Overview
- Microsoft acknowledged an incubating OneDrive Photos experience was switched on more widely than intended and said it will fix the error.
- Today the company told reporters it will add a separate Uninstall button for OneDrive Photos and roll that control out to all users in September 2026.
- For now the Photos app cannot be removed on its own because it was delivered through the preinstalled OneDrive sync client, and removing OneDrive is the only current way to get rid of the app.
- Uninstalling the OneDrive sync client can make files appear missing or break desktop and folder shortcuts when Known Folders or Files On-Demand are enabled because some files live only in the cloud until downloaded.
- Users and IT teams also raised privacy and compatibility concerns after the app indexed pictures from across the PC and offered an AI “People” grouping that requires a personal Microsoft account and does not work on some enterprise machines.