An AAE file is a small text document that stores editing information about a photo, not the photo itself

When you edit a photo on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac using the built-in Photos app, the device creates an AAE file alongside the original image. AAE stands for Apple Annotation Exchange. The file contains only the instructions for how you edited the photo — things like brightness, contrast, crop, filters, or rotation — but not the actual edited image.

Think of it like a recipe card next to a cake. The card tells you what was done to the ingredients, but the card itself is not the cake. If you delete the AAE file, your original photo remains untouched, and you can re-edit it from scratch. The AAE file is just Apple's way of keeping a record of your edits so you can undo them later or see what you changed.

Key Takeaways

  • AAE files are created by Apple's Photos app on iPhones, iPads, and Macs when you edit an image.
  • The file stores editing instructions only — brightness, crop, filters, rotation — not the edited photo itself.
  • Deleting an AAE file does not delete your photo or permanently remove your edits; you can still undo changes in the Photos app.
  • AAE files are harmless and take up almost no storage space, so there is no practical reason to remove them.
  • If you transfer photos to a Windows computer or non-Apple device, AAE files may appear as orphaned files that you can safely delete.

Why Apple creates AAE files instead of overwriting photos

Apple's Photos app uses a non-destructive editing system. That means when you crop a photo or adjust the color, the app does not actually change the original image file. Instead, it saves your edits as separate instructions in the AAE file.

This approach protects your original photo. If you make edits you regret, you can open the photo again and undo them completely, returning to the unedited version. Without the AAE file, the app would have to overwrite the original, and you would lose the chance to go back. The AAE file is the safety net.

Where AAE files appear on your device

On an iPhone or iPad, you usually will not see AAE files at all. They exist in the background, hidden in the Photos app's library folder. The Photos app handles them automatically, and you do not need to think about them.

On a Mac, AAE files appear in the Finder alongside your photos if you store them in a folder outside the Photos app library — for example, if you keep photos in a Documents folder or on an external drive. Each photo will have a matching AAE file with the same name. For instance, a photo named "Vacation.jpg" will have a companion file called "Vacation.AAE".

What happens when you move photos to another device or computer

If you copy photos from a Mac to a Windows computer, or transfer them to an Android device, the AAE files come along but will not be recognized. Windows and Android devices do not use Apple's annotation system, so the AAE files become orphaned — they sit there doing nothing.

You can safely delete these orphaned AAE files without affecting the photos. On Windows, you can select them in File Explorer and press Delete. On Android, if they appear in your file manager, you can remove them. The photos themselves will remain intact, though any edits you made in Apple's Photos app will not carry over to the new device.

Whether you should delete AAE files

If your photos are on an Apple device and you use the Photos app, there is no reason to delete AAE files. They take up almost no storage space — typically a few kilobytes each — and they preserve your editing history. Leaving them alone costs you nothing.

If you have transferred photos to a non-Apple device and the AAE files are cluttering your file view, you can delete them without hesitation. They serve no purpose outside the Apple ecosystem. Some people prefer to clean them up for tidiness; others leave them and ignore them. Either choice is safe.

How to find and remove AAE files on a Mac if you want to

Open Finder and navigate to the folder where your photos are stored. If you see files with the .AAE extension, you can select them by clicking one, then holding Shift and clicking the last one to select a range, or Cmd+clicking individual files to pick and choose.

Once selected, press Delete or right-click and choose "Move to Trash". The photos will remain. If you want to remove all AAE files from a folder at once, you can also use the search function: open Finder, click the search box, type "kind:AAE", and Finder will show only AAE files in that location. Select all of them and delete.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will deleting an AAE file undo my photo edits?

No. Deleting the AAE file does not change the original photo. However, if you delete the AAE file and then open the photo in the Photos app, you will lose the ability to undo your edits within that app. The photo will remain in whatever state it was last saved in.

Can I open an AAE file to see what edits were made?

Not easily. AAE files are text-based but written in a format designed for Apple's Photos app, not for human reading. The simplest way to see what edits were applied is to open the photo in the Photos app on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, where the app will show you the editing history.

Do AAE files take up much storage space?

No. Each AAE file is typically 1 to 5 kilobytes. Even if you have hundreds of edited photos, the total size of all AAE files combined would be less than a single megabyte. They are not worth worrying about for storage reasons.

What if I see AAE files on my Windows computer?

They came from an Apple device or a Mac. Windows does not use them, so you can delete them. They will not affect your photos or any other files on your computer.