Browse and manage your photos on Windows

OneDrive includes a photos experience included with the OneDrive app on Windows 10 and Windows 11. It brings the photo experience you already have on OneDrive web and mobile to the Windows desktop, so your photos feel consistent everywhere you use OneDrive.

In OneDrive you can:

• Browse your OneDrive photos or photos stored on your PC together in the Gallery, a single timeline sorted by the newest photo first.
• Search by what's in your photos, not only by file name. On a Copilot+ PC, search also covers photos stored locally.
• Find photos of specific people in People or filter Gallery by people you've named.
• Revisit highlights from your library in Moments, where OneDrive surfaces collections from your history automatically.
• Create Albums, mark Favorites, and edit photos directly in the photos experience.
• Add local folders and use Windows actions with any photo: set it as your desktop background or lock screen, print it, or open it in File Explorer.

What can you do with photos on Windows

OneDrive adds desktop-specific capabilities to the photo experience already available on the web and mobile:

• Local photos in your gallery: Your Windows Pictures library appears automatically. You can add other folders from your PC.
• Search that can include local photos: On a Copilot+ PC, searching by what's in your photos also covers the photos stored on your PC.
• Windows integration: Set a photo as your desktop background or lock screen, print it, or open its location in File Explorer.

View photos on Windows

Select the OneDrive cloud icon in the notification area, at the far right of the taskbar, to open the OneDrive activity center, then select View photos. The photos experience currently supports personal Microsoft accounts.

Choose which photos appear in the gallery

Gallery shows all your photos in one timeline, newest first, whether they're saved in your OneDrive or stored on your PC. Soon your Pictures library will appear automatically, including photos stored there only on your PC.

To add another local folder stored on your PC:

1. Select This PC in the left navigation.
2. Select Add a folder, then choose the folder you want to see.

To narrow the photos currently shown, select Filter at the top of Gallery. You can filter by media type, favorites, people, source, orientation, and resolution.

Soon you’ll be able to change which OneDrive folders appear in Gallery, or to hide screenshots and GIFs:

1. Select the Options button next to Filter.
2. Under Photos from OneDrive, select All OneDrive folders or Only the Pictures folder.
3. Under Declutter, select Hide screenshots and GIFs.

Search your photos

Select the search bar at the top and describe what you're looking for, like "beach" or "birthday cake." OneDrive Photos finds your photos by what's in them, not just file names or dates.

Search covers the photos in your OneDrive. On a Copilot+ PC, it also covers photos stored on your PC. To learn about searching local photos, see Search photos.

Group photos by people, or turn face grouping off

The People feature uses facial grouping to group photos of the same person, so you can find and search for them faster. Face grouping runs in the cloud and only on the photos in your OneDrive. Photos that are only on your PC aren't processed.

To turn off face grouping from the desktop app:

1. Select Settings in photos experience.
2. Select More settings. OneDrive settings opens in your browser.
3. Select Photos, then turn off the setting in the People section.

All facial grouping data is permanently removed within 30 days.

For how facial grouping works, how your data is used, and how to find and name people, see Group photos by people in OneDrive. To learn how Microsoft approaches AI features like this one, see Responsible AI.

If you don't want OneDrive Photos on your PC

Uninstalling OneDrive doesn't delete your files, but it stops OneDrive sync on that device. For steps, see Turn off, disable, or uninstall OneDrive.

Managing the photos experience on devices in your organization

The photos experience currently supports only personal Microsoft accounts. If your organization prevents users from syncing personal OneDrive accounts, users will not see or be able to open the photos experience. For details see Prevent users from syncing personal OneDrive accounts(this policy isn’t specific to the photos experience; it blocks personal OneDrive sign-in and sync).

Frequently asked questions

Why did OneDrive Photos appear on my PC?

We are incubating a new photos experience in OneDrive that went more broadly than it should have in Windows. We're fixing that. We are bringing the photos experience from the web and mobile apps to the Windows desktop via the OneDrive app.

Do I need to be a Windows Insider to get it?

No. The OneDrive photos experience comes with the OneDrive app on Windows 10 and Windows 11. To open, select the OneDrive cloud icon in the notification area, then select View photos (requires a personal Microsoft account). Windows Insiders can open it directly from the Start menu: Photos (Preview) in the Experimental channel and OneDrive Photos everywhere else.

Are the photos on my PC uploaded to OneDrive?

No. Showing photos stored on your PC in the OneDrive photos experience, doesn't upload them. They stay on your computer unless you choose to upload them to OneDrive. Only photos stored in a OneDrive folder are uploaded.

Does face grouping scan the photos on my PC?

No. Face grouping runs in the cloud and only on the photos in your OneDrive. Photos that are only on your PC aren't processed for face grouping. For details, see Group photos by people in OneDrive.

Can I turn off face grouping?

Yes. In the OneDrive photos experience, select Settings > More Settings. In the browser, select Photos, then turn off face grouping. Facial grouping data is permanently removed within 30 days.