None of the Etsy apps offer file download capability (nor upload, except for listing photos within the seller app). This includes the in-app messaging function. Lots of us digital sellers have provided Etsy with plenty of feedback on this point, so far to deaf ears. It would help enormously if they at least put a message to buyers within the app itself that downloads must be made from a web browser, but apparently this is too much to ask. Not even their much-hyped, brand-new seller app has been given this functionality.
Everywhere possible, I advise customers they must download using a web-browser, and NOT the Etsy app. (You might want to look at one of my listings to see how I use the personalization feature to alert buyers, and I also have this info in my message to buyers.). This has helped a LOT with this problem within my shop, but I worry about how many buyers get confused (because they don't read) why "personalization" applies to a quilt pattern and then don't complete their order. A few folks do message me to ask, but I fear they may be a small percentage.
I've also noticed an uptick in recent weeks of buyers asking me to email the patterns to them. Not sure if it indicates any particular change on Etsy's side with download functionality, or if it's within reasonable statistical variation over time.
So yes, they've taken something that should be straightforward, and turned it into a tangled mess for many buyers and sellers.
