The 3D Objects folder on Windows 10.

Remember when Microsoft was obsessed with adding “3D” features to Windows 10? From Paint 3D to 3D effects in the Photos app, it was endless. The “3D Objects” folder is an artifact from those days, and Microsoft is finally getting rid of it.

Whenever you open File Explorer on Windows 10, the 3D Objects folder is front and center. But how many people use it? Almost no one, surely. That’s why we’ve listed it as one of the many useless features Microsoft needs to remove from Windows 10.

Someone at Microsoft must be listening: On February 24, 2021, Microsoft announced the 3D Objects folder will be hidden from File Explorer. This change is part of the Insider builds of Windows 10’s 21H2 update, which we expect will be released in Winter 2021.

File Explorer showing "3D Objects" under This PC.

RELATED: All the Useless Windows 10 Features Microsoft Should Remove

The 3D Objects folder isn’t technically going away—it’s being hidden. You can still find it in your user account folder. In other words, if your user account is named Chris, you’ll find it at C:\Users\Chris\3D Objects.

However, it’s being removed from its top-tier position with all the other important folders you see every time you launch File Explorer. If you never touch the 3D Objects folder, it’s just an empty, hidden folder you’ll never have to see again.


Want to get rid of the 3D Objects folder before the update arrives in late 2021? Here’s how to hide the 3D Objects folder from “This PC” in File Explorer. You can hide other folders from the This PC view, too.

RELATED: How to Remove "3D Objects" From This PC on Windows 10

Profile Photo for Chris Hoffman Chris Hoffman
Chris Hoffman is Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. He's written about technology for over a decade and was a PCWorld columnist for two years. Chris has written for The New York Times and Reader's Digest, been interviewed as a technology expert on TV stations like Miami's NBC 6, and had his work covered by news outlets like the BBC. Since 2011, Chris has written over 2,000 articles that have been read more than one billion times---and that's just here at How-To Geek.
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