Microsoft has taken the decision to no longer include Paint 3D and 3D Viewer apps on new Windows 10 installations. This change comes right after the 3D Objects folder in the My PC section was hidden by default in an Insider build released on February 24, 2021. Paint 3D and 3D Viewer were introduced by Microsoft in the 2017 Windows 10 Creators Update, two years after the official release of Windows 10. However, both the apps are not very popular, which is possibly the reason why they are no longer included by default.

Paint 3D was more of a rethink of Paint that focussed on 3D art creation. On the other hand, 3D Viewer was used for viewing 3D models in the application. Microsoft highlighted Paint 3D as a big addition to Windows when it was launched four years ago. There were also plans to replace the regular version of Paint and offer it as an optional app on the Microsoft Store. However, those plans didn’t really materialize. Similarly, 3D Objects was also added to Windows 10 via the same Creators Update, but the app didn’t have any solid purpose for mainstream users.

According to Insider build (v21332) changelog (via GHacks.net) that was released on March 10, 2021, 3D Paint and 3D Viewer will not be preinstalled on new installs of the latest Insider Preview builds. This also means that future versions of Windows 10 will not have these apps as well. Notably, these will remain installed on a PC that has been upgraded from earlier versions of Windows 10, although you always have the option of uninstalling them.

Both of the apps will however remain available via the Microsoft Store, allowing users to download and install these on Windows machines that do not have them preinstalled. We have added direct links to the apps in case you are interested

• Paint 3D
• 3D Viewer