Want to send a bunch of files from your iPhone? Looking for an app to compress large number of file so as to save storage on your iOS device? Received a zip file and don’t know how to extract files from it? Since iOS 13, you can zip files using the Files app on your iPhone and iPad without need for a third-party app.
Occasionally we may have to send documents that are very heavy. This can be very hard to upload them to a cloud storage or share across different devices or platforms. The ideal solution is to simply decrease the size of the large file through zipping or compressing. On a computer this can be very simple task by making use of built-in compressors or zip utilities or third-party programs such as the WinRAR, WinZip, etc.
Recent iPhone or iPad can also help you compress files without any extra application installed. This can be achieved through the Files application that includes a native compressor.
Compress files on iPhone
If the files you like to compress or decompress are saved elsewhere, go to save or copy them to the Files app first. Launch the Files app, find the file or folder you like to compress, long press it until you get the contextual menu. Scroll all the way down to the bottom, select Compress to create a ZIP archive on your iPhone or iPad.
Zip multiple files and documents on iPhone
You can also zip multiple files, documents and even folders into a single zip file. Tap the Select button at the top right corner, then choose the More button (three dots in a circle) at the bottom right corner to bring up the options at the lower section on your phone screen.
Choose Compress. A zip archive will be created and saved to the same folder as the original files or folders in Files app on your iPhone.
Unzip or decompress archive files on iPhone
To unarchive a compressed file, tap and hold to pop up the contextual menu, scroll down to the bottom and choose Uncompress from the menu to unarchive it.
The compressed or decompressed files will be saved in the same location as the original files in Files app.
What kinds of files can be compressed?
The built-in compressor utility with Files app allows you to compress practically everything, such as PDF documents, Word documents, Excel sheets, PPT presentations, images, videos, music files, etc. The only limitation is that you have to add all these files and documents from other apps to the Files app, the stock file manager on iPhone, before you can make use of it to compress or zip the files.
Does file compression reduce quality?
The Compress option in Files app uses a data compression method, which is lossless and preserves everything. The Files app will compress your files into zip files. ZIP is a lossless compression format. A Zip file does not reduce the quality of the files it contains. When you extract the files from a Zip file, they should be identical to the original files you zipped.