Safari website screenshot creates PDF on iCloud Drive downloads folder

[rob2bob]

Glad this is not just me with this annoying bug. It used not to happen like this with a copy being saved to iCloud downloads vs wanting purely a screenshot in photos. For me it is a bug specific to iPad not iPhone and is only when taking a screenshot of a Safari webpage using multitasking/gesture (bottom left swipe) vs the buttons.

 

[skyisland]

Is there any update on this? I’m experiencing the same issue, and it’s driving me crazy.

 

[dallastigers]

I have noticed this at times with iOS 17 & 18 as well, but with 18 I did not check to see if what it stored was still a full pdf like in past versions and just assumed it was still a pdf before deleting them.

It’s not 100%, and though i didn’t spend a lot of time testing I did notice it happens when I immediately edit the screen shot before saving it to photos. It didn’t seem to happen when I let thumbnail screen shot pop up disappear on its own or when I dismissed it myself to just have image automatically added to photos as is.

The saving in Safari’s download folder happens regardless of the browser being used. If I screenshot a webpage using DuckDuckGo browser and edited it before saving it to photos a pdf would be created in the Safari downloads folder not DuckDuckGo’s.

I just quit editing screenshots before saving them to photos.

 

[emulajavi]

Still happening randomly. Let’s hope iOS 26 and iPadOS26 can bring a fix.

 

[uacd]

Hahah, I never thought it could be a bug. I hate this. I had disabled saving to iCloud, it is still happening but just not as often. And it does only happen with some webpages but not the others, mostly pages with infinite scroll like Facebook feed or YouTube

 

[Chris :)]

Hey everyone, So happens to be my first post on this forum..

I also found a seemingly random full sized PDF/saved site page in my downloads folder. I was very confused on why it was there..

However; i managed to reproduce the bug multiple times in a row.

On the iphone do the following to reproduce the bug:

Open Safari (it only seems to happen in Safari).. i did not test other browsers.

1: Make a screenshot with the physical buttons (something people do on accident all the time).
2: Open the thumbnail pop up that appears in the lower left corner of the screen
3: Swipe up and close the current screen
4: The thumbnail will re-appear in the lower left corner.. do not touch it and let it disappear on it's own.

And voila; you got a full sized page saved...

I can imagine allot of people do this on accident. They make a screenshot by accident and click/touch the thumbnail. Then they want to get away from that page and swipe up.. and that saves the PDF.

 

[svenmany]

Hey everyone, So happens to be my first post on this forum..

I also found a seemingly random full sized PDF/saved site page in my downloads folder. I was very confused on why it was there..

However; i managed to reproduce the bug multiple times in a row.

On the iphone do the following to reproduce the bug:

Open Safari (it only seems to happen in Safari).. i did not test other browsers.

1: Make a screenshot with the physical buttons (something people do on accident all the time).
2: Open the thumbnail pop up that appears in the lower left corner of the screen
3: Swipe up and close the current screen
4: The thumbnail will re-appear in the lower left corner.. do not touch it and let it disappear on it's own.

And voila; you got a full sized page saved...

I can imagine allot of people do this on accident. They make a screenshot by accident and click/touch the thumbnail. Then they want to get away from that page and swipe up.. and that saves the PDF.

I followed your steps and the screenshot ended up in Photos. The downloads folder was empty.

 

[Chris :)]

I followed your steps and the screenshot ended up in Photos. The downloads folder was empty.

Did you check the local download folder of the device itself?.. Not icloud.

I just let a friend with an Iphone do the steps; and he got the 1:1 same result. Also a PDF saved in the download folder.

 

[svenmany]

Did you check the local download folder of the device itself?.. Not icloud.

I just let a friend with an Iphone do the steps; and he got the 1:1 same result. Also a PDF saved in the download folder.

Let me make sure I know what "local download folder" means.

I am using the "Files" app. In the "On My iPhone" section, there is no Downloads folder. The "iCloud Drive" section has a Downloads folder. That's the one I checked.

What download folder are you talking about and how would I check it?

 

[Chris :)]

The "Files" app is correct.. In there under "On my Iphone" i have a downloads folder. So does my friend.

 

[svenmany]

The "Files" app is correct.. In there under "On my Iphone" i have a downloads folder. So does my friend.

What is the exact spelling? Is it "Downloads"? I will create the folder and see if the problem starts.

 

[Chris :)]

Yep; "Downloads" .. i never added it myself. It was there from the get-go. Or maybe you can download something like an image from Safari to make it get generated?

 

[svenmany]

Yep; "Downloads" .. i never added it myself. It was there from the get-go. Or maybe you can download something like an image from Safari to make it get generated?

I don't see any way to tell Safari to save to a default downloads folder. I created a folder named like your. It didn't trigger the issue.

The existence of the folder and what created it for you could be a hint at what is causing the problem.

 

[Chris :)]

I guess it's an issue on some Iphones.. and some do not have it.
Me and my friend both have the folder 'Downloads' .. and it happens at both of us. We did nothing out of the ordinary.