howtosimply.com/guides/how-to-open-and-create-zip-files-on-an-iphone/ · Checked October 2026 · iPhone 17e · iOS 27.0.1

In this guide

Open the folder in Files
Tap New Folder
Name the folder
Touch and hold the folder
Tap Compress
Find the ZIP file
Tap the ZIP file to open it
Delete what you no longer need
If you do not see this option
If this does not work
Good to know
Sources

Quick answer

In the Files app, touch and hold a file or folder and tap Compress: a ZIP with the same name appears next to it. To open a ZIP, tap it: Files unpacks it into a new folder in the same place. If a folder with that name is already there, Files adds a 2 to the name.

8 of 8 steps with real screenshots · 1 official source below

Device: iPhone
Shown on: iOS 27.0.1 (iPhone 17e)
App: Files
Path: Files › On My iPhone › Compress
Real screenshots: 8 of 8 steps
Checked: October 2026
Sources: 1 official, linked below

Step by step

Open the folder in Files
Open the Files app, tap Browse and open the place that holds your files, On My iPhone on ours. It was empty, so we made a test folder: tap the More button, the three dots at the top right.
Done
Tap New Folder
The menu has Select, New Folder, Scan Documents and Connect to Server, then the view and sort options. Tap New Folder. If your files are already in a folder, skip to step 4.
Done
Name the folder
The new folder appears with its name, untitled folder, selected and the keyboard open. Type a name and tap the blue tick key. We called ours ZIP test.
Done
Touch and hold the folder
Touch and hold the folder or file you want to pack, here ZIP test, 0 items. Ours was empty. A menu opens below it.
Done
Tap Compress
The menu starts with Copy, Move and Share, then Get Info and Rename. Tap Compress, the next item, above Duplicate.
Done
Find the ZIP file
ZIP test.zip appears at once next to the folder, with the time it was made, 21:32, and its size, 172 bytes. The folder stays where it was. Send the ZIP like any other file.
Done
Tap the ZIP file to open it
Tap ZIP test.zip. Files unpacks it straight away into a new folder next to it. Ours is ZIP test 2, 0 items: the name ZIP test was taken, and the folder we zipped was empty. The ZIP file stays too. Tap the new folder to open it.
Done
Delete what you no longer need
Tap the More button, then Select, tap the items and tap Delete. We deleted the test folder, the ZIP and the unpacked folder, and the page showed On My iPhone is Empty.
Done

If you do not see this option

Opening a ZIP someone sent you? Apple says to find the ZIP in the Files app and tap it. We only opened a ZIP made on the iPhone; we did not save one from Mail, Messages or Safari first. Source: Create or open ZIP files on your iPhone or iPad
Packing several files into one ZIP? Apple says to tap More, Select, choose the files, then More at the lower right and Compress. Several files become Archive.zip in the same folder. We packed one folder only. Source: Create or open ZIP files on your iPhone or iPad
No Compress in the three-dot menu? On ours the More menu at the top right had Select and New Folder but no Compress. Compress is in the menu you get by touching and holding the file or folder.

If this does not work

The unpacked folder ends in 2? Files adds a 2 when a folder with the same name is already there, as with our ZIP test 2. Apple says to touch and hold the folder and tap Rename to change its name. Source: Create or open ZIP files on your iPhone or iPad
The unpacked folder is empty? Ours showed 0 items because the folder we zipped was empty. Apple says tapping a ZIP creates a folder containing the files. Source: Create or open ZIP files on your iPhone or iPad
Want a different name for the ZIP? Apple says to touch and hold the ZIP and tap Rename. On ours Rename is in the same menu as Compress, two items above it. Source: Create or open ZIP files on your iPhone or iPad

About this guide

The Files app makes and opens ZIP files by itself, with no extra app. Apple's page on ZIP files says one file becomes a ZIP with the same name, and tapping a ZIP creates a folder containing the files.

The screenshots are from our iPhone 17e with iOS 27.0.1, in Dark mode. We made an empty test folder called ZIP test in On My iPhone, compressed it, opened the ZIP, then deleted all of it.