Open source · Android · Free beta

Search your phone by meaning.

Better Files searches your documents and photos by meaning. On your phone. No cloud, no account.

By meaningnot by file name
Files stay on the phonesearch runs on the phone
Docs and photosPDF, Word, text, JPG, PNG

You remember what's in a file. Not what you named it.

i.

Install and accept the model.One download of about 320 MB. Photo search needs 110 MB more.

ii.

It reads your files on the phone.Newest files first. On older phones, the first index takes hours.

iii.

Search in your own words."land records", "beach at sunset". In English, Hindi or Hinglish.

What it does

A full file manager, with a search that understands what is inside your files.

Search by meaning

Type "rent agreement" or "beach at sunset". It finds the file even when the name says nothing like that.

Stays on your phone

The search model and the index live on the device. Your files, names and searches never leave it.

A full file manager

Archives, root access, SMB, SFTP, FTP and WebDAV, themes. Built on Material Files.

See it work

A real search on a six-year-old phone. 2:23.

Private by design

There is no account and no server of ours to send your files to.

Nothing leaves

Your files, file names, folders and searches never leave your phone.

Analytics are off

They stay off until you turn them on. If you do, only anonymous usage counts go to PostHog in the EU.

No tracking

No ads, no advertising ID, no Google Play Services. Read the privacy policy.

Before you install

This is a beta. Here is what to expect.

Requirements

  • Android 10 or newer.
  • The search model downloads once: about 320 MB. Photo search needs 110 MB more.
  • Meaning search and photo search need about 3.5 GB of RAM. Phones with less search inside documents by keyword.

Known limits

  • The first index takes hours on older phones. You can search files as soon as they are done.
  • Some phones stop apps in the background. If indexing stops, open Better Files. It continues where it stopped.
  • Scanned PDFs and password-protected PDFs are not searchable yet.
  • Excel, PowerPoint and old .doc files are not indexed yet.

Find it by what it says.