As Windows Latest first reported, Microsoft is quietly installing “OneDrive Photos” on PCs, and our tests show that it’s tied to the OneDrive sync client, which is already pre-installed on Windows. Initially, I assumed that only consumers would be getting the app, but it turns out that it’s being pushed to enterprise customers as well.
Windows Latest spoke to IT admins and found that Microsoft is forcing the OneDrive Photos app onto enterprise PCs, including those that use Microsoft Intune. Worse, OneDrive Photos works only with a personal Microsoft account, so Windows 11 enterprise installations are now stuck with an app they cannot even use.
“Microsoft never learns,” an angry IT admin told Windows Latest. “We manage hundreds of PCs using Intune, and all had this new ‘OneDrive Photos’ entry in the Start menu. How many mistakes will it take before they realize we do not want random apps across our organizations?”
“This app doesn’t work with Entra accounts,” one admin told me. “Also, you can’t remove it without removing OneDrive entirely, as it’s somehow tied to the sync client we use across our organization. Unless Microsoft wants us to dump OneDrive and this is bait, I do not see why it’s being forced onto PCs without an MSA.”
There are dozens of similar complaints on Reddit and other forums, and the number is only increasing because nobody likes it when Windows slips in an app they never installed.
I’ve never worked at or with Microsoft, but as someone who has used Windows for decades and interacted with hundreds of businesses heavily invested in the ecosystem, I’ve learned one thing: Windows users do not like apps or settings being added or changed without their knowledge.
What is OneDrive Photos for Windows 11?
OneDrive Photos for Windows 11 is actually OneDrive.com’s Gallery section. And yes, it’s yet another glorified web wrapper, which means it loads Microsoft Edge and opens OneDrive.com in a tab.
Unlike traditional web apps, OneDrive Photos is actually quite well made. It has a Windows 11-like Acrylic design for the context menu and does not take up a huge amount of resources. RAM usage rarely touches 1GB. I don’t exactly hate the OneDrive Photos app, but I don’t see the point, even as a consumer.
Windows already comes with a Photos app, which allows you to view your OneDrive and even iCloud photos. Unless Microsoft is planning to replace the Microsoft Photos app with OneDrive Photos at some point in the future, I do not see any point in this app.
IT admins are upset because OneDrive Photos is a beta app, works only with a personal Microsoft account, and was rolled out to enterprise PCs without any notice. I couldn’t find anything in my Microsoft 365 Message Center or on Microsoft’s Learn portal. A OneDrive app simply popped up out of nowhere.
“This is NOT how you treat a Pro/Ent OS Edition or how a vendor should treat anything running in a managed environment,” one administrator wrote in a post on Reddit.
Windows Latest also found that OneDrive Photos is not installed as a traditional Microsoft Store or MSIX package. Instead, it is delivered as OneDrive.App.exe inside the existing Microsoft OneDrive installation folder.
Depending on how OneDrive is installed, we have found it in locations such as:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft OneDrive\OneDrive.App.exe
A new Start menu shortcut is also created under:
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\OneDrive Photos.lnk
In other words, you can’t easily manage it using Group Policies or remove it using Microsoft Store policies.
Thankfully, I have a script that takes care of the removal:
$LogPath = Join-Path $env:ProgramData "OneDrivePhotosRemediation.log"
$ShortcutName = "OneDrive Photos.lnk"
$ShortcutPaths = @(
Join-Path $env:ProgramData "Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\$ShortcutName"
Join-Path $env:PUBLIC "Desktop\$ShortcutName"
)
Get-ChildItem -Path "$env:SystemDrive\Users" -Directory -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | ForEach-Object {
$ShortcutPaths += Join-Path $_.FullName "AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\$ShortcutName"
}
Add-Content -Path $LogPath -Value "----- $(Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss') -----"
Add-Content -Path $LogPath -Value "Starting OneDrive Photos shortcut cleanup."
$RemovedCount = 0
foreach ($ShortcutPath in $ShortcutPaths) {
if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $ShortcutPath) {
try {
Remove-Item -LiteralPath $ShortcutPath -Force
Add-Content -Path $LogPath -Value "Removed: $ShortcutPath"
Write-Output "Removed: $ShortcutPath"
$RemovedCount++
}
catch {
Add-Content -Path $LogPath -Value "Failed removing $ShortcutPath - $($_.Exception.Message)"
Write-Output "Failed: $ShortcutPath"
}
}
}
Add-Content -Path $LogPath -Value "Cleanup completed. Shortcuts removed: $RemovedCount"
Add-Content -Path $LogPath -Value ""
Write-Output "OneDrive Photos shortcut remediation completed. Removed: $RemovedCount"
exit 0
However, running the above script isn’t enough, as you need to schedule it to be executed daily or at least weekly. I found that it’s a game of cat and mouse because Windows reinstalls OneDrive Photos when you remove it, and it keeps coming back because it’s tied to the OneDrive sync client, which updated itself to version 26.129.0706.0003.
I am in touch with Microsoft about OneDrive Photos, and my early findings suggest that it was an unintended rollout. An apology should be coming soon.
