Microsoft Responds to Outcry After Quietly Installing Beta 'Photos' App on Enterprise Machines (windowslatest.com)
- Reference: 0184915416
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/08/10/0229237/microsoft-responds-to-outcry-after-quietly-installing-beta-photos-app-on-enterprise-machines
- Source link: https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/07/29/windows-11-is-quietly-installing-onedrive-photos-another-image-viewer-that-nobody-asked-for/
> One admin questioned why a beta app was appearing on an Enterprise SKU in the first place, while another described the situation as yet another consumer-oriented feature being forced onto corporate PCs. Things get even more frustrating for IT departments because there does not appear to be a straightforward Microsoft-provided way to disable the app... Enterprise administrators generally need to know what is being installed on their managed devices, particularly when a software is labeled as beta. Quietly adding another application and leaving admins to clean it up themselves is therefore unlikely to win Microsoft many fans.
But there's another problem, [2]according to the blog Windows Latest . "OneDrive Photos automatically scans your system storage for photos," and apparently "doesn't need a Microsoft account to work, as it can also detect your local files."
> There's also a People section that groups similar faces in your photos. Microsoft asks for permission before turning it on and explicitly warns that facial data could be considered biometric data in some regions. The company says only you can see the grouped faces, that the data isn't shared with third parties, and that you can delete it by disabling the feature.
In [3]a statement to Neowin , Microsoft admitted this new photos "experience" they're "incubating" had gone "more broadly than it should have," and then promised that "We're fixing that." The spokesperson also said the Windows Photos app will "always give you the option of local and cloud photos" and, also a choice of whether or not to use it OneDrive."
But there's another "awkward catch," [4]notes the blog Digital Trends . "Users currently can't uninstall OneDrive Photos without removing the main OneDrive app too."
> Because OneDrive Photos is tied to the main OneDrive sync client, Windows 11 doesn't currently offer a separate uninstall option. The only straightforward way to get rid of OneDrive Photos right now is to uninstall OneDrive itself... Removing the main client can also affect its File Explorer integration and shortcuts...
>
> Microsoft says this will change. The company is working on controls that will let users remove OneDrive Photos separately from the main OneDrive app. On enterprise PCs managed through Intune, Microsoft says the app will automatically disappear where it isn't supported.
[1] https://www.neowin.net/news/windows-11-admins-unhappy-as-microsoft-found-installing-unexpected-new-onedrive-photos-app/
[2] https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/07/29/windows-11-is-quietly-installing-onedrive-photos-another-image-viewer-that-nobody-asked-for/
[3] https://www.neowin.net/news/windows-11-admins-unhappy-as-microsoft-found-installing-unexpected-new-onedrive-photos-app/
[4] https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/microsoft-accidentally-installed-onedrive-photos-windows-11/
Fucking Bastards (Score:2)
Searching for all local images, computing facial metrics and uploading them to Microsoft. Holy shit what a bunch of assholes.
Re: (Score:2)
Holy shit what a bunch of assholes criminals .
Or was this a Linux promotion stunt?
Re: Fucking Bastards (Score:3)
You are only a criminal if you get punished.
Yes, it's a good reminder... (Score:4, Interesting)
... that if you get software without source code and it has an auto-update feature you cannot control... maybe you are not the person who owns those computers.
Re: (Score:2)
> ... that if you get software without source code and it has an auto-update feature you cannot control... maybe you are not the person who owns those computers.
This was (and still is) the #1 reason why open source software became the basis for the internet and corporate world. Being free of charge gained home users and small companies, but what made it grow was corporate adoption pouring money into it to make it viable.
People forgetting history makes them repeat all again, I guess.
Re: (Score:3)
Implying that having the source code gives you ownership?
The number of people who actually compile their OS from source is so close to zero as to be meaningless in the world.
Additionally users fall into two categories:
1. Those who do auto-update, or apply updates quickly.
2. Idiots who think they own their computer whereas it probably belongs to someone in Russia or North Korea.
Precisely no one in the world audits all code going into their computer via updates, and given that a rollout here happened, was imm
Re: (Score:2)
You don't need a full audit to find out why the software is doing something weird, nor all companies need to do it.
Some companies care about their mission-critical software so they will be monitoring it carefully. If some very popular package is doing malicious things, the chances that it will be caught are quite high. And if the software is FLOSS it's way easier for the company to fix it themselves, release the fix upstream and warn the world about the fishy nature of the provider. So no, I don't believe a
More Microsoft malware (Score:3)
Customer's data stolen by Microsoft to feed Microsoft's other product, AI. Microsoft wasn't the first but forcing customers into servitude, without monetary compensation, makes this malware.
Re: More Microsoft malware (Score:2)
I would speculate that project recall may have been intended to train ai. Or at least used for that purpose after release.
OneDrive Surveillance (Score:4, Insightful)
I've had to uninstall OneDrive more than a dozen times because every time Microsoft office gets updated it pushes that install back onto the machine. Anytime Microsoft releases a new version of a large update to Windows, it pushes that client again. I have to uninstall it and make sure that none of my files have been forcefully moved to the OneDrive before I remove it.
Now they are doing this to capture your photos and facial profile data to do facial recognition and grouping.
Microsoft is the right hand man of the surveillance industry. They always have been and they are more so now. Now they're just more incompetent about it.
Re: (Score:2)
> I have to uninstall it and make sure that none of my files have been forcefully moved to the OneDrive before I remove it.
Precisely nothing is forcefully moved to OneDrive unless you've explicitly enabled it to do so (maybe in the past). Even if OneDrive is installed the worst you get to experience is an app that pops up a window asking you if you are going to use it.
But it is annoying that they push it with Office, however cloud syncing is a core feature of Office so it's not surprising that they do so. It would be the equivalent of shipping word without the spell checker at this point. If you don't like this core feature tha
You will own nothing (Score:3)
Liking it is optional
Re: You will own nothing (Score:2)
We already own nothing. Have you heard of property taxes? Insurance mandates? Imminent domain? Ownership is an illusion.
Microsoft OneDrive Photos now with Flock facial re (Score:2)
> Congratulations comrade on your Non-Consensual participation in our Microsoft OneDrive Photos Beta integration with Flock facial recognition features, to ensure that our synergy works for the best of what Big Brother has always wanted for everyone!
- Microsoft All Channels Marketing
Ouch (Score:3)
It was obnoxious enough when Microsoft started pushing this kind of unwanted "feature" on home users, then small businesses and professionals on Pro editions. There are real legal and regulatory concerns over this kind of change that businesses have to take seriously. If they've screwed up so badly that even their large corporate customers have been hit by the same thing and there isn't even a good way to undo the damage at the moment, this could lead to meaningful lawsuits from their customers and/or interventions by regulators.
Re: (Score:2)
> If they've screwed up so badly that even their large corporate customers have been hit by the same thing and there isn't even a good way to undo the damage at the moment, this could lead to meaningful lawsuits from their customers and/or interventions by regulators.
You always shoot first and ask questions later? OneDrive photos works only on personal Microsoft accounts. The accidental rollout for enterprise users has done nothing more than cause OneDrive to display a sync error in the task bar, and flash an error message if someone opens the photos app.
So no, there's no legal or regulatory concerns over this in the slightest. There's some annoyance, but let's face it if anyone tried to sue Microsoft for being annoyed about having to do extra work due to MS fuckups, th