How do I show hidden files in a file manager on Android?

Last reviewed: October 1, 2026 · Markdown version

Both common file managers have one switch for it, in their settings. In Files by Google it is Show hidden files; in Samsung's My Files it is Show hidden system files. Turning it on removes no file and moves no file — it only stops the app from leaving certain names out of the list.

Files by Google

Google's steps: "At the top left, tap Menu Settings", then "Under “Browse,” turn on Show hidden files." Oddly, Google documents this switch only as part of a repair — it appears in the troubleshooting section for a blank Trash screen (Move files to Trash & restore files from Trash, read 1 October 2026), not on the app's own browsing page (View your files, read 1 October 2026), which is silent on hidden files. The switch is the same either way.

Samsung My Files

Samsung's steps: open My Files, "Tap More options (the three vertical dots), and then tap Settings", then "Tap the switch next to Show hidden system files" (Pictures will not display in the Gallery app, Samsung US, read 1 October 2026). Like Google, Samsung documents it while fixing something else — in this case pictures missing from the Gallery. The rest of My Files is on its own page.

What counts as hidden

Neither vendor page defines it; both are silent on the rule. What Google's page does show is an example: after switching hidden files on, it tells you to open Internal storage and find the “.FilesByGoogleTrash” folder — a name that begins with a dot, and one you could not see a step earlier (Files by Google Trash page above). Our reading, consistent with that example, is that a leading dot is what hides a file or folder from the default view. Most such items are settings or caches written by apps.

The hidden file people are usually looking for: .nomedia

A folder containing a file named .nomedia is skipped by the media index. Android's reference describes it as the "Name of the file signaling the media scanner to ignore media in the containing directory and its subdirectories", put there so that "application graphics" stay out of the Gallery (MediaStore — Android Developers, read 1 October 2026). Samsung's fix for missing pictures is to show hidden files, find that file in the picture folder, then "Touch and hold that file, and then tap Delete" (Samsung US page above). Before you do, look at what else is in the folder: if it is an app's stickers, icons or sound effects, the .nomedia is doing its job, and removing it pours them into your gallery. How the gallery decides what to show explains the rest.

Leave the rest alone

Showing hidden files is safe; deleting them is where trouble starts. Even Google's own instruction to remove “.FilesByGoogleTrash” is a last resort for a broken Trash screen, and its wording is "Delete permanently" — everything in that trash goes with it. Our advice: if you do not know which app made a dot-folder, do not delete it, and switch the setting back off when you are done so the clutter stays out of your way.

If Adinand Auto File Sorter is installed

With hidden files on, you may notice a .trash folder inside Downloads › Sorted Files. That is where the app's duplicate cleaner puts the copies you chose to remove; they can be put back for 7 days, and the app clears older ones when it is opened or its background job runs. If you uninstall the app, that folder stays and nothing empties it any more — delete it yourself at that point. The sorter itself never touches files whose names start with a dot.