An AAE file is a sidecar document your iPhone or iPad creates alongside photos to store editing information

When you edit a photo on an iPhone or iPad, the device doesn't overwrite the original image file. Instead, it creates a small companion file with the extension .aae that contains all the edits you made — brightness, contrast, filters, crops, and rotation. The original photo stays unchanged. If you delete the edits, the AAE file disappears. If you keep them, the AAE file travels with the photo.

AAE stands for Apple Annotation Envelope. It's Apple's way of keeping your original photo safe while letting you experiment with changes. When you share the photo or move it to another device, the edits go with it if the receiving device understands AAE files. Most Apple devices do. Most other devices and programs do not.

Key Takeaways

  • AAE files are created by iPhones and iPads to store photo edits separately from the original image.
  • You will see AAE files in your Photos app library, but they are invisible in the standard view — you only notice them if you look at files directly.
  • Deleting an AAE file removes all edits to that photo and reverts it to the original.
  • Windows computers, Android devices, and most photo software cannot read AAE files, so edits may not show up if you move photos to those platforms.

Where AAE files live and why you might not see them

AAE files sit in the same folder as your photos on your iPhone or iPad. If you use iCloud Photos, they sync to iCloud Drive alongside the image files. When you connect your iPhone to a Mac or Windows computer and browse the files, you will see both the photo file (usually a .jpg or .heic) and its matching .aae file.

In the Photos app itself, you won't see the AAE file listed separately. The app treats the photo and its edits as one unit. You only encounter the AAE file if you dig into the actual file system — through a file manager on Mac, or through Windows File Explorer on a PC. For most people, AAE files are invisible and don't need attention.

What happens when you move photos to other devices or programs

If you copy photos from your iPhone to a Windows computer, both the image file and the AAE file transfer. But Windows doesn't know what to do with the AAE file. Programs like Windows Photos or Photoshop will ignore it and show you the original, unedited version of the image. The AAE file sits there harmlessly, taking up a small amount of space.

The same thing happens if you send photos to an Android phone or upload them to a website that doesn't support Apple's format. The edits you made on your iPhone won't appear. If you want the edits to show up elsewhere, you need to export the photo as a finished image file first — which means saving it as a new .jpg or .png with the edits already applied.

How to remove AAE files if you don't want them

If you're moving photos to a Windows computer or another device and want to clean up the AAE files, you can delete them directly. On a Mac, open Finder, navigate to the folder with your photos, and delete any file ending in .aae. On Windows, open File Explorer, find the AAE files, and delete them. The original photos will remain untouched.

You can also prevent AAE files from being created in the first place by not editing photos on your iPhone — but that defeats the purpose of having editing tools. A simpler approach: if you know you'll be moving photos to non-Apple devices, export them as finished files from your iPhone before transferring them. That way you control the format and leave no AAE files behind.

AAE files and iCloud Photos sync

If you use iCloud Photos to sync your library across devices, AAE files sync too. An edit you make on your iPhone will appear on your Mac and iPad automatically because the AAE file travels with the photo. This is why edits stay consistent across your Apple devices.

If you turn off iCloud Photos and manage your library locally instead, AAE files stay on each device independently. An edit on your iPhone won't reach your Mac unless you manually transfer the photo file and its AAE file together.

When AAE files cause problems

AAE files rarely cause real problems, but they can create confusion. If you back up your iPhone to a computer and then browse the backup files, you'll see AAE files mixed in with your photos and wonder what they are. They're harmless — just leave them alone.

The main inconvenience is when you want to share edited photos with people who use Windows or Android. The edits won't show up on their devices unless you export the photo as a finished file first. This is a limitation of Apple's format, not a flaw in the AAE file itself.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I delete AAE files without losing my photos?

Yes. Deleting an AAE file removes the edits you made to that photo, but the original image file stays intact. If you've made edits you want to keep, don't delete the AAE file. If you've already exported the photo with edits applied, the AAE file is no longer needed.

Why do AAE files exist if other devices can't read them?

AAE files protect your original photo from being overwritten. They let you edit freely on your iPhone without losing the original, and they keep edits in sync across Apple devices. The trade-off is that edits don't travel to non-Apple platforms — but you can always export a finished version if you need to.

Do AAE files take up a lot of storage space?

No. AAE files are very small, usually just a few kilobytes. They won't noticeably affect your iPhone's storage or your iCloud quota. If you're running low on space, deleting AAE files won't help much — focus on removing duplicate photos or large videos instead.

What format is an AAE file actually in?

AAE files are XML documents, which is a plain-text format. You can open one in a text editor and see the editing instructions written out, but you won't be able to edit them directly. Apple's Photos app is the intended tool for managing AAE files and the edits they contain.