Android phone: Saving and sharing files

Discover more about saving and sharing files on an Android phone.

Learn how you can save a copy of a file to your phone, how to find the file using the My Files app, how to delete a file from your phone, and how to share a file with a friend using email.

Before you begin

The Android smartphone used in demonstrations in this course may not be the same as yours, but the menus and steps should be similar.

Before you start, check you have:

  • Your Android phone
  • The latest version of your phone’s operating software.
Android phones

All about the My Files app

You can usually find a file or attachment using your email app but this can be inconvenient. My Files is a place on your phone you can save files you want close to hand.

  1. My Files can save any kind of file
  2. You don’t need an internet connection to access files in My Files.

Saving a file to My Files

You can save any email attachment to My Files:

  • Open your email app, usually Gmail
  • Find the message containing the attachment you want to save
  • Download the document to your phone by tapping the download icon below the attachment
  • A small tick will appear in the top left of the screen, letting you know the document has been downloaded
  • Tap Home to close the email app.
Reading an email is safe, but you should never click or tap on a link or open an attachment you are unsure about. A link or file in an email can contain viruses or other unwanted software.

Finding and opening a files in My Files

Open the My Files app. You may need to look for it in on the Apps screen by first swiping up from the bottom of the Home screen. It may also be in a folder, depending on your make of phone.

  • The My Files app has a lot of features that are worth exploring
  • To find your files, tap Internal Storage
  • A list of folders on your phone appears, and you can tap any folder to see what it contains
  • When you download or save a file it usually goes in the Download folder
  • In the Download folder, find the document you want to view
  • Tap the file to make it fill the screen so you can read it
  • You can access files in the Download folder even when your phone has no internet connection
  • Tap Back to close the file and go back to the Download folder screen.

How to share a file from your phone

You can share a saved file with other people. You can do this in various ways using the Share panel. This example will use email to send a file as an attachment.

  • On the Download folder screen, tap and hold the document you want to share
  • After a moment, a row of icons appears including the Share icon
  • Tap this to show the Share panel, and choose the Gmail icon
  • A new email screen appears with the document already included as an email attachment
  • Finish the email by adding a recipient, subject, and a message
  • Tap Send in the top right and the screen will return to the Download folder.

How to delete a file from your phone

You can delete files that you’ve saved in My Files. In the My Files app:

  • Tap and hold the file you want to delete
  • Tap the Delete icon, which looks like a small bin
  • Choose Move to Recycle bin. This only deletes the file from your phone. If you received it as an email attachment, you can still find it in your email app because emails are synced to the cloud.

You should only delete files that you have personally saved onto your phone. It’s not recommended to delete any other files as it might cause your phone to stop working properly.