4.3 / 5
Good
- Free, with no ads and no paid tier holding features back
- Cleaning suggestions target chat photos, duplicates and cache
- Offline sharing to nearby devices, end-to-end encrypted
- Separate PIN or pattern for a private folder
Not so good
- Its own cloud backup goes to Google Drive and nowhere else
- Quick Share is pitched at Android and Chromebook devices only
- The media player is for files on the phone, not streaming
- Suggestions adapt to how you use the app, which not everyone wants
A full phone, and a tool to empty it
Files by Google is Google's free file manager for Android. It is built to clear space on a full phone and make the files on it easier to find.
The problem is a familiar one. Chat apps keep every photo anyone sends you, downloads pile up, and copies of the same file end up in three folders. One day the phone says storage is full and you have no idea where it went.
The app handles this in two parts. It shows how much space is left on the phone, an SD card and a USB drive, then suggests what to remove. Separately, it gives you a way to search and browse what is left, so finding a file does not mean digging through folders.
On top of that sit offline sharing, a locked folder, a basic media player and backup. It is a lot for one free app, and it is used on a big scale: Play counts more than 5,000,000,000 installs.
Clearing space without hunting for it
The cleaning side is what most people will install it for. Rather than asking you to work out what to delete, the app goes looking for the usual culprits: old photos saved from chat apps, duplicate files and cached data. You review its suggestions and decide.
For the files it does not flag, you can sort by size. That is the quickest way to spot the one video taking up several gigabytes. It is a simple feature, and on a cramped phone it matters most.
The developer says the recommendations improve as you use the app, and they go beyond storage to suggestions about protecting the device. Some will like a tool that learns their habits. Others will prefer a cleaner that does the same thing every time.
This is a cleaner that suggests, not one that acts on its own. That suits anyone who has had a phone tidier delete something they wanted.
Finding things, and sending them on
Search and browsing cover the everyday case: the PDF someone sent last week, a video you downloaded and now want to pass on, a GIF you saved for later. Files are grouped by type, so you can go straight to photos, videos or documents instead of opening folder after folder.
Quick Share handles sending. It moves photos, videos, apps and other files to nearby Android phones and Chromebooks without an internet connection. The developer quotes speeds of up to 480 Mbps and says transfers are end-to-end encrypted.
No mobile data and no upload to a server then download at the other end. For passing holiday videos round a table or getting an app onto a relative's phone, that covers it.
The limit is who you can send to. Google pitches Quick Share at Android phones and Chromebooks. If the people you swap files with are on other platforms, you will need another tool for them.
Locks, playback and backup
The locked folder is for things you would rather not leave in the open: scans of ID documents, payslips, private photos. It uses a PIN or pattern that can differ from the one that unlocks the phone, so lending someone your unlocked phone does not hand them those files too.
There is a built-in player for music and video stored on the device, with playback speed and shuffle among its controls. It is for files you already have. It is not a streaming app, and it is not trying to replace a dedicated music player.
Backup takes two routes. You can move files to an SD card, or to Google Drive to free up space on the phone. For other cloud services, the app hands files to whatever storage apps you have installed through the normal share menu.
What it costs, and what it asks
Nothing, in money. The app is free, the developer says it carries no ads, and nothing in the offer is held back for a subscription. Cleaning, search, sharing, the locked folder and playback all come with the free app. In a category where many cleaners make their money from ads or from upgrade prompts, that is the strongest thing about it.
What it asks for instead is a degree of commitment to Google. The only cloud backup it handles itself is Google Drive, which means a Google account and Drive's storage limits. Quick Share works within Android and Chromebook devices. If you already live in that world, neither will bother you.
| Task | What it handles | Where it stops |
|---|---|---|
| Freeing space | Chat photos, duplicates, cache, sort by size | Suggests; you confirm |
| Sharing | Offline, encrypted, up to 480 Mbps | Android and Chromebook devices |
| Backup | Google Drive or SD card | Other clouds via share menu |
| Private files | Separate PIN or pattern | Files you choose to move there |
| Media | Local music and video | No streaming |
If you keep your files with another cloud provider, the share menu will still get them there. That is a manual step each time, rather than a feature of the app.
Who should install it
Anyone whose phone keeps running out of space should start here. The same goes for anyone who wants one free app for clearing clutter, finding files and passing them to nearby Android users. It is also an easy one to recommend to a less technical relative: one app, no ads, no subscription to cancel later.
Skip it if your cloud storage lives outside Google, or if most of the people you share with are not on Android or ChromeOS. You would be using half the app. Skip it too if you want a player for streamed media; this one plays only what is already on the device.
The score reflects a broad offer on fair terms. Nothing that matters is locked away, and there are no ads to sit through. It loses points because backup and sharing both point at Google's own services, so how useful it is depends on how much of your digital life already runs through Google.
For most Android owners, that is a fair trade.
By Hafiz Rahman
Editor, tools and utilities ·
The app in this story
Files by Google
com.google.android.apps.nbu.files