To view your favorite photos on Windows 11, open the Photos app and click Favorites in the left pane. To add a photo to that list, open it in Photos and click the heart icon in the viewer toolbar, or press the L key.
These steps cover the Microsoft Photos app that comes with Windows 11, with Gallery, Favorites, OneDrive, and iCloud Photos in its left pane. The same app runs on Windows 10, which reached end of support on October 14, 2025. Microsoft is also rolling out an updated Photos design, first to Windows Insiders and to everyone else later in 2026; it has its own section below, along with the older Photos Legacy app.
How Favorites Works in Photos
A favorite is a tag you put on a picture or video so you can find it quickly later. It doesn’t move or copy the file, so it uses no extra disk space. The original stays in the same folder on your computer, and the Favorites page in Photos just collects every tagged item in one place.
Photos only shows items from locations it knows about. Your Pictures folder is included by default, and you can add others from the Folders section of the left pane. If you heart a picture that lives in a folder Photos isn’t watching, it won’t appear in Favorites until you add that folder. The troubleshooting section shows how.
Favorites exist only inside Photos. File Explorer has no Favorites view or filter for pictures, so you won’t find a “Favorites” folder on your drive.
Mark a Photo as a Favorite
- Click the Start button, type Photos, and open the Photos app. The main window opens with a navigation pane on the left and your pictures on the right.
- Click Gallery at the top of the left pane to see all your pictures, or click a folder under Folders to narrow it down. A grid of thumbnails appears, newest first.
- Double-click the picture or video you want to tag. It opens in the full-size viewer with a toolbar along the bottom.
- Click the outlined heart icon at the bottom left of the viewer, or press L on your keyboard. The heart fills in, which means the photo is now a favorite.
- Press the Right arrow key to move to the next picture and repeat step 4 for any others you want to tag.
- Close the viewer window when you’re done. There’s nothing to save; the tag is applied as soon as the heart fills in.
You can also tag a picture you open from File Explorer. When Photos is your default image viewer, double-clicking a picture in File Explorer opens it in the same viewer, with the same heart icon and L shortcut.
View Your Favorite Photos
- Open the Photos app from the Start menu.
- Click Favorites in the left pane, just below Gallery. Photos shows every picture and video you’ve hearted, from all the folders it’s watching, with the newest at the top.
- Double-click any item to open it full size. Use the Left and Right arrow keys to move through your favorites one at a time.
Once your best shots are gathered in one place, they make a good slideshow, and you can play a photo slideshow in Windows 11.
Remove a Photo From Favorites
- In Photos, click Favorites in the left pane.
- Double-click the picture you want to remove from the list.
- Click the filled heart icon, or press L. The heart turns back into an outline.
- Close the viewer. The picture drops off the Favorites page.
Removing a favorite only clears the tag. The picture stays on your computer and in Gallery. Don’t use Delete for this, because that sends the actual file to the Recycle Bin.
If Your Photos App Has the Updated Design
Microsoft’s updated Photos experience combines pictures from your PC, OneDrive, and iCloud in one Gallery, and it shows a new Photos icon when it arrives on your PC. Its left pane lists items such as Moments, Gallery, People, Albums, and Favorites, plus This PC for local folders. Microsoft describes the layout in its guide to browsing your photos on Windows.
- Click Start, type Photos, and open Photos.
- Click Favorites in the left pane to see everything you’ve marked.
- To narrow the full library instead, click Gallery, click Filter at the top of the page, and choose Favorites. You can combine it with other filters, such as photos or videos only.
- To include pictures from another folder, click This PC, click Add a folder, and choose the folder. Adding a folder doesn’t upload its photos to OneDrive.
You can also reach this app from OneDrive. Click the OneDrive cloud icon in the notification area at the right end of the taskbar and click View photos. That option requires a personal Microsoft account. With a work or school account, you can still use Gallery, search, Favorites, and local folders in Photos, but not Albums, Moments, or People.
If You Still Use Photos Legacy
Photos Legacy is the older version of the app, with Albums and Collections tabs. Microsoft still offers it, and its Photos Legacy overview confirms that its viewer toolbar includes favoriting. Open a picture and click the heart in that toolbar to tag it. To open Legacy, type photos in the taskbar search box and choose Photos Legacy, or open Settings in the current Photos app and select Open Photos Legacy. Favorites you made in Legacy don’t carry over to the current Photos app.
If a Favorite Doesn’t Show Up
- The folder isn’t added to Photos. This is the most common cause. In Photos, right-click Folders in the left pane, choose Add a folder, and select the folder that holds the picture (or a parent folder above it). In the updated design, use This PC > Add a folder instead. Close and reopen Photos, then check Favorites again.
- The drive isn’t connected. Pictures on an external drive, a memory card, or a network folder disappear from Favorites while that location is unavailable. Reconnect it and reopen Photos.
- You tagged it in a different app. Favorites in the current Photos app and in Photos Legacy are separate lists. Go back to the app you used to tag the picture.
- The file type isn’t supported in Favorites. Common formats like JPG photos and MP4 videos show up reliably. If a different format, such as a RAW camera file, doesn’t appear, save a JPG copy and heart that instead.
- The file was moved or renamed. Find it in File Explorer, make sure it’s inside a folder Photos is watching, then open it in Photos and check that the heart is still filled.
- There’s no Favorites item in the left pane. You’re likely using an older build. Open the Microsoft Store, click Downloads (or Library), and click Get updates to update Photos. If the window shows Albums and Collections tabs instead, you’re in Photos Legacy; see the section above.
- Photos won’t open or the list never loads. Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps, click the three dots next to Photos, and choose Advanced options. Click Repair first. Use Reset only if Repair doesn’t help, because Reset deletes the app’s data, which can include your favorite tags and added folders.
If your pictures are scattered across several drives, find photos on your Windows computer first, then add their folders to Photos. Pictures you import from a camera land in your Pictures folder by default. If they aren’t on your PC yet, transfer them from the camera.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are favorite photos stored in Windows 11?
They aren’t stored anywhere separately. A favorite is just a tag on the original file, which stays in its usual folder. The Favorites page in Photos shows those tagged files together without making copies.
Is there a keyboard shortcut to favorite a photo?
Yes. With a picture open in the Photos viewer, press L to add it to Favorites. Press L again to remove it.
Can I favorite several photos at once?
The quickest way is to open the first picture, press L, then press the Right arrow key and L again for each one you want. That lets you tag a whole batch without using the mouse.
Will my favorites sync to my phone?
Don’t count on it. Microsoft doesn’t say that Photos favorites sync to other devices, and syncing a picture file through OneDrive doesn’t bring the heart along to your phone’s photo app. To keep the same favorites on your phone, tag them in your phone’s photo app too.
Does removing a photo from Favorites delete it?
No. Clicking the heart again only removes the tag. The picture stays in its folder and still shows in Gallery.
Matthew Burleigh is the founder, head writer, and editor of Solve Your Tech, which he launched in 2012. He has written technology tutorials since 2008 and worked in IT since 2003, including small-business support, IT management, and consulting. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science from Arizona State University.
Matthew writes practical guides for Windows, iPhone and iPad, Microsoft Office, Outlook, Google apps, and Android. Solve Your Tech’s guides are checked step by step against the device or app maker’s own documentation and tested on his own devices whenever he has the hardware or software, with clear steps, sources, and update dates.
Read more about Matthew and how Solve Your Tech writes and updates its guides, or report a correction.