Microsoft is backing down on OneDrive Photographs, and also you’ll quickly be capable of take away it with out additionally eradicating the OneDrive sync consumer. Meaning you received’t need to danger breaking synced information, folders, or shortcuts on Home windows 11 if you happen to don’t need OneDrive Photographs however nonetheless use the OneDrive sync consumer that you will have arrange once you received your PC.
On or round August 1, Microsoft quietly added OneDrive Photos to thousands of PCs operating Home windows 11. OneDrive Photographs itself is innocent, however most customers dislike the thought of apps getting put in after they by no means hit “Obtain.”
To make issues worse, OneDrive Photographs already had entry to all of your photos on the PC, together with these outdoors the Footage folder:
And it additionally has an AI-powered non-compulsory “Individuals” function that teams related faces, which was a priority for many who don’t want AI round their private information or photos:
In our assessments, Home windows Newest initially discovered that the AI-powered OneDrive Photographs app was additionally being put in on enterprise PCs, the place it doesn’t work as a result of it requires a private Microsoft account. That caused further backlash from IT admins, who have been upset that an unusable app was instantly current on hundreds of PCs of their organizations.
After the outrage, we reached out to Microsoft, and it instructed us that it by no means meant to roll out the app so broadly and promised to repair it.
We haven’t heard again from the corporate on precisely how OneDrive Photographs ended up on unsupported PCs or why it was put in with out your permission, however Microsoft insists that the broad rollout was accidental.
“We’re incubating a brand new photographs expertise in OneDrive that went extra broadly than it ought to have in Home windows,” Microsoft’s Jeff Teper mentioned. “We’re fixing that. Home windows Photographs will at all times provide the possibility of native and cloud photographs and the selection to make use of OneDrive or not.”
Jeff Teper additionally said that Microsoft is listening to suggestions round OneDrive’s photographs options on desktop, net, and cellular.
Nevertheless, that also doesn’t clarify why Microsoft made OneDrive Photographs so tough to take away within the first place. If you wish to take away OneDrive Photographs right now, you might want to delete the OneDrive sync consumer, and that would probably break shortcuts or make information seem lacking if you happen to don’t first guarantee every little thing is obtainable regionally.
How was OneDrive Photographs added to Home windows 11 PCs?
Our assessments confirmed that OneDrive Photographs is added by the OneDrive sync consumer, which comes pre-installed on most Home windows 11 PCs. You could or might not actively use OneDrive, however the sync consumer is normally sitting within the background, and Microsoft used it so as to add OneDrive Photographs to PCs.
It’s price noting that you weren’t affected by the compelled set up of OneDrive Photographs if you happen to disabled OneDrive once you put in Home windows 11 or bought a brand new PC.
This may be verified simply if you happen to go to C:Program FilesMicrosoft OneDrive. The OneDrive Photographs app is current on the following path:
C:Program FilesMicrosoft OneDriveOneDrive.App.exe
Then again, the OneDrive sync consumer, which is pre-installed, is on the following location:
C:Program FilesMicrosoft OneDriveOneDrive.exe
OneDrive Photographs can’t at present be eliminated as a standalone app as a result of it’s tied to OneDrive Sync. It doesn’t ship as an MSIX. For those who actually don’t need it, you possibly can take away OneDrive solely, and Photographs will even associate with it. However that’s not a great possibility if you happen to’ve ever used the sync consumer to again up folders akin to Desktop, Paperwork, or Footage.
Once you take away the OneDrive sync consumer from a PC the place it has been lively for months or years, and options like Identified Folders or Recordsdata On-Demand are turned on, you’re creating a large number for your self.
For instance, let’s assume OneDrive is backing up your Desktop folder. If OneDrive sync is turned on for recognized folders, your precise desktop information might sit inside:
C:UsersYourNameOneDriveDesktop
Now, if you happen to instantly take away OneDrive with out first turning off folder backup, information can disappear out of your desktop, and shortcuts might cease working.
Microsoft doesn’t delete your information once you take away the OneDrive consumer out of your Home windows PC. They’re nonetheless current within the cloud, however you might not notice that a few of them have been by no means totally saved regionally within the first place.
When Recordsdata On-Demand is turned on, a file can seem inside File Explorer even when it isn’t really saved regionally in your PC. OneDrive downloads it once you open it or maintains a neighborhood cache.
For those who take away the OneDrive sync consumer since you hate OneDrive Photographs and by no means make these information obtainable offline first, you could possibly instantly discover that some information or photographs are lacking out of your PC regardless that you assumed they have been already saved regionally.
This is the reason customers who perceive the implications, or just like utilizing the OneDrive sync consumer for its advantages, have been upset that OneDrive Photographs was being enforced on PCs with out a separate uninstall possibility. It’s additionally a bit unusual that Microsoft didn’t perceive the mess it was “by chance” creating for customers, together with enterprises.
Fortunately, Microsoft has now confirmed that’s altering.
Microsoft says it’ll allow you to take away OneDrive Photographs with out inflicting sync points
“We’re including controls to take away the OneDrive Photographs expertise individually from the OneDrive app,” Microsoft instructed Home windows Newest in a press release.
“OneDrive is giving folks extra management over their Home windows expertise by permitting them to uninstall the OneDrive Photographs expertise independently. Eradicating the Photographs expertise doesn’t uninstall the OneDrive app, interrupt file sync, or delete photographs and information. This gives a transparent removing possibility for individuals who choose to handle their photographs with one other app,” the corporate defined.
Microsoft instructed Home windows Newest that OneDrive Photographs’ Uninstall button will roll out to everybody in September 2026.
Proper now, if you happen to genuinely don’t need the Photographs app and also you’re not actively utilizing OneDrive sync, you possibly can open Settings > Apps > Put in apps and take away “OneDrive.” It will take away all OneDrive-related options from the system.
However I don’t suggest taking this route if you’re not 100% certain how your information are synced to OneDrive. It is best to wait till September, and it’s really not a nasty deal as a result of OneDrive Photographs doesn’t run within the background. It runs solely once you open it.
As soon as the change rolls out, you’ll be capable of take away OneDrive Photographs with out touching the common OneDrive sync consumer, interrupting file sync, or altering your current OneDrive setup.
OneDrive Photographs is definitely not a horrible product, however I don’t see the purpose
Listed below are among the issues you are able to do with the brand new OneDrive Photographs app:
- You possibly can browse photographs saved in your OneDrive and native PC storage. You may as well use filters and clever search to seek out photographs utilizing their content material, however that’s restricted to objects synced to OneDrive. On Copilot+ PCs, clever search works with photographs saved regionally as nicely.
- You possibly can create favorites, albums, and edit your photographs. You may as well add native folders from one other quantity in the event that they weren’t mechanically detected by OneDrive.
- Because it’s OneDrive on the finish of the day, you may have OneDrive Moments, the place Microsoft randomly exhibits collections of photographs out of your historical past.
Microsoft additionally lists “Setting as desktop background” and “Location in File Explorer” as causes to make use of the brand new OneDrive Photographs app.
It is a fairly good checklist of options, and it must be for an app that’s attempting to be your picture viewer, however you could possibly already do all of it by way of the present Microsoft Photographs app. So until Microsoft has plans to exchange Microsoft Photographs with OneDrive Photographs, I miss out on the purpose of this app within the first place.
It’s additionally solely web-based, so if you happen to right-click any textual content subject, you’ll simply come throughout Microsoft Edge parts:
In our assessments, OneDrive Photographs’ reminiscence utilization is normally round 1GB, and it’s fairly first rate for an online wrapper:
The issue isn’t that OneDrive Photographs is a horrible product. Microsoft has created unhealthy press for it by forcing it on everybody. The corporate might have dealt with this fiasco significantly better, and I nonetheless don’t perceive how a trillion-dollar firm is unable to roll out its options in a greater manner.
