file:///sdcard/, or how to view and open your files in the browser

file: ///sdcard/ To view and open files from storage on your device you should typically use a file manager, like many that exist in the Play Store. file ///sdcard, If your phone doesn’t have one or you don’t have access to it, you can also make use of the web browser. Simply enter the URL file:///sdcard/ in the address bar of Google Chrome, Firefox or Samsung Internet.

This isn’t really a trick. It’s just a type of URL, as old and standard as the “http://”, and that’s why several browsers understand it. The difference is that the “http”, used to recover resources on the Internet is replaced by the “file” scheme, which is used to retrieve a resource on the computer or on a local network, in addition to three slash “/” after the colon.

With this URL you will be able to see all the files and folders that are in the internal memory of your device, including hidden files (whose name starts with a period). You can also open or view most of those files in the same browser, be they photos, videos, documents or PDFs. You can even install APK files from there.

You can directly enter paths to specific folders. For example, when you put file:///sdcard/whatsapp/ you will enter the folder where WhatsApp saves its contents. In «Media» you will find images, voice notes, videos, etc.

Tap where it says “Size” to quickly find out which files are the largest in storage. If you tap on “Change Date” they will be sorted according to this parameter.

Since this URL is a standard, it also works on the PC, albeit with slightly different syntax. For example, to view the files on hard drive C, type in Chrome or Mozilla Firefox on your computer. Unfortunately this does NOT work on iPhone or iOS, which is where a file manager is most missed.file:///C:///

Another limitation is that you will only be able to see the files on the internal storage. You can’t list the files on the SD card or worse even worse the files at the root of the device (root), because apparently this requires special permissions that a browser does not own. You also won’t be able to manage the files, i.e. delete, copy or move. If that’s your need you can install Xiaomi File Manager, Google Files or Solid Explorer.