None declared
It depends on how you feel about tracking: File Managers declares data used to track you. None of it falls in Apple's most sensitive categories (health, financial, location, contacts or your own content). In total the label lists 1 data type; 45% of file managers we checked declare tracking.
File Managers privacy in one look
- 1Collects nothing
- 2Not linked
- 3Linked
- 4Tracks you
Built only from the developer's App Store label. It describes disclosure, not tested behaviour.
File Managers' developer reports using search history to track you across other companies' apps and websites.
Did File Managers ask for something?
Pick the permission prompt you saw. We compare it with what File Managers' developer declared.
Location is not on File Managers' label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
User Content is not on File Managers' label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
Contacts is not on File Managers' label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
File Managers declares data used to track you, so expect the “Allow to track?” prompt. Tap Ask App Not to Track; the app must keep working without it.
Health & Fitness is not on File Managers' label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
A permission is what the app can reach on your iPhone; the label is what the developer says leaves it. They answer different questions.
What File Managers collects, explained
| Data type | What it covers | Where to limit it |
|---|---|---|
| Search HistoryUsed to track youNot linked to you | Searches you run inside the app. | Look for a clear-history or private-search option in the app. |
What File Managers' label means for you
File Managers' label has 1 type under “Data Used to Track You”, 1 type under “Data Not Linked to You”. A data type can appear in more than one section when it is used for different purposes — for example, identifiers used for both analytics and advertising.
Tracking is the declaration that most separates apps. It means search history from File Managers can be combined with data from other companies to target or measure ads, or shared with data brokers. On iOS 14.5 and later, the app must ask your permission before tracking you through the advertising identifier; answering “Ask App Not to Track” blocks that identifier and tells the developer you have declined.
None of the data types fall into the categories most people consider sensitive: health, financial information, precise location, contacts, browsing history or the content you create.
File managers connect to cloud drives, servers and your Files app. The app can see whatever you open in it. Review connected accounts, and remove ones you no longer use from both the app and the cloud provider's security page.
Among the 112 file managers in our snapshot with a label, 45% declare tracking, 51% collect data linked to you and 36% say they collect nothing. File Managers lists 1 data type, about the same as the average of 1.5 for this group.
Utilities range from calculators to VPNs, so their labels vary more than any other category. A simple tool that collects identifiers and usage data for tracking is a sign of advertising SDKs.
Settings to check for File Managers
- 1
Tracking
Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking. If “Allow Apps to Request to Track” is off, apps cannot ask, and they are told to treat you as having declined. You can also turn it off for this app alone.
- 2
Lock the app
On iOS 18 and later, touch and hold the icon and choose Require Face ID. Anyone who picks up your unlocked phone then needs your face, fingerprint or passcode to open it.
- 3
Notifications
Settings › Notifications › File Managers › Show Previews: When Unlocked keeps message and account details off the Lock Screen.
Does File Managers track you?
Search history. Apple defines tracking as linking data from this app with data from other companies' apps, websites or offline sources for targeted advertising or ad measurement, or sharing it with a data broker.
Does File Managers track you? Full answer and how to stop it →
Lock File Managers behind Face ID
- Find File Managers on your Home Screen or in App Library.
- Touch and hold the icon until the quick-actions menu opens.
- Tap Require Face ID (or Require Touch ID / Require Passcode, depending on your iPhone).
- Tap Require Face ID again to confirm. File Managers now asks for authentication every time it opens.
The lock is an iPhone feature, so it works whether or not File Managers has a passcode of its own. It does not change what the app sends to its developer.
About File Managers
| Developer | Laxay Gajera |
| App Store category | Utilities (also Productivity) |
| Latest version | 1.0.32, released October 2026 |
| First released | July 2021 |
| Requires | iOS 15.0 or later |
| Size | 139 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ |
| Languages | 17 (AR, NL, EN, FR, DE, EL, HI, JA…) |
| Bundle ID | pdf.view.edit |
The current version shipped in October 2026, so the app is actively maintained and its label is likely current. Labels are updated by developers when practices change.
Also by Laxay Gajera: Gallery Photo Vault, Photo Gallery Gallery Lock.
What the label cannot tell you
- A label is self-reported. Apple publishes the developer's answers and can reject apps that misrepresent them, but it does not independently verify what File Managers sends.
- It does not say where data is stored, how long it is kept, whether it is encrypted, or which companies receive it. The privacy policy covers those points.
- Optional data counts: if a feature lets you add something (a profile photo, a phone number), the type is listed even if you never use the feature.
- Data handled only on your iPhone is not 'collected', so a no-collection label is compatible with an app that reads your files locally.
- Third-party sign-in, payment processors and SDKs are supposed to be included, but a label can lag behind a new version.
The question to ask File Managers' developer: Which of my connected accounts can this app reach?
File Managers vs similar file managers
- FileMaster Pro
- My FileManager
- File Manager & Documents
- File Manager Files & Vault
- My Files
- File Managers (this app)
- EX File Manager
- Files File Manager & Browser
Fewer types is not automatically safer: a cloud backup app has to collect your files to work. Compare like with like.
Look up any of our apps in seconds, or put two labels side by side.
Apps similar to File Managers
All file managers → Who tracks you? A–Z → Apps that collect search history → Privacy label decoder →
Your File Managers privacy checklist
Done. You have applied every control the label points to.
True or false?
- Right.Not quite.
True: it lists search history under Data Used to Track You.
- Right.Not quite.
Labels are self-reported by developers. Apple can reject or remove apps that misrepresent practices, but it does not audit each label.
- Right.Not quite.
True: Search History appears on its label.
- Right.Not quite.
It is collected and sent; the developer says it is de-identified rather than tied to your account or device.
- Right.Not quite.
Apple's rules require apps to work the same whether or not you allow tracking.