3 Ways to Download Files from Safari on iPhone [iOS 13/12]

It is tricky to download files on iOS device, but no more since iOS 13 introduces a Safari download manager that allows you to download files from Safari on iPhone or iPad easily. If your device does not support iOS 13 or you just don’t want to update, there is other ways to download files from Safari on iOS 12 or previous version.

In this article, I will show you three ways to download files on iPhone. No matter what iOS device you are using, you can find at least one way to save files from Safari web page.

Download Manager for Safari on iOS 13

As you may have known that, there is finally a Safari Download Manager on iOS 13. Once you get iOS 13 installed, you can simply click on the downloadable file link from Safari and you will get a message asking you if you want to download it. You can just click “Download” to start downloading the file.

If it is an audio and video file that you are trying to download, it may play the media when you tap on it. In that case, you can long-press on the download link and then you can choose to download the file from the menu.

Once the file download is started, you can click the download arrow on the right side of the address bar to check the download progress. You can also click the magnifying glass icon to quickly open the location folder to view the downloaded files.

By default, the downloaded file will be saved to the Files app by default and uploaded to iCloud automatically. You can change the Safari downloads folder from Settings > Safari > Downloads, and from there, you can set the file storage location.

Besides iCloud, you can have the downloaded files sync to Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, etc. You just need to connect the cloud drive to the Files app. If you don’t want the downloaded files synced to cloud drive, change the Downloads folder to On My iPhone (iPad).

Download Files from Safari Web Page on iOS 12 or earlier version

If you are running iOS 12 or previous version of iOS, then you can download a free application, called Documents, from Appstore. The app you can help you download files that you find from Safari. You can refer to the steps to get started.

Step 1. Open Appstore and search for “Documents”. Find the result Documents by Readdle and install it on your iOS device.

Step 2. Open Safari and tap on the Download link or button. Before the download URL fully loaded, change the first part of URL in the address bar from http:// to rhttp://, and tap Go.

Step 3. Then you will be prompted with a message saying“Open this page in ‘Documents ?’”, and you just tap on Open to continue.

Step 4. Now you can change the file name or location to save file that you want to download if needed. Then tap Done to start downloading files from Safari.

You can tap on the icon in the top right corner to view the downloading progress. You can use the Documents app to move the downloaded files to another location when the download is complete. For example, if it is a video, you can move videos to Camera Roll.

How to Download Any File on iPhone from Safari

If you cannot find a direct download link on the Safari web page, but you want to download the video or audio from Safari. Don’t worry. There is a way to do that by using the Shortcuts app, which is provided by Apple.

Step 1. Free download the Shortcuts app from AppStore.

Step 2. Open this link with Safari to get the Media Grabber shortcut. If you are using iOS 13 Beta, use this one instead.

Step 3. From the Safari web page which contains the media that you want to download, tap Share and select Shortcuts > Media Grabber to run this shortcut. You can also just copy the URL of the Safari web page and go to the Shortcuts app and tap to run the Media Grabber shortcut.

Step 4. When the download is complete, it will ask you where to save the downloaded file. If it is a video, it will save to Camera Roll. If it is an audio file, you can pick a location from Files app to save it.

Conclusion

That’s how you can download files from Safari on iPhone or iPad. No matter which iOS version you are using, you can find a least one way to do it. For me, the Shortcuts option is the best because I can customize the shortcut to make it even more effective for me. Now it is your turn, which method do you like to try first? If you have a better suggestion or any question, let it in the comments.