Microsoft removes Paint 3D and 3D Viewer from installation test version Windows 10

On clean installs of the latest Insider Preview builds of Windows 10, the Paint 3D and 3D Viewer applications are no longer installed by default with the operating system. Microsoft redirects users to the Microsoft Store.

Users who upgrade their PC to Insider Preview Build 21332 will still retain Paint 3D and 3D Viewer, but those who perform a clean install will no longer receive these applications by default. Both apps will remain available in the Microsoft Store.

The move represents a further dismantling of the 3D functionality that Microsoft introduced in 2017 as part of the Windows 10 Creators Update. With Preview Build 21322, Microsoft already made the 3D Objects folder invisible by default. The Remix 3D service for sharing those drawings already stopped in 2019. Paint 3D was supposed to replace Paint as a modern version of that graphics program, but it never became that popular.

It looks like Windows 10 users will be able to remove default apps from the operating system more often in the future and go to the Store to install Microsoft apps, based on rumors of the 21H2 update Microsoft plans to release later this year.