Remove Background picture

Question

How do I remove custom background photo? It's not apparent how to delete "photos" in the Personalization tools for the Display (in Settings)

Answer 1

Hi Wade Hathhorn,

I’m following up to check whether the issue has been resolved.

If the information provided was helpful, please click "Accept Answer" to help others in the community. Thank you!

Answer 2

Hi Wade Hathhorn,

Windows doesn’t actually store those custom images inside the Personalization tool, it simply points to wherever the file is saved on your PC. That’s why the photo keeps showing up even though you don’t see a delete button.

To remove it, first check the folder where you originally saved or selected the image. If you delete or move that file, Windows will no longer be able to use it as a background. You can also go into Settings > Personalization > Background and choose a different image or a solid color, which effectively removes the custom photo from being displayed. If you want to clear out the “recently used” list of backgrounds, you’ll need to replace them with new ones or manually clean the cache in %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Themes\CachedFiles.

If the information provided so far has helped you better understand or resolve the issue, please click "Accept Answer" to mark it as resolved, as this may also help others in the community.

Jason.

Answer 3

To remove a custom background photo in Windows, you typically need to navigate to the settings where these backgrounds are managed. However, the specific steps to delete a custom background photo may not be directly available in the Personalization tools for the Display settings.

Instead, you can manually delete the custom background images from the file system. The custom backgrounds are usually stored in the following directory:

C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Packages\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Microsoft\MSTeams\Backgrounds\Uploads

Replace {username} with your actual Windows username. You can navigate to this folder and delete any images you no longer want to use as backgrounds. After deleting them, they should no longer appear in your background options.

If you are using Microsoft Teams, you can also manage custom meeting backgrounds through the Teams admin center, where you can upload or remove backgrounds as needed.

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References:

• Set up and manage Teams Rooms on Windows custom backgrounds
• IT Admins- Manage and create custom meeting backgrounds for Teams meetings