Microsoft Quietly Testing New OneDrive Photos App on Windows 11
Microsoft has quietly begun rolling out a new OneDrive Photos (Beta) application to some Windows 11 users, introducing a simplified photo experience with a stronger focus on cloud-based photo management and facial recognition. Although Microsoft says the app is currently intended for Windows Insiders, reports indicate it has also appeared on some non-Insider PCs.
A Second Photos App Appears
Unlike the traditional Windows Photos app, OneDrive Photos is a streamlined application centered around photos stored in OneDrive. It reportedly installs automatically through a OneDrive update rather than as a separate download from the Microsoft Store.
Microsoft says the current preview is being tested as “Photos (Preview)” for Windows Insiders in the Experimental channel, but several users have reported finding it on standard Windows 11 installations as well.
New Interface Focuses on Cloud Photos
The new app features a simplified navigation menu consisting of:
- Moments – Displays photos taken on the same calendar day across different years.
- Gallery – Your main collection of photos.
- People – Groups images by detected faces.
- Albums – Automatically organized photo collections.
- Favorites – Saved favorite images.
- This PC – A shortcut to locally synced OneDrive files.
Compared to the existing Photos application, the interface removes many advanced editing features in favor of a cleaner browsing experience.
People Feature Uses Facial Recognition
The most notable addition is the new People section, which groups photos by detected faces and encourages users to identify the people appearing in their images.
Microsoft says:
- Face grouping is visible only to the account owner.
- Users can disable the feature at any time.
- Facial data is not used to train Microsoft’s AI models.
- Facial recognition data is automatically deleted after 30 days.
The company says the feature is designed solely to improve photo organization.
Editing Features Have Been Reduced
The traditional Windows Photos app has become a productivity tool for many users thanks to features such as:
- Cropping and resizing
- Background removal
- AI-powered object removal
- Image editing
- Image Creator integration
Many of these capabilities are either simplified or absent in OneDrive Photos, suggesting Microsoft is positioning it primarily as a cloud photo browser rather than a full-featured editing application.
Microsoft Says It’s Still Testing
Microsoft maintains that OneDrive Photos is currently a preview experience and plans to collect user feedback before expanding availability.
Despite this, the app has already appeared on some Windows 11 systems that are not enrolled in the Windows Insider Program, raising questions about how broadly the test is being distributed.
For now, OneDrive Photos appears to be an experimental companion to the existing Photos app rather than a replacement, though its long-term role within Windows 11 remains unclear.
