How to Open an AAE File (and Why You Can’t Really)
You found an .aae file next to a photo on your Windows PC. You want to open it.
Here is the honest answer: you do not need to open it. There is nothing useful inside for a normal user.
An .aae file stores the edits you made to a photo on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. It is not the photo itself. On Windows it does nothing. Open the .jpg or .heic file next to it instead.
Think of it as an instruction card with no product attached. The card (the .aae) only makes sense beside the photo in Apple Photos. Alone on Windows, it is just a text file.
What an .aae file actually is
Apple Photos never overwrites your original when you edit a photo. It saves the edit instructions separately.
The .aae is that instruction file. It records what you did (crop, brightness, filters) as a small XML text file alongside the original image.
Open it in Notepad and you will see XML code. No image. That is all it contains.
On Apple devices, Photos reads the .aae automatically and shows the edited result. On Windows, nothing reads it at all.
Why it landed on your Windows PC
When you copy iPhone photos to a PC via USB, iCloud, or a shared folder, the .aae files travel with them. They copy as a pair with each edited photo.
The actual photo arrives as a .jpg or a .heic file.
If you cannot see the image you expected, the photo is there. You are looking at the wrong file.
To confirm exactly what you have, show file extensions in Windows so the full filename is visible.
What to do with the .aae file
Open the photo, not the sidecar. Find the .jpg or .heic with the same name. That is your image.
- Find the .jpg or .heic file with the same name. That is your photo.
- Open it with Windows Photos or any image viewer you already use.
- Leave the .aae alone, or delete it.
Deleting an .aae on Windows is safe. It does not harm the original photo. You only lose the record of the edit. To keep the edited look permanently, export the photo from Apple Photos as a JPEG first. That bakes the edits into the image file itself.
Have a large folder of iPhone photos with dozens of .aae files cluttering it up?
You can delete them all. The original images are untouched.
The one case where the .aae matters
Want to bring a photo back into Apple Photos and keep your edits intact?
Keep both files together. Drop the .jpg or .heic and the matching .aae into the same folder on your Apple device. Photos picks up the edits again.
Move the .aae on its own and the link breaks.
For Windows use only, the .aae is irrelevant. Export the edited version from Apple Photos as a JPEG if the edit matters to you.
Opening the related photo format (.heic)
Many iPhone photos arrive on Windows as .heic files rather than .jpg.
Windows does not open .heic by default. That is a separate problem from the .aae. You can learn how to handle it in the guide to HEIC files and how to open them on Windows.
Frequently asked questions
Can I open an .aae file with Notepad?
Yes. It shows raw XML code. There is nothing useful in it for a normal user. No image data is stored there.
Will deleting the .aae file delete my photo?
No. They are separate files. Deleting the .aae only removes the record of the edits. The original photo is untouched.
Why does Windows not recognize the .aae extension?
No Windows app uses .aae. It is an Apple-only format. Windows has no built-in reader, and you do not need one.
How do I get the edited version of my photo on Windows?
In Apple Photos, export the photo as a JPEG. The export bakes the edits into a single file any Windows app can open.
Is an .aae file safe?
Yes. It is a plain XML text file. It cannot run code. There is no risk in having it on your PC.
