Files in Adobe Cloud that cannot be deleted

[Liber Liber]

There are files in Acrobad for iPhone that I can't delete. If I go to iPhone (or iPad), Files, Shared, I see old PDF files that were sent to me via Whatsapp. I can't delete them, they are not displayed among the files on Apple iCloud, they are not present in Adobe Cloud. But they appear if I open them. So somewhere they are stored. If I delete Acrobat from cloud services in File, they disappear. So they are related to Acrobat and Adobe Cloud. But in Adobe Cloud they are not displayed (and therefore cannot be deleted).

[Liber Liber]

I can't delete the files.

[JR Boulay]

[MOVED TO THE ACROBAT READER MOBILE DISCUSSIONS]

[Amal.]

Hi there,

Hope you are doing well and thanks for reaching out.

I understand how confusing it can be when files show up in Acrobat but aren’t visible in iCloud or Adobe Document Cloud. Based on what you described, those PDFs are most likely stored locally in the Acrobat app’s cache/storage on your iPhone or iPad, which is why you can open them but don’t see them in iCloud or Adobe Cloud.

Here are a few steps you can try to remove them:

1. Check Acrobat’s “On this Device” storage

• Open the Acrobat app.
• Go to Files > On this Device.
• See if the PDFs appear there. If they do, you should be able to delete them directly.

2. Try to clear the app cache: To clear an iPhone app's cache, use the app's built-in option if available, or offload the app from Settings > General > iPhone Storage to remove temporary files while keeping your data, then reinstall it from the App Store

Since you mentioned they disappear when Acrobat’s storage is disabled in Files, this confirms they’re tied to Acrobat’s local app storage and not synced to the cloud.

Using iPhone Storage Settings (Offloading the App)

• Open: the Settings app on your iPhone.
• Tap: on General.
• Tap: on iPhone Storage to see a list of your apps.
• Select: the app you want to clear the cache for.
• Tap: Offload App.
• Confirm: the action when prompted.
  
  

This removes the app's installation file, freeing up storage, but keeps your documents and data intact. You can then reinstall the app from the App Store, and it will restore your personal data while starting with a clean cache.

Since you mentioned they disappear when Acrobat’s storage is disabled in Files, this confirms they’re tied to Acrobat’s local app storage and not synced to the cloud.

Let us know how it goes

~Amal

[Liber Liber]

Unfortunately this solution doesn't work. I delete Acrobat and the files obviously disappear. I install Acrobat again and the files appear again.

The files are not on iCloud, they are not on Adobe Cloud, they are not on iPhone, they are not on iPad. And it's impossible to delete them.

They create confusion and one of the two documents is a legal document that violates privacy. It creates many problems that you can't delete files from Adobe.

[Amal.]

Hi there,

We are sorry to hear that the issue still exists. Could you please try the following steps:

• Uninstall the Acrobat Reader app.
• Before reinstalling, go to Settings > Files > On My iPhone/iPad and check if there’s a folder named Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat — if yes, please delete that folder manually.
• Reinstall the app from the App Store and check if the files still appear.

If the issue continues, please let us know:

• The iOS version and Acrobat app version you’re using.
• Whether these files show up under a specific location (like “On This iPhone,” “Recent,” or “Files” tab).

We’ll share this information with our engineering team to help investigate further.

~Amal

[Liber Liber · Accepted solution]

I solved the problem in this way:

1. I deleted the Acrobat app (app and data)
2. I deleted the Files app (app and data)

After reinstalling both Files and Acrobat, everything seems OK. For now.

However, it remains absurd that there are "ghost" files and that it is not possible to act on the files in a transparent and reliable way.