How to see downloads on iPhone

You have finally decided to switch to an Apple smartphone by purchasing a brand new iPhone . Nice choice, but at first use you find it difficult to use some functions of the iOS operating system, am I right? In particular, you would like to understand how to see downloads on iPhone , as things seem to work differently than they did on your old Android phone and you still can’t understand everything. Well, don’t worry – I’m here to help you out.

Downloads on iPhone are handled in different ways depending on the application used and the files downloaded. There are Safari downloads, images which, depending on the option chosen and the app in use, can end up in the Photos app or in Files and so on. I know, said like this it may seem a complicated thing, but I assure you that in reality it is not so and that soon, at the end of reading this guide, you will have everything clearer.

In addition, I will also show you how to manage any restrictions on downloading data over the mobile network for some applications. All you have to do, therefore, is to get comfortable, pick up your iPhone and get ready to read this guide. Know that the information I’m about to give you also concerns downloads on iPad. Having said that, I just have to wish you a good read and … a good download!

Index

• How to activate downloads on iPhone
• How to see downloads on iPhone
  • Safari
  • File
  • Photo
  • Third party apps
• How to delete downloads on iPhone

How to activate downloads on iPhone

Before getting to the heart of the tutorial, I would like to point out that if you intend to download files from your iPhone while browsing under 3G, 4G or 5G data network , you may have to allow downloads under the aforementioned network for the apps you are interested in: this is because iOS ( the operating system of the iPhone) includes various protection measures to avoid excessive consumption of Giga when surfing the data network.

Managing the download of mobile data on the Apple smartphone is possible through several options. First, you can use the Restricted data consumption setting , which allows you to restrict mobile data downloads by stopping mobile data use of background apps (this leads to stopping downloads in apps you don’t find more in use in the foreground), the reduction of the quality of streaming content and the disabling of automatic updates on the mobile network. To manage this option, go to the Settings of the smartphone (the gear icon located on the Home Screen), then tap on the Cellular item , enter the menu calledCellular Data Options and toggle the option data consumption . To limit the download of mobile data on the network, tap the Limited data consumption item .

If, on the other hand, you want to enable or disable the download of mobile data for a single application , you can regulate its access to the network through a specific option: to do this, go to the iPhone Settings , then scroll down until you see the list of applications installed on your iPhone . Now, tap on the application for which you want to activate or deactivate data downloads on the mobile network, then press the Cellular data lever to activate (in green) or deactivate (in gray) the option.

Good. At this point you know how to manage data under the data network, so you are also ready to view the files that you are going to download on your iPhone.

How to see downloads on iPhone

In case you want to know how to see the downloads of the files downloaded from the applications on the iPhone , know that it is really very simple. In the next few lines, I will therefore show you how to see file downloads in Safari and in the Files application (which are, respectively, the browser and the default file manager of iOS), in the Photos app and in various third-party applications . It’s very simple, I assure you.

Safari

Downloading a file with Safari is very easy, but first I want to explain how to choose the path where the files downloaded from the browser are saved.

Open, therefore, the Settings of the smartphone, then scroll down until you find and select the Safari item in the main menu. Then tap on the Download option , then choose the path in which to save the downloaded files via the Save downloaded files to menu : By default, the Downloads folder is set in iCloud Drive , but you can choose to save the file in the internal memory of the “iPhone by” using the iPhone voice . You can also tap on the More … option to choose a specific folder within the two paths.

Once this is done, go back to Safari and download a file of your interest (generally via link or download button , then confirming ). The downloaded file will be displayed in a special panel , accessible via the arrow icon pointing downwards accessible from the A A menu in the browser address bar (from iOS 15 onwards) or at the top right (in versions of iOS prior to 15).

Then tap on the aforementioned icon (found in the Download menu on iOS 15 and later) to view the list of downloaded files , which you can then open by tapping on the one you are interested in. The files will remain stored in that section until the Delete / Delete key is pressed , which will delete them from that menu, but not from the smartphone memory or iCloud.

File

As illustrated above , the files downloaded from Safari (and not only) can be saved in different locations on the smartphone or iCloud Drive . Once deleted from the Safari download panel, the aforementioned files can be viewed via the default iOS file manager: Files.

To see the downloads on the iPhone with File , all you have to do is start the latter, by pressing on its icon (the blue folder) present in the Home Screen or in the App Library, and open the Downloads folder , located in the Browse submenu . Clearly, if you have chosen a different path for your downloads, you will have to open the corresponding folder and not the Downloads one.

In any case, you can then open the downloaded files and manage them, for example by copying, moving, renaming or deleting them, making a long tap on them and choosing the items in the context menu.

Photo

In case you want to know where the images you have saved from Safari on iPhone have ended up by means of a long tap and selection of the Add to Photo item or that you have taken, for example, from a WhatsApp chat , here you are.

All you have to do, in fact, is to start the Photos application located on the Home Screen or in the App Library (the colored flower icon). Once in the application, you can find the downloaded image within the Library menu .

If you can’t see it, go to the Albums submenu , then tap on the album called Recent . If just downloaded, it will appear at the bottom, otherwise you can find it on the day it was downloaded.

Albums may also contain picture albums created automatically by other apps installed on the iPhone.

Third party apps

You can also download files on iPhone through third-party applications , such as browsers and file managers with integrated browsers. I’ll briefly explain the procedures to see the downloads on some of the most popular apps of this type.

• Chrome– the famous Google browseris the second most used on Apple Downloads are saved in the Chrome folder, located in the iPhone locationwithin the Files app. Otherwise, you can find them by tapping in the menu at the bottom right of the browser, characterized by an icon with three horizontal dots and by tapping on the Download item.
• Firefox– the browser developed by Mozilla allows you to download files on iOS in a very similar way to that offered by the other browsers that I have shown you so far. Once the files have been downloaded, you can find them in the appropriate Download menu, which you can call up by pressing the icon at the bottom right, marked by three lines ordered vertically. Otherwise, goto Apple’s Files appand navigate to the iPhone Finally, tap on the folder called Firefox to find the downloads made with this browser.
• Readdle Documents– is one of the most important file manager for Apple devices, inside which there is also a convenient web browser with integrated VPN, from which, of course, you can download files. You can find the files downloaded by tapping on the appropriate button in the shape of the arrow pointing down, at the bottom of the browser screen. You can choose the path to save the files at each download, so that you can find the downloaded files also in the chosen path, through theApple Files applicationor the app’s internal file manager. I invite you to take a look at my guide to using this app to learn more.

How to delete downloads on iPhone

Deleting downloads on iPhone is a very intuitive procedure, but it is necessary to carefully illustrate each step to be carried out.

First, you can delete a download through Apple’s Files application . So open the latter, go to the position containing the downloaded files, perform a long tap on the item you intend to delete and then press the Delete key from the drop-down menu that appeared.

To permanently delete the file, go back to the main screen of the Files app and go to the location called Recently Deleted , where you can find the deleted files in a sort of temporary recycle bin. From here, perform a long tap on the file to be permanently deleted, then press the Delete now item and then confirm your choice.

In case you want to delete the downloaded photos , you just have to make a long tap on the image you want, present when opening the Photos app in the Recent album and then tap on the Delete from library option . Once this is done, press on the album submenu, then scroll to the bottom until you find the item Recently deleted (where the photos remain temporarily before the final deletion). So tap on the photo you intend to permanently delete, then choose the Delete button , present at the bottom left, and then confirm . Read more here .

If you want, you can also configure the automatic deletion of downloads on Safari through a convenient option of iOS. To do this, go to your smartphone Settings , then tap on the Safari item and then on the Download item .

Now select the item Remove items from downloads , then choose whether to delete the files automatically After a day , At the end of the download or Manually , by tapping on one of the respective buttons. Easy, right?