How to Find Downloads on iPhone or iPad Quickly

Understand how to find and access your downloads on iPhone. Learn where to find Downloads on your iPhone through simple methods based on their file type & downloading app from this step-by-step guide:

Files downloaded on iPhone all go to the Downloads folder whose parent folder is Files.

You can access the Files folder through the Files app on the iPhone’s default home menu. There, however, are different ways of quickly accessing any file downloaded through the Internet browsers installed on iPhones, as discussed below.

Where are Downloads on iPhone: Step-by-Step Guide

Spotlight search feature is the quickest way to find a downloaded file if you know it by name. It is activated by swiping down from the Home screen on the iPhone.

Quick Answer: Where to find downloads on your iPhone or iPad:

If you are interested in opening the exact iPhone Downloads folder or changing the default downloads folder, copying, or modifying the Downloads folder, use the following methods.

How to Access Downloads on iPhone Using Files App

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Most people use the Files browser app on their smartphones to access downloaded and other files. Here are the steps to find Downloads for queries relating to where downloads are on iPhone and where downloads go on iPad:

Step #1: Scroll to find the Files app on your iPhone home screen. If the app is not among those on the Home Screen, swipe from the center and search for the Files app.

Step #2: Tap the Files app icon and navigate to Browse tab -> iCloud Drive, under which the default iPhone Downloads folder falls. Tap the folder to find all the downloaded files.

Depending on which OS version is in use, you might see the downloaded files grouped into other folders when you navigate to Files -> Browse -> On My iPhone, e.g. Firefox file for files that are downloaded from the Firefox browser. Open the desired category and tap the Downloads folder in it.

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Here is the YouTube video on How to move iPhone storage to iCloud:

How to Find Downloads on iPhones Using Internet Browsers

All files downloaded through Internet browsers on mobile can be accessed quickly while the user is on the browser, without having to use the Files app. Different browsers have different criteria for finding these files as described below:

Quick Answer for “Where to find downloads on iPhone”:

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Accessing Downloaded Files on the Safari Browser

Step #1: While on the Safari browser, and after you download the file, tap the Page Settings button.

Step #2: Tap the Downloads button to find downloads on your iPhone.

Step #3: Find and tap or double-tap the file of interest to open it. You can touch and hold to copy, share, or remove the download. 

You can change the default downloads storage location on Safari on iPhone: Go to settings -> Select Apps -> Safari App -> Downloads -> choose available storage locations -> navigate to the exact sub folder in which you want the downloads to be saved. (E.g. of available storage locations: iCloud Drive, local storage (On My iPhone), and connected third-party storage locations, etc.)

Where are My Downloads on my iPhone on Chrome Browser

When a file is downloaded on the Chrome browser and after it is downloaded, you can see it (as well as the download process) in a horizontal bar at the bottom of the Chrome window.

For those with queries relating to where are my downloads on my iPhone, as long as you have not changed the default Downloads folder on Chrome, all the files downloaded via the browser can be accessed as follows:

Step #1: While on Chrome, tap More Downloads.
Step #2: Tap the file of interest to open it. Touch and hold to copy, share, or remove the file.

Alternatively, after downloading, the process will show at the bottom of the screen as the file is downloading. Once done, tap Open in to open the Downloads folder which contains the downloaded file.

Alternatively, use the Files app -> Browse -> On My iPhone and open the Chrome folder which contains files downloaded through the Chrome browser.

To change the default Downloads folder:

Tap the three vertical menu dots on the top right of the screen -> Settings on the browser -> Select Downloads -> Tap Change button -> Choose your new location -> Close the Settings tab.

Once the default Downloads folder is changed, you will need to identify this folder when using the Files app to open the downloaded files. Open the Files app then tap Browse and navigate to the folder selected as the defaults downloads location. 

Expert Tip: To save a file directly on a new folder or in the cloud when downloading it, long tap on the media you want to download on the web browser. Select Open Media in the new tab.

Tap the “Open in” option that appears at the bottom of the new tab. This will open the Sharing menu. Select “On my iPhone” or any built-in cloud storage and tap “Save.” This method can be used to save a file on a different folder every time you download it since the iPhone won’t remember the location where the previous download was saved using this method.

Thus if you want to save all the downloaded files in one folder without having to change every time you do a download, simply change the default folder as described in the process for changing the default Downloads folder.

Here is the video on how to use iCloud:

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Find Downloads on iPhone on Firefox

Step #1: Tap the menu button at the bottom of the screen. Tap Downloads to open the list of files previously or being downloaded.

Step #2: Tap on a file to open. Tap and hold on to one or multiple files to copy, share, or delete the file.

Note: It is not possible to change the default Downloads folder on Firefox on iOS devices, but it is possible to save each downloaded file separately on a different directory on your device or connected cloud services.

The latter is achieved using the Save As option on the Firefox browser which can be set to appear as a pop-up every time you attempt to download a file on Mozilla browser. The good thing is that Firefox will remember the previous save location and thus this can act as your setting of the default Downloads location.

To make Save As appear each time, go to the Settings menu on your Firefox app on iPhone then General>Downloads and tap it, select the option to “Always ask you where to save files.”

When you tap a file to download, the option will pop up, and on tapping Save As it will show you file locations available including SD memory, iCloud, and connected third-party cloud services in addition to local phone memory. Choose a folder in which to save the file being downloaded.

Remember you can access the chosen download locations using the Files app>Browse option.

Where to Find Hidden Files on iPhone or iPad

You do not need a third-party app to hide files on iPhone or iPad. To unhide files, follow the below steps.

Step #1: Open the Files app.

Step #2: Tap the More Icon, or the three dots in a circle at the top-right corner of your screen. Tap View Options. Tap Show All Extensions. Tap the Browse tab at the bottom of the screen if you are not already there. You can now see all the files including the hidden ones.

Additionally, photos and videos default Apple apps as well as other third-party apps can hide files for security purposes. To find hidden files on any app, here are the steps:

Step #1: Open the app, e.g. the Files app, to display the folders if any.

Step #2: Tap and hold the folder that has hidden files, and select Compress from the action menu that shows.

Step #3: Send the resulting zip file to your Mac, e.g. via AirDrop.

Step #4: Unarchive the zip file on the Mac.

Step #5: Press Shift+cmd+, in the Finder to show hidden files.

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How to Find Downloaded Apps on iPhone & iPad

If the interest is to download apps for installing on iPhone and iPad, the recommended process of downloading is to use the iPhone Apple Appstore. Simply open the app store and search for your app to download it. Once that has been achieved, the apps are located in the App Library.

Once you access the App Library, the apps you use are at the top of the screen and the top level of their categories. Apps are organized into categories and can be searched from the categories.

Step #1: Go to the Home Screen. Swipe left past the Home Screen pages to see the App Library.

Step #2: Tap the search field at the top, and enter the name of the app in which you are interested. Alternatively, scroll up and down to browse all the applications which are organized in alphabetical lists.

Step #3: Tap the app to open it.

Hiding some Home Screen pages brings the App Library closer to the first Home Screen page.

To show hidden pages, go to the Home Screen, touch and hold the Home Screen wallpaper until app icons begin to jiggle. Tap the dots at the bottom of the screen and the thumbnail images of the Home Screen pages will appear with checkmarks below them.

Tap to remove the checkmarks to hide pages. To show the hidden pages, tap to add the check marks. Tap Done on an iPhone with Face ID or press the Home button on the other iPhone models.

Saving & Accessing Files on Third-Party Cloud Services

Where do I find Downloads on my iPhone using Third-Party Cloud Apps

The default and built-in cloud storage location on iPhone is iCloud. Using iCloud means you can access the files saved on your iPhone with and on other devices e.g. Mac and desktops (using iCloud for Windows for Windows computers) as well as through the web at iCloud.com.

This is possible if you set up the iCloud drive on your iPhone to sync on other devices. On your iPhone, go to Settings, tap your name, tap iCloud, tap Drive, and then turn on Sync this iPhone.   

iPhone users can add third-party cloud services like Box, Dropbox, OneDrive, Adobe Creative Cloud, and Google Drive. To do so, you must download each or any of these on your iPhone create an account with the services, and/or set them up for usage as storage drives on your account.

Once this is done, open the Files app on your iPhone, tap the Browse tab, tap the More button represented by three dots in a circle, and tap on the Edit button.

The next thing is turning on the third-party app services that appear under the Edit menu. Toggle on the button against each to turn it on and tap Done. Check with your cloud services provider if the service does not appear under this menu.

Once a third-party cloud service is turned on, you can directly save and browse files in them through the Files app and tapping on the Browse option. All the synced storage including third-party cloud services and SD card storage will appear under this menu.

As previously described, you can directly save a file being downloaded from the browser to any of these cloud apps the long-tapping the file you want to download on the website, then selecting Open media in the new tab, then choosing the ‘Open in’ option at the bottom of the new tab which opens the Sharing menu, then choosing the cloud service that has been synced.

You can also create a new downloads folder or set a new default downloads folder in any of the added third-party cloud services. On Chrome for instance, tap the three vertical menu dots on the top right of the screen which opens the Settings menu, select Downloads, then tap the Change button and choose the new location on the desired cloud service by navigating to the appropriate cloud folder.

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FAQs on Where do Downloads go on iPhone

Conclusion

This tutorial solved issues related to how to find downloaded files on iPhone and there are multiple ways of doing it. The default location where files are saved when downloaded on iPhone is the Downloads folder under Files -> Browse -> iCloud.

If the folder is not visible, then it could be deleted or moved. In searching a case, try using the Spotlight feature to search for the file by name just in case you are trying to locate the file you just downloaded. If you want, you can change the default downloads folder using the browser settings.

Time spent: 2 hours