# Is the Files by Google app safe? — Adinand Auto File Sorter

Last reviewed: September 24, 2026. HTML version: https://adinandsorter.com/answers/is-google-files-app-safe

**It is Google's own app, published on Google Play by Google LLC, and Google's declarations about it are specific enough to judge for yourself: it shares no data with third parties, it does collect some, and a few things you might want to know are not stated.** Here is what Google says, and where it stops.

## What the Play listing declares <p>The app's data safety section on Google Play is the developer's own statement, and Google frames it that way: "The developer has provided this information about how this app collects, shares, and handles your data" ([*Files by Google - Apps on Google Play*](https://play.google.com/store/apps/datasafety?id=com.google.android.apps.nbu.files&hl=en_US&gl=US), data safety section, read 24 September 2026). What it says:</p> <ul> <li>**Sharing:** "No data shared with third parties" — "The developer says this app doesn't share user data with other companies or organizations."</li> <li>**Collected, not optional:** crash logs, diagnostics, app interactions, and device or other IDs, each for "App functionality, Analytics".</li> <li>**Collected, marked optional:** in-app search history, "Other user-generated content", email address and user IDs.</li> <li>**Security practices:** "Data is encrypted in transit", "Independent security review" — and "Data can’t be deleted", explained as "The developer doesn’t provide a way for you to request that your data be deleted".</li> </ul> <p>Two caveats come with it. The listing says "Data practices may vary based on your app version, use, region, and age." And it does not define "Other user-generated content", so it does not tell you in plain words whether anything from inside your files is ever sent. We would rather say that than guess in either direction.</p>

## The permissions, and Google's reasons <p>Google's help lists what the app asks for ([*Manage permissions*](https://support.google.com/files/answer/9822646?hl=en), read 24 September 2026):</p> <ul> <li>"Location: Allows the app to find your friends nearby using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi"</li> <li>"Device call management", used "to make sure your carrier supports a local Wi-Fi hotspot, which is used for high-speed file transfer"</li> <li>"Storage: Allows Files by Google to access your device’s storage so the app can manage files."</li> <li>"SD card write permissions: Allows you to rename, delete, move, copy files to your SD card."</li> </ul> <p>The first two exist for sharing with people nearby. The listing describes that feature as Quick Share, where files move "even without an internet connection" and "Transfers are private and secured with end-to-end encryption" (Play listing above). If you never share that way, our suggestion is to refuse location when asked; Google's page ties it only to finding people nearby.</p>

## Safe folder: what the lock does and does not do <p>The app's PIN-locked folder is useful and honestly described. Google says files there "can't be opened by any third party apps", that "Screenshots of the Safe folder can’t be taken", and that the "Share" and "Back up to Google Drive" options are not available inside it ([*Protect your files with Safe folder*](https://support.google.com/files/answer/9935264?hl=en), read 24 September 2026).</p> <p>The same page states the limits plainly, and they matter more than the features:</p> <ul> <li>"If you forget your PIN or Pattern, you can't access your files."</li> <li>"Files in your Safe folder are protected by a lock, but anyone who gains unauthorized access to your device's internal storage may be able to access them."</li> <li>"On rare occasions, files can become corrupt or get deleted. When this happens, no one can access the content of your files anymore including Files by Google."</li> </ul> <p>Since sharing and Drive backup are switched off inside it, our reading is that a Safe folder file may be the only copy you have. Keep a second copy of anything irreplaceable somewhere you control.</p>

## Our view <p>By the usual test for any app, the source and the declared data practices, this one comes from the platform's own maker and its declarations are unusually concrete. The questions worth asking are the ones the listing leaves open: what "Other user-generated content" covers, and whether you are comfortable that collected data "can’t be deleted" on request. If those matter to you, the listing points to Google's privacy policy for more detail.</p>

Related: [Using the Google Files app](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/how-to-use-the-google-files-app) · [Does Android have a file manager?](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/does-android-have-a-file-manager) · [What is All files access?](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/what-is-all-files-access) · [Before you let an app move your files](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/before-you-let-an-app-move-your-files)