If you run a recent version of Windows 11 on your PC you may have noticed — or not — that Microsoft installed a new application automatically on the device. Called OneDrive Photos, it brings OneDrive’s gallery view to the operating system. To make things worse, reports suggest that Microsoft is pushing the app to non-managed and managed devices.
As always, Microsoft has not confirmed any of that at the time. However, there are multiple reports on sites like Reddit that confirm the installation of the app on devices. Some Windows administrators have created scripts that remove the app from devices, which shows up as Beta for some.
To make matters even worse, it seems that the app installs itself again after it has been removed. Windows Latest suggests that it is linked to the synchronization of OneDrive, but this has not been confirmed yet.
You can check in Settings > Apps whether the extra OneDrive app is installed, or use other means, such as winget to find out. You could also check the following two locations for the actual app that Microsoft pushed to the system:
- %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\OneDrive\OneDrive.App.exe
- C:\Program Files\Microsoft OneDrive\OneDrive.App.exe
So what can you do about it? If you do not use OneDrive, you could remove the app entirely and be done with it. If you do, you might be able to replace it with a dummy file in the directory and write protect it. I did not test this, as I’m still running Windows 10 on my main PC.
Just when you thought that Microsoft might have finally understood what users want, it is falling back to old habits. Seems the company never really learns.
Unless a user specifically needs onedrive for an authorized or legitimate purpose, I tend to treat it almost as malware and run some pretty powerful scripts to remove it from both managed and local accounts. It does attempt to reinstall itself after updates (like malware ) and never seems to take no for an answer.
I use a mix of available scripts on github, then a boot into linux to hit the file repository and windows servicing folders to severely hobble attempted reinstalls. Gpedit commands next and finally, utils like shutup10 to tamp it down. My team and I waste a lot of time dealing with this nonsense. Give it up already Microsoft!
They can gather a staggering amount of personal data about you by “Keeping your photos safe for you”.
They are just copying google, again.
I use the messages app on my android phone because it want the RCS. I removed google photos because it will not stop nagging me to backup my photos. I denied the messaging app permissions to my media. It did not do any good, it still has access. It found them even though they are in a different folder so, I don’t keep images on my phone anymore.
Onedrive, Photos, Camera, these are on the list of things I remove from windows as SOP.