How to Find Downloaded Files in Android?

As a smartphone user every day you may receive various files through different channels on your phone. It could be files received through messaging apps like WhatsApp or downloaded from web browser. in addition, you can also transfer files through Bluetooth from another device to your phone. Generally, Android will automatically save the received files in internal memory of your phone. However, most users find it challenging to find the location of downloaded files in Android. In this article, we will explain how to find various downloaded files in Android smartphone. If you are looking for finding downloaded files in iPhone, check out this article.

Finding from Default Locations

The best option to find the downloaded files is to first look with in the app in which you have received or downloaded the file.

• For example, if you have downloaded a file from web browser like Google Chrome, then you can find the location from the browser’s settings page. Go to the browser settings page by tapping on the three dots icon and then select “Downloads” in the menu. You can find the complete download history from which it is easy to find the latest downloaded file and its locations.
• If the file was received through Bluetooth, go to the notification area by swiping down two fingers from the top of the screen. Tap the notification of receiving the file, and a list of files received through Bluetooth will open up on the screen.
• If the file was sent to you through some messaging app, go to the relevant chat and open the file from there.

If you are able to locate the file from the above options, then you have to navigate to different folders to find relevant files.

Find  Downloaded Images and Videos in Android

Most of the files sent or received through smartphones are media files like images and videos. It is probably the reason; Android makes it easy to access downloaded pictures and videos.

• The “Photos” app in your phone makes it extremely easy to access all media files like images and videos no matter from which channel you receive them.
• After downloading the image(s) or video(s), open the Photos app and tap the “Library” in the screen’s lower right corner.
• You will see different folders like “Camera,” “WhatsApp Images,” “Screenshots,” “WhatsApp Videos,” “Download,” etc.
• If you have recently downloaded the image or video from a web browser, you will find that file in “Download” folder. A preview of the image is also available to quickly view the file.
• If you are looking for another photo or video, scroll down the page and find the relevant folder.

Find All Types Of Downloaded Files in Android

Google Photos only show you the downloaded images and videos. If you are looking for other types of downloaded files like PDF or Word document, you must browse through the phone’s internal memory to find them. To do that, swipe up at the home screen of your unlocked phone and search for the “Files” app. Once you open the “Files” app, it gives various options to find the downloaded file.

• The “Downloads” folder mainly contains files you have downloaded through a web browser.
• Under the “Recent” section at the top of the page, there are folders like “Download,” “Camera,” “WhatsApp Images,” etc., with recent files.
• There are various categories below the “Recent” section which you can browse through to find a particular file.
• If you are looking for a document, open the “Documents & other” folder.
• Go for the “Apps” folder if you want to see the downloaded app.
• If you have saved pictures and videos in your phone’s storage instead of Photos app, you can find them here under “Images” and Videos” folders.

If you are still unable to find your desired downloaded file, then browse the “Internal storage” folder. This will open your phone’s internal storage like a disk on a Windows computer. All files and folders will be displayed where you can look for the particular folder and find the download file. For example, if you are looking for a downloaded file that you received via Bluetooth, find a folder with the name “bluetooth” in the internal storage. All the files received via Bluetooth should be there. Check out the names of the folders like “Pictures,” Recordings,” “Documents,” “Download,” “DCIM,” “Music,” “Movies,” and “Notifications,” etc. which will guide you to find the downloaded file. If you have an external memory card, then go back and explore the external memory to find the downloaded file. Explore the “Other storage” section to browse cloud storage and developer files.

Find Files Received from Apps on Android Media Folder

As mentioned, you can access the downloaded files through app’s settings page like browser’s “Downloads” section. However, some apps may also create custom folder in your phone’s memory to store all documents and media files. For example, WhatsApp will automatically download and save all the files, including voice messages and video clips, on your phone’s internal memory. Though you can view the media files in Photos app, they are stored in different location. To find the files, you must check where WhatsApp is saving all the files.

• To do that, open an image or video file in Google “Photos” that you have received on your WhatsApp or another app.
• Once the file is opened, swipe up to see the detail of the file. You can see the file’s location, which would be something like “/storage/emulated/0/Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Media/WhatsApp Images/IMG-20220719-WA000.jpg”.

• Now, based on the location you found, open “Files > Internal storage” and navigate through “Android > media > com.whatsapp > WhatsApp > Media > WhatsApp Images”.
• In this folder, you will see all the images you received via WhatsApp. Once you find the required file, press the three dots in front of the file, which will display a menu with various options like “Move to,” “Copy to,” “Add to Favorites,” and “Move to Safe folder” etc.
• If you are looking for any other type of file like a document, go one step back in the “Media” directory of WhatsApp and open “WhatsApp Documents”. Here you can  find all the documents with extensions like .docx,.xlsx, .pdf, etc.

Similar to WhatsApp some other apps also create custom folders and save downloaded files under “ Files > Internal storage > Android > media”. In this folder, find the name of the app and open its folders to see if you can locate the file.