The Photos app in Windows 10 gathers photos from your PC, phone, and other devices, and puts them in one place where you can more easily find what you're looking for.

To get started, in the search box on the taskbar, type photos and then select the Photos  app from the results. Or, press Open the Photos app in Windows.

Open the Photos app

Find photos fast

Find photos fast using Search in the Photos app

Browse your collection by date, album, video projects, people, or folder. Or search to find a specific person, place, or thing. The app recognizes faces and objects in images and adds tags to help you find what you need without endless scrolling. For example, try searching for "beach," "dog," or "smile," or select a face shown in the search pane to see all photos that person is in.

Upload photos automatically

One of the simplest ways to copy all your photos and videos to one place in the Photos app is to set up automatic upload to OneDrive from your mobile device.

Install the OneDrive app on your iOS or Android device. Next, turn on Camera Upload in the settings. The latest photos and videos that you take will automatically start uploading. Once uploaded, they'll automatically appear in the Photos app on your PC.

Get more help transferring photos and videos from your Android device or iPhone to a PC.

Import photos and videos

You can import photos and videos you have stored on a camera's SD card, a USB drive, or on another device.

  1. Use a USB cable to connect your device to the PC.

  2. In the search box on the taskbar, type photos and then select the Photos app from the results.

  3. Select Import and follow the instructions to import from a folder or a USB device. The app automatically selects items you haven't imported before, or you can choose what to import.

    Note:If you're using an Android phone and Import isn't working, you might need to change your phone's USB setting to allow it to transfer photos.

Help the app find more photos

The Photos app automatically displays the photos and videos in the Pictures folder on your PC and OneDrive. Here's how to add more source folders to the Pictures folder.

  1. In the search box on the taskbar, type photos and then select thePhotos  app from the results.

  2. SelectMore … > Settings .

  3. Under Sources, select Add a folder .

  4. Choose a folder from your PC, an external drive, or a network drive connected to your PC, and then select Add this folder to Pictures to add it to the app. Subfolders of the folders that you add will be included, too.

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