What folder apps are installed on your phone and how to find them on Android

In the 21st century, users have two tools for work, communication and leisure: the computer and the telephone. Anyone who has installed software on a Windows computer knows the task. You have to check the boxes, click “Next” and choose where to install the program. Note that the latter option isn’t available in the Android installers, so it’s not very clear where all the programs go. We will tell you how to find the app files on your Android phone.

The location of the application files

Before getting into the nitty-gritty, it should be noted that hiding the final path of an app during installation is a feature of all Android phones. This process is masked by the installers themselves, so that the user cannot change the path and does not interfere with the proper functioning of the apps. So if you are looking for application files to move to another directory, this is definitely not a good idea.

Thus, regardless of the version of the operating system, the path to the programs folder (equivalent to “Program Files” in Windows) is located at the following address: *Internal memory*/Android/data. Within the directory there are many subfolders, made up of a name separated by a colon. However, only executable and service files are stored here. And the cache (not to be confused with user files) is stored in the obb directory, which is also found in *Internal Memory*/Android.

Note that this is not an easy cache to delete during garbage cleanup. This folder can also contain saved games, open editor files, etc. In general, it is not recommended to change this folder yourself.

What to do if this folder is hidden

For security reasons, the developers have made the directory described above hidden from normal browsers. To solve this problem, you will have to use the system file manager.

There are different ways to open it everywhere, but there is a universal way – through the Cx Explorer app.

Action algorithm:

• Open and click on the Main Memory section.
• Navigate to the desired address.

• Explorer will display the folder, but inform you that it is not accessible and that you should use the built-in file manager. Confirm that you run it.

Done. The contents of the folder are shown below.

Applications located at the root of the browser

It seems clear that all programs are installed in the data folder and their cache is stored in obb. However, it is not clear where the directories with courier names appear in the root directory. We are talking about such applications as VK, Telegram and others. In fact, these directories do not contain application files, but user data that the owner of the device has downloaded or uploaded himself.

For example, it could be tracks downloaded from Telegram or images downloaded from VK. These folders can be easily deleted as they will not affect the operation of the device or applications in general. By the way, applications often offer the possibility to choose the path for saving the user’s files themselves, which makes their transfer to the SD card much easier.

Where the downloaded installers end up

Okay, there is still one unanswered question. Before installing these programs, Android has to save the installers somewhere, right? Not quite. Yes, there are still installation files, but they exist for a short time and are removed immediately after installation. However, this only applies to the Play Market. If the user downloads the installer from another source, it must be located in the Download directory, located in the root directory.

Thank you for reading.