# APFS HFS+ Reader & FileVault > Read and write HFS+ and APFS+FileVault, exFAT & FAT32 USB drives. No root. Canonical page: [https://chrome-stats.com/d/dev.stephenkingston.apfsreader](https://chrome-stats.com/d/dev.stephenkingston.apfsreader) ## Overview - **ID:** `dev.stephenkingston.apfsreader` - **Platform:** Android - **Type:** Android app - **Status:** Available - **Publisher:** Stephen Kingston - **Category:** TOOLS - **Downloads:** 281 - **Version:** 1.8.2 - **Last updated:** 2026-09-10 - **First published:** 2026-08-01 - **Publisher country:** IE - **Size:** 5.09 MB - **Data as of:** 2026-09-13 - **Store listing:** [Google Play Store](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dev.stephenkingston.apfsreader) - **Website:** [https://stephenkingston.net](https://stephenkingston.net/) - **Privacy policy:** [https://stephenkingston.net/apps/apfs-reader/privacy/](https://stephenkingston.net/apps/apfs-reader/privacy/) ## Description APFS Reader is a Mac drive file manager for Android. Read APFS and HFS+ (Mac OS Extended) external hard drives, SSDs and USB flash drives, and fully read AND write exFAT and FAT32 drives, directly on your phone or tablet. Plug in through a USB-C or USB-OTG adapter. No root. No computer. No account. No ads. (Reading APFS and HFS+ is free, as is full exFAT/FAT32 read+write. APFS and HFS+ write unlocks with a one-time in-app purchase.)

Macs format most external drives as APFS or HFS+, while cameras, SD cards and portable SSDs use exFAT or FAT32, and Android can't open any of them on its own. APFS Reader fixes that with its own APFS, HFS+, exFAT and FAT32 engines and its own USB storage stack, without rooting your device.

WORKS WITH
- APFS external hard drives, SSDs and USB flash drives (read; write is a one-time in-app unlock)
- HFS+ (Mac OS Extended) drives, including journaled volumes (read; write is the same one-time unlock)
- exFAT USB drives and portable SSDs (read + write, free)
- FAT32 USB drives, flash drives and SD cards in a reader (read + write, free)
- SD cards and microSD through a USB card reader (read + write on exFAT and FAT32, free)
- FileVault-encrypted APFS drives: unlock with the password or recovery key and read (write-back uses the same one-time unlock)
- Multi-partition drives and drives larger than 2 TB
- USB-C phones and tablets, and USB-OTG adapters
- Your phone's own storage too: internal storage and a built-in SD card (browse, copy, move, rename, delete)
Note: storage plugs in over USB / OTG, not the phone's built-in SD slot.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
- Browse, search and sort like a normal file explorer, with folder details and a hidden-file toggle
- Copy files and folders to your phone with progress, rate and time-remaining
- Preview photos, music and video straight off the drive, no copy needed
- "Open with..." and Share any file straight from the drive
- Move files between your phone and the drive, and pick files off the drive in other apps via the system file picker

exFAT AND FAT32 ARE FULLY READ + WRITE, FREE
No purchase needed: create folders, rename, move, delete, and copy or upload files onto any exFAT or FAT32 drive, SSD or SD card, straight from your phone. Writes are crash-safe: a mid-write disconnect leaves the drive recoverable, never silently corrupted.

UNLOCK APFS AND HFS+ WRITE - ONE-TIME PURCHASE
Need to write to a Mac drive? Unlock full APFS and HFS+ write with a single one-time in-app purchase, no subscription and no second app. The moment it's unlocked, the drive you're already looking at becomes writable: create folders, rename, move, delete, copy and upload onto APFS and HFS+ drives and SSDs. (Reading APFS and HFS+, and read+write of exFAT and FAT32, stay free.)

UNLOCK FILEVAULT DRIVES
Got a Mac drive locked with FileVault? Unlock it with the volume password or personal recovery key and browse it like any other drive, no Mac needed. Reading is free; with the write unlock you can also write back: copy, move, rename and delete right inside the encrypted volume.

CRASH-SAFE WRITES
Changes are committed atomically, so a drive unplugged mid-write isn't silently corrupted; the next Mac just runs its normal repair (Disk Utility, or fsck_apfs / fsck_hfs). The APFS, HFS+, exFAT and FAT32 engines are tested extensively against macOS and Linux drives. Writes run in a non-blocking widget, so you can keep browsing while a copy runs.

PRIVATE BY DESIGN
No ads. No trackers. No analytics. No accounts. APFS Reader collects no personal data; your files and file names never leave your device. Purchases are handled by Google Play.

For a Windows NTFS or BitLocker To Go drive instead, get NTFS Reader from Google Play. ## Rankings - #1,584,530 — Overall ## Permissions and access ### Permissions - `android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE` - `android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE` - `android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE_CONNECTED_DEVICE` - `android.permission.INTERNET` - `android.permission.POST_NOTIFICATIONS` - `com.android.vending.BILLING` - `dev.stephenkingston.apfsreader.DYNAMIC_RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED_PERMISSION` ## Similar extensions and apps - [NTFS Reader: USB+Bitlocker](https://chrome-stats.com/d/dev.stephenkingston.ntfsreader) — 5,730 users, 5.00 / 5 - [NTFS Reader Pro: USB+Bitlocker](https://chrome-stats.com/d/dev.stephenkingston.ntfsreaderpro) — 24 users - [OTG Nexus: NTFS exFAT USB SD](https://chrome-stats.com/d/agency.obelisk.otgnexus) — 2,699 users - [exFAT/NTFS for USB by Paragon](https://chrome-stats.com/d/com.paragon.tcplugins_ntfs_ro) — 4,537,330 users, 2.83 / 5 - [USB File Manager (NTFS, Exfat)](https://chrome-stats.com/d/com.mixapplications.usbfilemanager) — 153,120 users, 2.18 / 5 - [OTG Reader](https://chrome-stats.com/d/com.otgbrow.files) — 222,035 users, 4.08 / 5 - [FS File Explorer](https://chrome-stats.com/d/com.ioapps.fsexplorer) — 3,071,576 users, 4.44 / 5 - [PDF Reader](https://chrome-stats.com/d/com.backforge.olimpic.axiomdrivecenter) — 105,083 users, 4.89 / 5 - [AZ File Explorer File Manager](https://chrome-stats.com/d/com.onemanpro.azfileexplorer) — 846,190 users, 2.53 / 5 - [StarForce Reader](https://chrome-stats.com/d/com.starforce.reader) — 14,946 users - [FE File Explorer](https://chrome-stats.com/d/com.skyjos.apps.fileexplorer) — 148,643 users, 4.16 / 5 - [SSHFSAndroid](https://chrome-stats.com/d/com.chaos9k.sshfsandroid) — 4,033 users, 3.23 / 5 --- Source: [Chrome-Stats](https://chrome-stats.com/d/dev.stephenkingston.apfsreader)