Where are apps files "really" stored in Internal storage?!

[Gates Is Antichrist]

I hooked my LG G Stylo to a USB port on a Windows desktop and drilled:
Computer
Removable storage devices
LG G Stylo
Internal storage

In "Internal storage" folder I used the Windows search box on the upper right (F3 key) and searched for Finance, so I could see the files and space usage for Yahoo Finance. I actually did this for several apps, but the outcome was always similar so let's stick with this example.

It found the word finance on 3 folders. Properties showed the sizes below on them.
Computer\LG G Stylo\Internal storage\Android\data\com.yahoo.mobile.client.android.finance 0
Computer\LG G Stylo\Internal storage\yahoo\com.yahoo.mobile.client.android.finance 606 K
Computer\LG G Stylo\Internal storage\yahoo\finance 4.99 meg

But settings/storage/apps shows that it uses 27 Meg. Now I know that there could be other filenames, such as something with yahoo in the name, or YF.DAT or a number of possibilities. But I really don't think I'm seeing all the files. I have an app called Kroger (for the grocery store) that settings says uses 29 meg. But the sole file or folder that has kroger in the name is
Computer\LG G Stylo\Internal storage\Android\data\com.kroger.mobile
and its size is 0 (zero).

In fact, according to Windows reading it over USB, Internal storage is 10.0Gb used (even though it's a 16G memory phone). Phone settings say 5.5G are apps (topped by Google with 577Mb, Email 532Mb). But if I check the (properties') folder sizes of every one that shows in Windows, all of it only adds up about one gig or so. Where are the rest of the files and folders?

And Images are supposedly taking 2.7 GB according to Settings - but again, adding up every single file that appears in windows is short of that. DCIM shows 200 meg though I would expect it all to be there. So where are they?! Is is just that Windows can't represent and store certain files? That would hurt severely, because the reason I hooked this up to the PC is to back up those 2.7 GB of images (even though most of them are Google photos) and the really all of the 10 G.

When I drag/copied the entire "Internal storage" folder to a Windows hard drive, it didn't total 10G - it totals 897 meg. Aieee! Help!

 

[djrakowski]

Application packages are stored in folders that aren't typically accessible to the user (unless the phone has been rooted).

Images could be stored in all sorts of places. Check your Download folder for images downloaded from the internet. Messaging apps, like WhatsApp, dump images into their own folders as well, but you'll have to hunt around for them, since I no longer use WhatsApp on my Android phones.

 

[Gates Is Antichrist]

Thanks for that, so I guess I just can't back up the Apps.

But for God's sake I should be able to back up simple image files. I can see every one of them on the phone; I want to know how to reference them in Windows in order to copy them to a hard drive. This is supremely frustrating, and mind boggling, that I can't do something so simple as copy the .JPG files off.

If this helps: MOST of the files can be seen on Google photos. Every now and then - but not in the past 3 weeks or so - I would get a notification ROUGHLY like "free storage space is low. Would you like to free up ~2 G by having your photos stored elsewhere? You will still be able to access them all".

Settings/general/storage/internal storage says the 2.7G of internal storage is being consumed right now by images. How can I see them to just $%^&!!! copy them off?

 

[Gates Is Antichrist]

Bump. Surely someone can tell me how to do the simple act of copying photos off my phone. Or is everyone on a 3rd party app?