Learn how to compress files on your iPhone or iPad so they take less space, and extract ZIP archives to access the items inside, without using any third-party apps.
You don’t need any special apps to open ZIP files you’ve downloaded from the internet, received via email or saved from chats on messaging apps. Apple’s Files app on your iPhone and iPad can expand (unzip) these archives to browse the compressed files inside, as well as compress one or more files into a zip archive. Don’t worry, our step-by-step tutorial right ahead has you covered.
Create a ZIP archive on iPhone or iPad
1) Save the required files and folders in the same location on the Files app. To create a ZIP archive of your iPhone shots, for example, select the items in the built-in Photos app and hit the share icon, then choose Save to Files.
2) Open the Files app and go to the location where you saved the files.
3) To compress a single item, hold a file or folder and choose Compress from the menu. The archive has the same name as the original but with a “.zip” extension.
4) To zip multiple files, tap the three-dotted icon in the top-right corner of the Files app and choose Select, then touch the items to choose. If you’re in list view, swipe vertically with two fingers to quickly select files. Next, hit the three-dotted icon on an iPhone or the More button on an iPad and select Compress. The Files app will compress the selection into a new ZIP archive, named Archive.zip.
Open a ZIP file on iPhone or iPad
To expand an archive into a new folder of the same name, tap a ZIP file in the Files app or touch and hold it and choose Uncompress from the menu.
As you can see for yourself, it’s super easy to open a ZIP file on your iPhone or iPad without using any special apps. This should be super convenient for transferring large project files via an external storage device connected to your iPhone or iPad.
The vast majority of users receive ZIP via email or messaging apps like WhatsApp, but some keep them stored in Google Drive. If your cloud storage service doesn’t support archives, add the service to the Files app to use the native options there. Or, select the archive in the cloud storage app on your iPhone, then hit the share option and select Save to Files to send a copy to the Files app.
In addition to compressing and uncompressing .zip archives, the built-in Apple Files app also supports expanding compressed .ar, .bz2, .cpio, .rar, .tar, and .tgz files.
Other tips for ZIP files: