An AAE file is a small sidecar file that your iPhone creates alongside a photo to store editing information

When you edit a photo on your iPhone using the built-in Photos app, the device doesn't overwrite the original image. Instead, it creates a companion file with the .aae extension that holds all the changes you made — brightness adjustments, crop settings, filters, and rotation. The original photo stays untouched, and the AAE file acts as instructions for how to display it.

AAE stands for Apple Annotation Exchange. It's Apple's way of keeping your edits separate from the actual image file, which means you can always undo changes or view the original unedited version. If you delete the AAE file, your edits disappear, but the photo itself remains.

These files are invisible in the Photos app on your iPhone — you'll never see them listed there. They only become visible if you connect your iPhone to a computer and browse the files directly, or if you use a file manager app on the iPhone itself.

Key Takeaways

  • AAE files store editing information for photos, not the photos themselves, and are created automatically when you edit an image in the Photos app.
  • Deleting an AAE file removes all edits you made to that photo, but the original image file remains on your device.
  • AAE files are hidden in the Photos app and only visible when you access your iPhone's file system through a computer or file manager.
  • These files are harmless and take up very little storage space, so there is no benefit to manually deleting them.

Where AAE files live on your iPhone

AAE files are stored in the same folder as your photos on your iPhone, typically in the DCIM (Digital Camera Images) folder. When you connect your iPhone to a Mac or Windows computer via USB, you can navigate to this folder and see both the photo files and their corresponding AAE files sitting side by side.

On a Mac, the files appear when you open Finder and select your iPhone under Locations, then navigate to Internal Storage > DCIM. On Windows, you can use File Explorer to browse the same folder structure after connecting your device.

If you use a file manager app on your iPhone itself — such as the Files app — you can also see AAE files there, though most people never need to look at them.

How AAE files affect your photos when you share them

When you share a photo from your iPhone through Messages, Mail, or social media, the app sends only the edited version of the image, not the AAE file. The person receiving the photo sees your edits applied, but they don't receive the editing instructions themselves.

If you transfer photos to a computer or cloud service, the behavior depends on the method. Using AirDrop or the Photos app on a Mac typically sends only the edited image. Connecting your iPhone directly to a computer and copying files from the DCIM folder will copy both the photo file and the AAE file together.

This means if someone opens the AAE file on their computer, it won't do anything useful — AAE files only work with Apple devices and software that understand the format.

Why you should not delete AAE files manually

There is no practical reason to delete AAE files from your iPhone. They take up minimal storage space — typically just a few kilobytes each — so removing them won't free up any meaningful amount of room on your device.

The only consequence of deleting an AAE file is losing the edits associated with that photo. If you've spent time adjusting brightness, applying filters, or cropping an image, deleting the AAE file erases all that work. You would be left with only the original, unedited version.

If you want to remove edits from a photo, the better approach is to open it in the Photos app, tap Edit, then tap Revert to Original. This gives you control over what you're doing and doesn't involve manually managing files.

What happens when you back up your iPhone

When you back up your iPhone to iCloud or to a computer using iTunes or Finder, the AAE files are included in the backup automatically. You don't need to do anything special — they're treated like any other file on your device.

If you restore your iPhone from a backup, all your photos and their corresponding AAE files come back with them, so your edits are preserved. This is why you can edit a photo, back up your device, and then restore it later without losing any of your editing work.

The same applies if you transfer photos to a new iPhone using the setup process. Your edited photos and their AAE files move to the new device together.

AAE files and third-party photo apps

Third-party photo editing apps like Snapseed, Adobe Lightroom, or Pixelmator create their own sidecar files or store edits in their own formats — they don't use AAE files. If you edit a photo in one of these apps, the changes are saved separately from the iPhone's Photos app edits.

This means a single photo can have both an AAE file (from Photos app edits) and editing data from another app stored alongside it. Each app manages its own edits independently, so you can have multiple versions of the same photo with different adjustments.

If you export a photo from a third-party app back to your Photos library, the app usually sends a new image file rather than creating an AAE file. The original photo and its AAE file remain unchanged.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I open an AAE file on my computer?

AAE files are not meant to be opened directly. They're instructions for Apple devices, not viewable documents. If you try to open one on a Mac or Windows computer, it won't display anything useful. You can only view the photo itself, which is stored in a separate file.

Will AAE files transfer to Android if I switch phones?

No. AAE files are Apple-specific and Android devices don't recognize them. If you move photos from an iPhone to an Android phone, the AAE files won't transfer, and you'll lose the editing information. The original photo files will move, but without the edits applied.

Do AAE files take up a lot of storage space?

No. AAE files are typically just a few kilobytes each, so they have almost no impact on your iPhone's storage. Even if you have hundreds of edited photos, the AAE files combined would use less space than a single high-resolution photo.

What if I see an AAE file with no matching photo?

This can happen if you deleted a photo but the AAE file remained, or if a file transfer was interrupted. The orphaned AAE file serves no purpose and can be safely deleted without affecting anything else on your device.