Where Minecraft Bedrock Worlds Are Saved on PC and Android, and How to Back Them Up

The worlds folder moved on Windows, and on Android it depends on a setting that can make them vanish from the list. Here is where they are and how to copy them, checked on Bedrock 26.60.

Your worlds? Here they are: three worlds from the Minecraft Bedrock list, with an arrow to the middle one

Where are Minecraft Bedrock worlds saved?

On Windows, with current versions, they are in %APPDATA%\Minecraft Bedrock\Users, inside the folder with your account number. Many older guides send you to another path: since 1.21.120 Bedrock stores everything somewhere else, and on our install the old folder no longer exists.

  • Current Windows versions (1.21.120 onward): %APPDATA%\Minecraft Bedrock\Users
  • Older Windows versions: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\games\com.mojang\minecraftWorlds
  • Android: it depends on a game setting, explained further down.

The version appears in the bottom corner of the game's start screen. If you would rather not check, try the current path first: if that folder does not exist, yours is the other one.

How to open the folder without hunting for it

You do not need to go folder by folder, because Windows can take you straight there:

  1. Press Windows + R. The Run window opens.
  2. Paste the path for your version (you can copy it with the button next to it) and press Enter.
  3. File Explorer opens right in the folder.

You do not have to replace %APPDATA% with your user name: Windows does that by itself.

What is inside the Users folder

When you open Users you will see a folder with a long number, which is your Microsoft account, and another called Shared, with what all accounts on that PC share, such as resource packs. If several accounts play, there is one number for each.

Your worlds are in your account's folder, inside games\com.mojang\minecraftWorlds, and each world is a folder. There is also a minecraftWorlds inside Shared, so if one is missing, look there.

World folders have odd names, like 61ly0Ictz18=. It is not an error: Bedrock does not name them after the world. Open the folder and find the file levelname.txt: Notepad shows you the world's name.

If you updated from an old version

The first time you open a new version, the game moves your worlds from the old folder to the new one. The file uwpMigration.dat, in %APPDATA%\Minecraft Bedrock\games\com.mojang, marks that the move is done. If a world is missing after updating, check the old folder before you give it up for lost.

How to back up your worlds on PC

Copying the whole folder saves all your worlds at once. It takes a minute, and it is worth doing before updating the game or installing an add-on:

  1. Close the game completely; going back to the menu is not enough. If you copy a world while it is saving, the copy may end up incomplete.
  2. Copy the entire Users folder. On an older version, copy minecraftWorlds.
  3. Paste it on another drive, a USB stick or a folder that syncs to the cloud. On the same drive it will not protect you if that drive fails.
  4. To make it smaller, right-click the copy and compress it to a ZIP file.

How to export a world from the game

If you only want to save one world, to send it to someone or keep it apart, you do not need to touch folders. On Windows, the world edit screen has three buttons under File management.

File management in Bedrock for PC with the Duplicate, Delete and Export world buttons
On Windows, File management has Duplicate, Delete and Export. Screenshot in Spanish.

Duplicate world makes a copy inside the game, ideal before trying something risky. Export world saves it to a separate file, which is what you want to take it with you. To export it:

  1. In Play, click the world's pencil.
  2. Scroll to File management and click Export world.
  3. In Exportation Settings, leave Clear Player Data off if the world is for you. Turn it on only if you will share it and want to remove inventories and player data.
  4. Click Export world and choose where to save it. You get a .mcworld file.

That file is the whole world in one: in our test, a 4.8 MB world became a 4.8 MB .mcworld. To put it back, use the Import world button on the Play screen, or double-click it, just like with add-ons.

How to move a world to another PC

With the above you have nearly everything. There are two ways:

  • With the .mcworld file: export it on one PC and import it on the other. It is the simplest.
  • Copying the folder: copy the world's folder from minecraftWorlds and paste it in the same folder on the other PC, with the game closed on both.

Where worlds are saved on Android

On a phone, the location depends on a setting, and hardly any guide mentions it. You will find it in Settings → Storage → File storage location, with two options. By default it is on Application.

Storage settings on Android with the File storage location option: External or Application
Settings → Storage on a Redmi Note 12, with the default option: Application. Screenshot in Spanish.
  • Application: worlds stay in the game's private area. They do not appear in Android/data and you cannot copy them with a file manager.
  • External: new worlds go to Android/data/com.mojang.minecraftpe/files/games/com.mojang/minecraftWorlds, with the same odd folder names and levelname.txt.

If your worlds disappeared on Android

Most likely they were not deleted. Changing that option does not move your worlds: it only changes where the game looks, and with no warning the worlds in the other location stop showing in the list.

Play screen on Android with the notice Did your worlds disappear?
What you see after switching to External: worlds are missing and this notice shows up.

We confirmed it on a Redmi Note 12: after switching to External, the worlds left the list, and after going back to Application they all reappeared. If this happens to you, go to Settings, Storage, change the location to the other option and return to Play. The game itself gives you the hint with a notice: «Did your worlds disappear?».

How to copy a world on Android

Here there is an important difference from Windows: on Android we did not find the Export world button. We looked on two phones with version 26.60, a Redmi signed out and an Infinix signed in, and File management only shows Duplicate world and Delete world.

File management on Android with only Duplicate world and Delete world
On Android only Duplicate world and Delete world appear, with no Export.

You have two routes. Duplicate world protects you before trying something risky, but the copy stays on the same phone. To get a world off the phone, it has to be in External: there you can copy its folder from a computer over USB. If your world is already in Application, we found no way to get it out from the game. We did not test iPhone.

What NOT to do

These mistakes come up a lot and can cost you a world:

  • Copying with the game open. It is the most common mistake and the one that hurts most.
  • Deleting the old folder right after updating. First open the new game and check that all your worlds are there.
  • Renaming the folders in com.mojang. The game looks for those exact names.
  • Keeping your only copy on the same drive. If it fails, you lose the original and the copy together.
  • Deleting the game on Android without checking where your worlds are. We did not test it, but an app's private data goes away with it.

Frequently asked questions

Why do world folders have odd names?

Because Bedrock does not name them after the world: it gives them a code. The real name is inside, in a file called levelname.txt. Open it with Notepad and you will know which is which.

Why did my worlds disappear on my phone?

It is almost always because the File storage location option changed. Go to Settings, Storage, and switch it to the other option. In our test, the worlds reappeared on returning to Application.

Are my worlds saved to the cloud automatically?

Local worlds are not: they live on your device and nowhere else. The ones online are Realms, which is a different thing. If the device breaks and you made no copy, the local world goes with it.

Can I open the copy in another version of the game?

In a newer version, yes: the game updates it on opening. In an older one, it may not open. And a world already opened in a new version does not go back, so copy it before updating.

How much space does a world take?

It depends on how much you have explored. Our test worlds weigh between 1.2 and 4.8 MB, and one with months of play can pass hundreds of megabytes. That is why it is worth compressing the copy into a .zip.

You might also need

Sources

  • The Windows paths, levelname.txt, uwpMigration.dat and the export to .mcworld were checked by us on a Windows PC with Bedrock 26.60 on October 30, 2026. We did not import that file back.
  • The storage location and the lack of Export world were checked by us on a Redmi Note 12 and an Infinix with Android and Bedrock 1.26.60.4. The External folder was inspected with adb. Button names are the game's own.
  • Where Bedrock stores worlds since the version change: Microsoft Q&A.