Apple apps that help keep you organised
Apple apps that help keep you organised
What's coming up?
In this activity, you'll learn how to manage the information that is stored on your iPhone or in the cloud, including photos, documents, files, your contacts, and a record of your recent messages.
The built-in apps covered in this activity are designed to make all this as simple and useful as possible.
Start activityYour smartphone lets you access lots of information
A smartphone can contain a lot of useful information, in a range of different forms. You can use your phone to save:
- Documents you've downloaded from the internet
- Photos you take using the phone's camera
- Contact details and old messages.
Built-in apps to help you manage files
Some of the iPhone's built-in apps are dedicated to helping you access and manage all your digital files in a way that keeps things as simple as possible. And other apps include features that help with keeping things organised.
The Files app
Your iPhone has a limited amount of storage space for files, documents, and photos, so it's useful to be able to manage them directly. The Files app shows you where everything is saved on your iPhone, and you can use it to move files around or delete them entirely.
You can learn more about the Files app in the iPhone: Saving, deleting and sharing files course.
The Files app and iCloud
As well as files on your iPhone or iPad, the Files app will show you files in your iCloud Drive and any other cloud-based storage services you have set up and signed into on your iPhone.
You can find out more about using cloud storage in the All about cloud subscription apps course.
The Apple Photos app
The Photos app is essential for managing all the photos you take with your iPhone's camera. When you take a photo, it saves automatically to the Camera Roll on your device. If you have set up an iCloud account, it also syncs with your other Apple devices and backs up to your iCloud online storage. If you edit a photo or delete it, the change is synced across all your Apple devices.
You can find out more about other Apple Photos features in the Apple iPhone: Cloud backup and sharing course. Apple iPhone: Cloud backup and sharing course.
eSafety tip
If you don't want the Photos app to automatically sync every picture you take on the iPhone camera with your iCloud, you can turn this off. To do this, open the Settings app, then:
- scroll down the Settings menu until you find Photos and tap it
- find iCloud photos on the next screen
- tap the switch next to it, so that it turns grey.
The Contacts app
The Contacts app contains a list of people and details about them such as their mobile phone number or email address. When you add someone to your Contacts, the list is synced to the cloud and updates across all your Apple devices. This means that when you get a new iPhone, simply sign in to your iCloud account, and all your contacts from the old phone will be downloaded from the cloud ready to go.
Viewing texts in the Messages app
The Messages app saves text messages that you receive, and you can tap a text to show the other texts from that contact or phone number.
The app also works with iCloud to sync text conversations with your other Apple devices, and keep a backup of your texts. You can turn this feature on from your iPhone Settings app.
Well done!
This is the end of the Apple apps that help keep you organised activity. You've learned how to manage documents and other files on your device with the Files app, and how to sync photos, contacts, and messages with other Apple devices you use.
Up next is the Apple apps that help you get around activity. You'll find out about your iPhone's location services and how to stay safe and secure when apps are accessing your location.