Where are my files on a Samsung phone?

Last reviewed: October 8, 2026 · Markdown version

In the My Files app. Samsung says "You can find almost all the files on your smartphone in the My Files app", and that "By default, this will appear in the folder named Samsung" (Where to find downloaded files & my files folder on Samsung phone, Samsung UK, read 8 October 2026; page "Updated : 5th June, 2026"). The word to notice is almost: a few kinds of file live where My Files does not look, and they are listed at the end.

If the app is not in the Samsung folder

Search for it. The same Samsung page: swipe up on the home screen to see your apps, "Tap on the search bar at the top of the screen", then "Enter 'My Files' and the My Files app will be shown". If you have moved icons around, this is faster than opening folders one by one.

Four ways in, once it is open

Samsung's page describes the home screen as four routes to the same files (Samsung UK page above):

Search. By name, or by Type, or by Time — "files saved yesterday, in the past 7 days or in the past 30 days". If you remember roughly when, this is the one to use.
Recent files. "Tap the last file in this section to see all your recently used files in order of use."
Categories. Files grouped "based on the type of file they are"; something you fetched from the internet "will appear under Downloads".
Storage locations. Internal storage, and the SD card if there is one — "Tap one of the storage options to see all the files that are saved to it." This is the real folder tree.

Samsung Canada's guide adds the shortcut for a download whose name you know: open My Files, select Downloads, tap the Search icon and type the name, and "Matching results will appear as you type" (Manage and organize files saved on your Samsung Galaxy device, Samsung Canada, read 8 October 2026; "Last Update date : Aug 15. 2026").

Where particular files usually are

Photos from the camera. They go to Android's standard camera folder, which the developer reference lists as DIRECTORY_DCIM (Environment, Android Developers, read 8 October 2026), and Samsung's My Files guide gives the full path down from that DIRECTORY_DCIM folder: "If you are looking for images from your camera, you can find these under My Files > Internal storage or SD card > DCIM > Camera" (How to use Samsung My Files App, Samsung UK, read 8 October 2026; page "Updated : 3rd April, 2024"). More on where Android keeps photos.
Screenshots. Their own page.
Chat files. WhatsApp and Telegram each keep theirs in their own places.
Documents you made or received. Where documents are stored.

Files My Files will not show you

Offline downloads in streaming apps. Samsung is explicit: "not all downloaded content will be available in My Files", because content downloaded in an app for offline viewing "will normally be available only within that app itself" (Samsung UK downloads page above).

A private album. In Samsung's Gallery app, content moved to a private album "will be hidden from the main gallery and any apps accessing your media", and you need your security lock to see it (Use the Gallery app on your Galaxy phone or tablet, Samsung US, read 8 October 2026).

Something you deleted. My Files' Trash keeps a deleted file "for 30 days before being permanently deleted" on a phone, and Samsung warns that "Tablets do not have the Trash feature in My Files" (Manage files on your Galaxy phone or tablet, Samsung US, read 8 October 2026). How to open it. The same page carries Samsung's caveat for every menu named here: "Available screens and settings may vary by wireless service provider and software version."

If Adinand Auto File Sorter is on the phone

Then some of your downloads have moved, on purpose. The app needs Android 10 or newer and All files access on Android 11 and up, and it moves the files sitting directly in the folders it watches — Download by default — into Downloads › Sorted Files, inside folders named Documents, Images, Videos, Audio, Apps, Archives and Others. On Android 11 and newer that destination can be a folder you chose instead. In My Files, open Internal storage, then Download, then Sorted Files; the app's Sort History lists every file a sort moved, and the most recent sort can be undone for free.