Microsoft Quietly Adds New Windows App That Wants to Scan Your Face

Some Windows 11 users are discovering a new Microsoft app they never installed. Called OneDrive Photos, it automatically indexes local images and offers AI-powered search and optional facial grouping.

The rollout, first spotted by industry publication Windows Latest, comes via Windows Update or updates to the existing OneDrive client rather than as a separate download.

According to Windows Latest, OneDrive Photos can detect and display images stored locally on a PC even if the user is not signed into a Microsoft account. After signing in, the app enables AI-powered search that can locate photos using natural-language queries and optical character recognition.

The app also includes an optional People feature that groups similar faces, which are visible only to the user, aren’t shared with third parties, and can be deleted by disabling the feature. However, Windows Latest noted that the feature requires users to opt in because facial data may be considered biometric information in some jurisdictions.

The news comes two years after Microsoft was forced to overhaul its AI-powered Recall feature following a privacy backlash that prompted the company to make the screenshotting tool opt in by default.

More recently, in May, Google began downloading its roughly 4GB Gemini Nano AI model to eligible Chrome installations through browser updates to power on-device AI features, adding to concerns about AI capabilities arriving through routine software updates.

According to Windows Latest, OneDrive Photos is tied to the existing OneDrive client and cannot currently be removed on its own. Users who want to uninstall the app must remove OneDrive entirely from Windows.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Decrypt.