden-apps) · [save files](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/save-files) · [icloud drive](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/icloud-drive) · [mis archivos](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/mis-archivos) · [deleted apps](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/deleted-apps) · [arquivos](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/arquivos) · [fichier](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/fichier) · [mes fichiers](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/mes-fichiers)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-28.*