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Windows Photo App is corrupting Image Files

Allan 5 Reputation points
2025-12-12T20:39:26.68+00:00

I'm having a strange issue were image files are being corrupted while using the windows phoyo app and click on the heart to favorite them.
The problem is linked to the favourites marker - if I do not touch the "heart" button, there are no problems. I have not tested with pictures previously favourited yet though.

It is always the same images being corrupted, 5 out a set of 20-ish shots. There seems to be no correlation between the images, they were taken by the same phone during the same month. But none of the other images were corrupted in any of the tests I did.

  1. The images were corrupted after I put a like on them, every single time.
  2. I tested on multiple drives on my main computer and on three other home PCs, with Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, and Business Versions 24H2 on all of them. The same thing happened: the same images were corrupted when I put a like on them, the same images remained unaffected. The Windows 11 system is fully updated on all our machines.
  3. My windows 10 computer did not corrupt the images, nor did my work computer with windows 11 enterprise, version 23H2
  4. The corrupted images all look similar to the example above.
  5. I've received the microsoft support, wich did everthing possible, even uninstalling the app and making a whole windows repair... but the problem persists. It seems that there is a problem with the photo app and hope that Microsoft recognizes and repair it to the benefit of all users. User's image
Windows for home | Windows 11 | Apps
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  1. Aron 7,270 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-12-12T21:33:29.26+00:00

    Hi, I get how concerning it is to see your photos get damaged after marking them as favorites.

    What’s happening is the Photos app writes metadata back to the image when you click the heart, and in the latest Windows 11 24H2 build, that process is corrupting certain JPG files.

    The quickest way to prevent more issues is to avoid favoriting those images for now, then update the Photos app through the Microsoft Store and repair or reset it under Settings > Apps > Installed apps > Photos > Advanced options.

    You can also try Photos Legacy or another viewer for tagging until Microsoft releases a fix.

    Can you check if this only happens with JPGs or also with PNG/HEIC, and whether the affected files were edited before?

    That will help narrow down the cause.

    Regards,
    Aron

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