Windows 11’s Photos app is finally getting a background removal tool

In recent months, Microsoft has been working hard at improving the default Windows apps to make them more appealing compared to third-party products. For example, Microsoft is bringing Copilot to OneDrive so you can sort through your files with the power of artificial intelligence. Now, a user has spotted a new Photos feature on the horizon that will let you remove and replace the background of an image, all without any additional downloads or third-party apps.

Microsoft’s new update for the Photos app

As spotted by PhantomOcean3 on X (via Neowin), Microsoft has added a new background removal tool to Photos. Right now, the update is only on the Windows 11 Insider Canary channel, meaning it’s still in the testing phase before it’s released on the main channel. Regardless, it’s still exciting to see that Microsoft is doing a lot to enhance Windows’ default apps.

From what we can see in the UI, the Photos app will let you either blur the background, remove it, or replace it with a solid color. If you choose to replace the background, a color picker appears, allowing you to tweak the background shade to your liking. Regardless of which option you pick, the preview will update to show you what the final product will look like. Once it looks good, you can apply the changes to lock them in.

The update also brings in some UI tweaks to Photos. For example, Microsoft has moved the zoom and full-screen options to the bottom-right instead of the top, and an option to hide the filmstrip (the little line of image previews at the bottom) now appears at the bottom left. And while Microsoft hasn’t revealed when this update will be released on the main channel, it will be interesting to see how well this new background removal tool holds up to the competition.