Can you drag and drop files on Android?

Last reviewed: October 8, 2026 · Markdown version

Yes, with two catches: it works only between apps that support it, and the same gesture does two different things depending on where you drop. Google's help for its Files app says a drag lets you "Move them within the Files by Google app" but "Copy them between the Files by Google app and other apps that support “drag and drop,” like Google Drive and Google Photos" (Drag & drop files, Files by Google Help, read 8 October 2026). Drag a photo into Drive and you end up with two copies; drag it between folders in Files and you still have one.

Inside Files by Google

The documented case is narrow: "You can drag and drop files from other folders in the app to the “Internal storage” section." Select the file, or several files, then "Drag and drop the file or files to a specific folder in “Internal storage.”" (same page). That is the whole procedure Google gives; for any other destination, the menu route is the one to use — More › Move to, laid out step by step on our moving page.

Between two apps: split screen first

To drag from one app to another, both have to be on screen. Google's Files page says "You can drag and drop files between Files by Google and other Google apps like Drive, Photos, and Gmail", and to see both apps at once you "apply split screen settings" — with the warnings that "Some mobile devices and apps may not support split screen mode", and a note that the steps for turning it on differ from one phone to the next (Files by Google page above).

On a Pixel phone, split screen is: swipe up, hold and let go, tap the app's icon, then "Tap Split screen", and pick the second app in the other half (See two apps at the same time on Pixel phone, Pixel Phone Help, read 8 October 2026). That page covers opening the two apps and nothing about moving content between them — it is silent on drag and drop. Google's Pixel Tablet page does mention it: in split screen you can "drag text or images between compatible apps", and "Some of these steps work only on Android 15 and up" (Use split screen on your Pixel Tablet, Google Pixel Tablet Help, read 8 October 2026). It names text and images, not files in general.

On a Samsung Galaxy

Samsung's Multi-Active Window guide says "You can share content between different apps through drag & drop", and lists the apps: "Gallery, Internet, Message, MyFiles, Samsung Notes, MS Office, MS Outlook, OneDrive, WhatsApp (Text only), Line (Text, image) so on." It adds that the "Supported app list may vary by region and country" (How to use intuitive Multi-Active Windows, Samsung UK, read 8 October 2026; page "Updated : 16th September, 2020"). Note the date and the parenthesised limits: WhatsApp takes only text that way. The page does not say whether a file dragged out of My Files arrives as a copy or leaves its folder; on that it is silent, so check the source folder afterwards.

When dragging is the wrong tool

Our view: dragging suits one file, or a handful you can see on one screen. For a full Downloads folder, a drag is easy to drop in the wrong place and hard to check afterwards; the select-then-Move to route shows you the destination before anything happens. Either way, a move between different storage — phone to SD card — is a copy followed by a delete underneath, so let it finish before you close the app.