What is DCIM? What does DCIM stand for? [Beginner's Guide]

Photos taken with any digital camera or the Camera app on an Android or iOS device are saved in the DCIM folder. DCIM stands for “Digital Camera Images.” You might have seen this folder in your phone's file manager and been curious about what it means. This particular folder is pre-installed on your device for a specific purpose. This article will explain what the DCIM folder does, what it stands for, and what you can expect to find inside.

What is DCIM?

The "Digital Camera Pictures Folder," commonly referred to as the DCIM folder, is a directory where images and photos are stored on most electronic devices, including smartphones, digital cameras, tablets, and the like. When you browse the folders of a device on your computer, you'll typically find that photos taken with the device's camera are stored within the DCIM folder.

These photos will be stored in a subfolder named "Camera" within the DCIM folder. In some cases, you may also find "Facebook" (which you may want to learn how to download and back up Facebook photos) and "Restored" (for photos restored from Google Photos) folders in the main DCIM folder. It's expected that all photos will be stored in the DCIM folder on your smartphone. A name like Photos or Images would be more obvious and noticeable, but DCIM is deliberate and has its uses.

# What does DCIM stand for?

One of the folders that comes pre-installed on your Android smartphone is called DCIM, which stands for “Digital Camera Images.” Any photos you take with your phone's camera will be saved here, along with any screenshots you take on the device.

When you open the Photos app, it looks in this folder for all your photos. This folder houses most types of images that you'd find on your device.

Within this main folder, you'll find several subfolders. These include “Camera,” which stores photos taken with the camera; “Screenshots,” which saves images of your screen; “Album Name,” where photos in each album are stored; and “Thumbnails.”

The DCIM folder can be located on the internal storage of your phone, or depending on the phone's configuration, it can be found on the external storage.

Conclusions

If you're unsure what the Camera folder on your device is for, the information displayed should explain what DCIM stands for and how to access it. It might also help you discover a hidden folder that's taking up a lot of space, and teach you how to delete it to free up more room.