Forum Discussion
How do you remove OneDrive Photos
Let me give you the straightforward, friendly truth about this, along with exactly what you can do about it.
The Short Answer (The Fix)
You can delete the shortcut (the icon) safely.
Think of this app like a doorway to a photo gallery. If you don't want to walk through that doorway, you can just remove the door handle (the shortcut) without breaking the rest of the house (your OneDrive files).
Here is how to remove the icon:
- If you see it on your Desktop, simply right-click it and select Delete.
- If you see it in your Start Menu, click the Start button, find the "OneDrive Photos" tile or entry, right-click it, and select Unpin from Start (or More → Open file location, then delete the shortcut from that folder).
The Longer Answer (Why it works this way)
Here is the key detail: This isn't a separate app that you can uninstall through your computer's "Apps & Features" settings. Microsoft quietly baked this photo viewer directly into the core OneDrive sync program that keeps your work files backed up.
Because they are tightly fused together:
- If you try to "Uninstall" it, you will actually be forced to uninstall your entire OneDrive—which would break your file syncing and make your online files disappear from your PC. We definitely don't want that!
What happens if I just leave it alone?
Don't worry—it is not secretly running in the background and it is not uploading your photos unless you actually open it and log in. It is just a dormant shortcut. If you ignore it, it won't do anything.
A Quick Warning
Please do not go digging into your computer's Program Files folder to delete the actual program files. If you delete the underlying engine by mistake, it will corrupt your OneDrive installation, and you'll have to reinstall everything.
The Bottom Line
Right-click the icon and delete the shortcut. That clears it off your screen, keeps your work files safe, and lets you get back to your day.
If you are in a managed company environment and this shortcut keeps coming back after a restart, please just let your IT Support team know. They have special tools to hide it for everyone at once—but for your personal machine, deleting the shortcut is the perfect, safe solution.
My answers are voluntary and without guarantee!
Hope this will help you.
Was the answer useful? Mark as best response and like it!
This will help all forum participants.
I am already sync'ing my "Pictures" with OneDrive. What else would there be? My phone? I don't want OneDrive spending time backing up my phone.
Great question — and the short answer is:
No, OneDrive Photos on your PC will not start backing up your phone.
The OneDrive Photos app does not connect to your phone and does not automatically upload phone pictures. It only shows photos that are already stored in your OneDrive cloud.
Since you are already syncing your Pictures folder with OneDrive, the photos you see there are simply the pictures that are already in your OneDrive account from your PC.
Phone photo backup is a separate feature that only works through the OneDrive mobile app. It must be enabled manually using:
OneDrive app on your phone → Profile picture → Settings → Camera Upload
If Camera Upload is turned off, your phone photos will not be uploaded.
So, in your situation:
- Your PC Pictures folder continues to sync as before.
- OneDrive Photos only displays existing OneDrive photos.
- Your phone will not be backed up automatically.
- No additional phone storage or upload activity will occur unless you enable it yourself.
If you are using OneDrive in a company environment, this is also why many administrators choose to restrict or block additional photo features: they are mainly designed for personal photo management and are not required for normal business file synchronization.
I hope this helps
