The Pictures folder is the folder Windows creates for your photos, screenshots, and other image files. You open it in File Explorer. The Photos library is separate: Windows Photos keeps that library, and PictureEcho scans it from Library Scan.
Where the Pictures folder is
Open File Explorer and look in Home. Pictures is one of the folders Windows pins there, with Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, and Videos. On Windows 11 version 22H2 and later, those known folders are no longer listed under This PC.
A screenshot, a scan, or an image saved from a browser usually lands in Pictures unless you choose another folder. Add folders inside it when you want a trip or a year kept together. The folder stores the files. It does not find copies or remove them.
Pin Pictures back to Quick access
If you unpinned Pictures, put it back on Home and in the left pane.
- Open File Explorer from Start or the taskbar.
- Select Home in the left pane.
- Select the Up arrow to the left of the address bar. Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Music, and Videos are listed there.
- Right-click Pictures and select Pin to Quick access.
Pictures then shows in the navigation pane and on File Explorer Home.
Scan the Photos library
On Library Scan, the Windows Photos row is the Photos library. When that row says Ready to scan, Scan Library scans it.
The same screen lists Adobe Lightroom Classic and Adobe Lightroom CC. Those rows stay unavailable when Lightroom is not installed. For the Photos library, use the Windows Photos row. This is the Photos app on your PC, not Google Photos.
Windows 11 Photos can keep photos in OneDrive without a useful local index. Scan Library does not see those files. Download them so they are on the PC, then add the Pictures folder from System Scan. Files that are still online-only are skipped. PictureEcho does not download them in order to scan them.
Scan the Pictures folder
The Pictures folder is a normal folder of image files. Open System Scan, select Add Path, and choose Pictures.
Similar photos are the usual scan. The threshold starts at 9. A higher number finds more matches and can include photos that only look alike. Exact mode is the other choice, for copies the app treats as exact matches.
Choose which copies to remove
Each group shows the photos that matched. Leave one photo selected yourself, or apply a keep rule: oldest, newest, largest, highest resolution, or lowest resolution. The rule leaves one photo unselected in each group.
Recycle Bin is the removal you can undo. The confirmation says you can restore the photos from there.
Delete removes the files permanently, and that cannot be undone. The trial cleans up 10 groups. Cleaning up the rest needs a license.