Many of you have been waiting for this update for quite a while, and it is finally here.
A few days ago, we began rolling out the fully rebuilt Filen mobile app for iOS and Android. Both versions were submitted simultaneously; however, the Google Play review process was completed sooner, making the update available to Android users slightly earlier than to iOS users.
The app is being released gradually as part of a staged rollout. This means that not everyone will receive the update automatically at the same time. Availability will gradually increase over the coming days while we keep an eye on stability and incoming feedback.
You can still check the App Store or Google Playstore manually and download the new version yourself.
More than a regular update
This is not just a redesign of the previous app.
The mobile app has been rebuilt from the ground up around our new Rust SDK. Encryption, uploads, downloads, caching, previews, file handling, and other core processes now run on the new foundation. This should make the app faster and more reliable, especially when working with large folders, many photos, or bigger transfers.
It also gives us a much better base for future improvements. The old app had become increasingly difficult to maintain as more and more features were added over the years. Rebuilding it took longer than we originally hoped, but continuing to add to the old foundation would not have been a good long-term solution.
What has changed
Almost every area of the mobile app has been touched in some way. The most noticeable new or improved features include:
- A completely redesigned interface and navigation experience
- A new Rust-powered core for encryption, transfers, caching, previews, and file handling
- Faster browsing and improved performance in large directories
- Faster uploads and downloads
- Improved thumbnail and preview loading
- Improved automatic camera uploads
- Better offline file support
- Improved note editing
- Redesigned chats and file-sharing features
- New and improved audio and video features, including the ability to create playlists, watch videos in picture-in-picture mode, and listen to audio in the background
- Document scanning
- Improved search, sorting, and file management
- Bandwidth and performance controls to reduce data usage and conserve battery life
- Global search
- Numerous smaller quality-of-life improvements, bug fixes, and stability enhancements throughout the app
A new design for iOS and Android
The new app looks and feels quite different from the previous version.
We wanted the navigation to be easier to understand and common actions to be quicker to reach. At the same time, we tried to avoid making the iOS and Android versions feel like exact copies of each other. Both share the same general structure, but still follow the conventions of their respective platforms.
On iOS, the app also makes use of the new Liquid Glass design. This is especially visible in the navigation, menus, and some of the interface elements.
This is obviously a matter of taste, but we are very happy with how it turned out.
The Android version received the same redesign and technical rebuild, while keeping an interface that feels natural on Android.
Left: iOS / Right: Android
What has not changed
The technical foundation and interface are new, but the basic principles behind Filen remain the same.
Files are still encrypted on your device before they are uploaded. Filen remains end-to-end encrypted, zero-knowledge, and open source.
The rebuild does not change how we approach privacy or how your data is protected.
What happens next
Releasing the new app is a major step, but there will still be more work to do.
We will continue monitoring the rollout, fixing issues, improving performance, and refining parts of the interface based on real-world feedback. A rebuild of this size will probably reveal some edge cases that are difficult to reproduce before a wider release.
Thank you to everyone who tested early versions, reported bugs, sent feedback, or simply waited patiently for the update.
If something does not work as expected, please let us know through support.filen.io. We read every report and use them to decide what needs attention next.
We hope you enjoy the new app.
-Team Filen
