One of Microsoft’s quietly successful features on Windows PCs is Phone Link, which allows users to manage their Android phones directly from their PC. However, Microsoft is now removing the Photos feature from Phone Link and returning it to File Explorer, a move that has left some users scratching their heads.
The change was first noticed by Windows Central and Windows Latest last Friday, and it now appears as a notification within the Phone Link app itself. While Phone Link—formerly known as Your Phone—has long provided a unified interface for SMS messages, phone calls, Android apps, and photos, the removal of the Photos functionality slightly fragments the experience. Users can still access photos via File Explorer, but the convenience of seeing phone content alongside other phone interactions is diminished.
The Photos feature in Phone Link was particularly useful when syncing delays occurred with OneDrive or the Windows Photos app. For example, quickly grabbing a photo to illustrate a story could be done without opening a separate app. While File Explorer and Windows Photos still provide access to both current and archived images—and now video, which Phone Link never supported—the seamless integration Phone Link offered is now partially lost.
Ultimately, this feels like another case of Microsoft making changes that users didn’t request. While the move may simplify Phone Link’s interface in the long term, it also raises the question: was there no better way to maintain access to photos while keeping the unified phone experience intact?
