How to Download Files from Web on iPhone

“Where is the Download folder on iPhone/iPad?”

I guess this is one of the questions that many people would ask when they first use iPhone, especially they just transferred from Android recently. Yet unfortunately, iOS doesn’t set a download folder for its devices. When you surf Internet with browser with iPhone, you can’t click a download link on Safari and expect it to directly download files like being on the Android. To download files on iPhone, you need some different ways.

A. Using Third-party Cloud Apps

You can’t directly download files from web to iPhone, but you can choose to save to a cloud app like Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive.

1. First you need to have Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive installed and signed in on your iPhone.
2. Then open the file you want to download on Safari, and tap Share button.
3. From there select “Google Drive/Dropbox/OneDrive”.
   

   Save Files to Dropbox on iPhone

4. After that, you can easily download files within the cloud app on iPhone.

Also, this method is a good option if you want to transfer the downloaded files from iPhone to computer. You just need to log in the cloud app you use on computer and download the files.

B. Using iOS Files App

Apple has added Files app into iOS 11. You can also choose to save to Files app even though you don’t have any third-party cloud apps.

1. Open the file you want to download on Safari.
2. Tap Share and choose “Save to Files”.
3. Then in the Files app you will see the downloaded file.
   

   Save to Files iOS 11

Files app is directly connected to iCloud, and also support accessing to other cloud apps like Google Drive.

C. Using Third-party Documents App

Apart from cloud apps, the third-party Documents app by Readdle is also a good choice. It’s a free file manager for iOS device with built-in browser, allowing you to download or open many file types with it.

1. Open the download page on the built-in browser of Documents.
2. Then the “Save File” page will automatically pop up and you just need to click “Save” (You can change the file name as well).
   

   Download Files to iPhone

3. If you want to save the web page, you just need to click the download button in the bottom and choose “Save Page”.
   

   Save Page in Documents App

D. How to Save PDF on iPhone

Despite other media file types like mp3, PDF is one of the most used file types when speaking of documents. Since iOS 10, iOS users no longer need to download a PDF converter on iPhone or iPad, because the new iOS has already been added this powerful feature. Now just with one click, you can create any PDF as you want.

For Web page:

1. Open the web page you want on Safari.
2. Tap the Share button in the middle of the bottom line.
3. From the Share sheet tap “Create PDF”.
4. After edit the PDF you created, save it to Files app or share it to other places.

Note:

1. All the methods mentioned above only apply to files like documents, pages, music, etc, but you can’t use it to download apps; iPhone only accepts apps from the App store.
2.  iOS Files app can access to other cloud apps, only if you’ve install the cloud apps on iPhone, and then edit the Locations in the Files app.
3. Some people said that the “Create PDF” might not work in some news app, but if you open the news page on Safari, it would work.