Files

In Google’s Files App you can clean up, manage, and share files in the storage on your phone.

Clean

At the bottom left of the screen in the Files App you will see the Clean Tab. From here you can view how much storage you’re using and you will also see options to cut down usage and get rid of unnecessary storage that may be taking up space on your phone.

Used Storage

At the top of the screen in the Files App you’ll see a bar that shows how much storage is currently being used out of the total storage that your Pixel is capable of storing (for example 43.54 GB of 128 GB used).

If you tap on the arrow directly to the right of the storage bar you’ll see the following categories for storage and how much storage each category is using.

• Apps
• Trash
• Images
• Audio
• Videos
• Documents & Other
• System

Cleaning Suggestions

Directly underneath the storage bar you will see suggestions for clearing up unused storage if there is any. You may see:

• Junk Files
• Delete Duplicate Files
• Delete Recommended Files
• Delete Unused Apps
• Delete Screenshots

Your Pixel will automatically choose files that you don’t use and you can browse through these categories to offload files you’re not using manually.

Browse

At the bottom left of the screen in the Files App you will see the Browse Tab. From here you can browse through each of the following categories of storage if you’re looking for something specific.

Categories

• Downloads
• Images
• Videos
• Audio
• Documents & Other
• Apps

Collections

Under collections you can view your favorited files by tapping on Favorites and you can set up and view your Safe Folder from here. Your safe folder can be set up with a pin or pattern that only you know to prevent certain files from being seen. You can also hide your safe folder by tapping on the More Icon (the three vertical dots) on the right hand side of the screen next to collections.

Storage Devices

Under storage devices you can browse from internal storage or cloud storage and other storage apps.

Internal Storage

If you tap on internal storage you will see each category of storage that is stored internally on your phone and you can manage and organize files from here.

Grid or List

Starting from the top of the screen you’ll see two icons at the top right hand side of the screen directly across from where it says Internal Storage. The icon on the left changes the view of the storage items between a Grid and a List. 

More

To the right of the icon that toggles the view between a grid to a list you’ll see the More Icon (three vertical dots). From here you can:

• Select All
  • This will select all items in the internal storage list.
• Sort By
  • This will sort the internal storage files by:
    • Newest Date First
    • Oldest Date First
    • Largest First
    • Smallest First
    • Name A-Z
    • Name Z-A
• Add New Folder
  • If you would like to create a new storage file tap on this in the drop down.

Next to each individual file under your internal storage you can tap on the files to view items within that storage file and you can tap on the More Icon (three vertical dots) to the right of each file for the following options:

• Select
• Move To
• Copy To
• Rename
• Delete Permanently
• Folder Info

Other Storage

From other storage you can view and browse cloud storage or other storage apps you’ve downloaded.

Share

At the bottom left of the screen in the Files App you will see the Share Tab. If you would like to share files with someone or if you would like to receive files from someone you can do so here. You’ll want to make sure that both devices you are sending and receiving from are updated to the most recent software versions and you both have Nearby Share turned on.