What are .obb files?
If you explore your Android phone’s storage using a file manager, you might stumble into Internal Storage/Android/obb. Inside, you will find massive files ending in .obb (Opaque Binary Blob), often weighing in at 2GB, 5GB, or even 10GB.
Why Do They Exist?
The Google Play Store historically had a strict 100MB limit on the size of the initial .apk app download. However, modern 3D games (like PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty, or Genshin Impact) require massive amounts of high-resolution textures, audio files, and 3D models that far exceed 100MB.
To bypass this limit, developers package the core game in the tiny .apk file, and package all the heavy 3D graphics into a separate .obb expansion file. When you launch the game, it reads the .obb file to load the graphics.
Can You Delete Them?
No. Absolutely not.
Deleting an .obb file is the equivalent of deleting all the graphics, sound, and levels of a video game while leaving only the icon.
What Happens If You Delete It?
If you delete the .obb file for a game like PUBG Mobile, the next time you tap the game’s icon on your home screen, one of two things will happen:
- The game will immediately crash to the home screen.
- The game will launch, realize the graphics are missing, and force you to sit on a loading screen while it re-downloads the massive 3GB
.obbfile from the internet all over again.
How to Safely Delete Them
If you are trying to free up space, you should never manually delete .obb files via a file manager.
Instead, you must uninstall the game properly:
- Go to your Android Settings.
- Tap Apps (or Apps & Notifications).
- Find the massive game you no longer play.
- Tap Uninstall.
Android will automatically delete the game and cleanly wipe its massive
.obbfile from your storage at the same time.
Bottom Line
Never manually delete .obb files. They are critical expansion packs for your high-end mobile games, and deleting them will instantly break the app. Always use the official Android app uninstaller instead.
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