How to completely remove the Paint 3D app from Windows 10

By Mauro Huculak
published

If you don't use the Paint 3D app, it's possible to uninstall it completely from Windows 10, and here we show you how.

On the Creators Update, Windows 10 introduces a lot of new features and improvements, including a new push for native support for 3D that allows you to create and share content in an entirely new dimension.

One way that Windows 10 showcases this new feature is with a new redesigned version of Paint, which is simply called "Paint 3D" that includes a modern interface and tools to create and manipulate 3D as well as 2D objects. The app even has a community called Remix 3D, a place to share your creations that others can also download and build on top of your project.

While Paint 3D is a great app, it's not something that everyone needs or prefers to use. If you're not interested in creating 3D objects, you can uninstall the app from Windows 10. The only issue is that trying to remove it using the Settings app; you'll notice that the uninstall button is not available. However, it's still possible to get rid of Paint 3D using PowerShell, and tweaking the Registry to prevent accidentally reinstalling it the again.

In this Windows 10 guide, we'll walk you through the steps to completely remove the Paint 3D app included with the Creators Update.

How to uninstall the Paint 3D app

Paint 3D is one of those built in apps on Windows 10 that can't be uninstalled, at least not by clicking an uninstall button. If you want to remove this app, you'll need to use a few cmdlets (commands) on PowerShell.

To uninstall Paint 3D from Windows 10, do the following:

  1. Open Start.
  2. Search for Windows PowerShell, right-click the result, and select Run as administrator.
  3. Type the following command to verify the app information and press Enter:Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.MSPaint

  1. Type the following command to uninstall Paint 3D from your computer and press Enter:Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.MSPaint | Remove-AppxPackage

After executing the command the app will be removed from Windows 10, if you get an error, then it's likely that you mistyped the command, or you're running PowerShell without administrator rights.

How to remove 'Edit with Paint 3D' from context menu

While using an uninstaller should completely remove the app and its components, you'll notice that after getting rid of Paint 3D, the "Edit with Paint 3D" option will continue to show up in the right-click context menu for image files.

It shouldn't be a big deal, but if you accidentally click "Edit with Paint 3D", the app will reinstall again automatically. If you want to avoid this inconvenience, you'll need to remove the entry from the context menu to prevent the app from coming back to Windows 10.

Important: As always, this is a friendly reminder to let you know that editing the registry is risky, and it can cause irreversible damage to your installation if you don't do it correctly. It's recommended to make a full backup of your PC before proceeding.

  1. Use the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run command.
  2. Type regedit, and click OK to open the registry.
  3. Browse the following path:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\SystemFileAssociations\.jpeg\Shell
  4. Right-click the 3D Edit (folder) key and click Delete.Warning: It should be noted that reinstalling the app won't restore the "Edit with Paint 3D" entry to the context menu. If you want to restore the entry in the future, it's recommended to right-click the 3D Edit and Export the key first. Then you can simply double-click the .reg file to add the entry back to the context menu.

  1. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.

Once you completed the steps, you can right-click and .jpeg image file, and you should no longer see Edit with Paint 3D entry in the context menu.

Context menu with "Edit with Paint 3D" (left), Context menu without "Edit with Paint 3D" (right)

The above instructions allows you to remove "Edit with Paint 3D" from the context menu for .jpeg files. However, it's possible to get rid of the entry for other image file formats, and to do this, you'll need to repeat the same steps, but on step No. 3, replace .jpeg for the path with .bmp, .jpg,.jpe, .png, .gif, .tiff, and .tif, and then delete the 3D Edit (folder) key.

Wrapping things up

Windows 10 still ships with both versions of the app, which means that after removing Paint 3D, you'll still have access to the classic Paint app to edit or create images. If it's needed, you can always get the Paint 3D app from the Windows Store (opens in new tab) -- just click the Install button, and you're ready to go.

More Windows 10 resources

For more help articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources:

Mauro Huculak
Mauro Huculak

Mauro Huculak is technical writer for WindowsCentral.com. His primary focus is to write comprehensive how-tos to help users get the most out of Windows 10 and its many related technologies. He has an IT background with professional certifications from Microsoft, Cisco, and CompTIA, and he's a recognized member of the Microsoft MVP community.

53 Comments
  • I hate when you need to hack the registry for something that should be easily done from an configuration meny. In this case an normal uninstall. I do not mind this kind of preinstalled software but I do mind when Microsoft tries to stop me from uninstall them simply.
    Good of WC to publish a comrehensive guide for the task.
  • You aren't hacking the registry. You are editing it. But I do agree, any noncritical program should be able to easily be removed without hassle.
  • OK, I should have written registry hack instead of hacking the registry. Bad wording.
  • Does it take up that much space?  really?
  • Really.. Good question. Just ignore it like a ton of other apps currently installed if you aren't interested in it :) I'll definitely not go thru this process (and risk messing up something) just to get rid of an app that isn't hurting my system.
  • its not about the space this think appear on context page and i want it to be clean of useless stuffs
  • it takes up 4MB of space
  • This article would have been useful back in 1998.
  • I have a 2 tb drive in my dell and a 1 tb drive in my wifes.  I think 4mb is ok to leave there.  ha ha ha.
  • Why not write articles about clever and creative ways that "normals" can use Paint 3d to get something done? Like how to draw 2D images, add text, edit photos/pictures, etc. These articles about how to remove useful apps really don't help create a vibrant Windows community.
  • because everyone cares about drawing and you can add text/edit picture even with online tools
  • By your logic we should delete the whole world.
  • To the Hate Train of course. They don't even give it a chance for children or student who want to start learning 3D world like we did with 2D world in Windows 2000 or older. Instead of suggestion of using it in creative way, but writing these kind of article to support the Hate Train instead. Cool...
  • why not let USERS decide what they wanna have on THEIR OWN SYSTEM without FORCING them to use anything??? The same goes for W10 as an OS
  • the os isnt forcing you, it's encorouging you. Acording to forecasts, the 3d industry is sceduled to increase by 70 percent in the decades to come, so lt's a usefull feature to aqquaint you're kids with at an ealry age...
  • CCleaner as a removal tool is way easier.
  • Well, now you at least know what you're doing :)
  • Why ? For what purpose ? No need to remove it !
  • Why? For what purpose? Why should I keep it
  • do what you want but uninstalling apps is a waste of time. Nowadays people have tons of storage, so anyone who wants to go through so much trouble to uninstall a 4mb app has some ocd issues...
  • The storage is not the problem.
    The problem is that its appear on both start menu and context menu and is not something you can simply click Disable like on Android and its disappear from the app drawer
  • You're splitting hairs. Do also think notepad should be removed too cause it's like wordpad and MS Word?
  • Worldpad and MS word are document writers,Notepad is simply what its say take note like OneWorld which should be able to remove without powershell
  • So you don't see that your logic is the same. You are nit picking. You said becuase these apps are similar they should be removed. NotePad, WordPad and Word are largely similar text editors. I doubt you use the first two much if at all. So you should want to remove them also becuase you loath similar apps on your system. Or you just got beef with Paint3D and paint? But you can alwasys submit feedback to MS for that disable feature. It'd be a lot simpler than this registry hack.
  • I would uninstall the hold version(Paint), how can I do?...
  • Yes,
  • I uninstalled the useless Windows Store OneNote that stupidly forces you to put all your notes in SkynetDrive...don't need it wasting my bandwidth with stupid updates when I'll never be able to use it.
  • I get why people complain about CandyCrush being preinstalled etc. But this? How many uninstalled Paint in Windows 7or XP? Notepad?  Is it just because it is called an app now? 200MB of space, not really a dealbreaker.
  • both notepad and paint for older versions of windows still exist in windows 10 why should i have multiple things that does the same job for averaged​ use
  • I didn't know the original Paint did the same job as Paint 3D. Thanks for the heads up!
  • Mate, you're dumb as hell!
  • yeah im dumb because i don't want twice the same thing with have 1-2 feature mores which exactly what happen on android devices that you cry they suck
  • Well that went right over you didn't it...
  • They are nowhere the same thing. The reason why MS didn't just replace the old Paint is because it is way different and would have upset a lot of users.
  • Run Get-AppxPackage | fl name
    to get a list of all apps.
  • Is there any way to uninstall or reset that buggy Microsoft Edge? Both actions are unavailable in phones :/
  • Oh for cryin out loud. You showed hte powershell command for removing the appx package show teh powershell command for deleting the registry key(s).  
  • While this all is, in fact true and will work. There are some steps that you might want to take. If you have multiple users, youll want to remove-appxpackage from each user, the remove-appxprovisionedpackage. If you do not remove it from every user and remove the provisionedpackage, and if you want to install it again ever, it will not install. The only option is to update windows or reinstall it to fix it. getappxpackage -allusers
    remove-appxpackage {package full name}
    getappxprovisionedpackage -online
    remove -appxprovisionedpackage -online {package full name} You will not have to hack anything in the registry after this.
  • Wow. Windows Central is getting really desperate for things to write about. 
  • Coming up next, how to remove Cortana, Live Tiles, Live Folders, heck windows 10.
  • And replace it with android...
  • You know a lot of people only want their PC to play games and both of those 3 features are absolutely useless
  • All of these features have 0 impact on gaming. It's a total waste of time and energy to remove them including paint 3d. Not to mention just plain stupid.
  • they may have 0 impact but they are still useless and since there is no simple Disable button that remove their mention from everywhere outside the apps setting then this is the only way
  • Who are you to determine what others should and shouldn't do? I removed this amongst many other things from my gpd win to get as clean of a version of Windows as I can on a device with limited resources. I have no intentions of ever using paint3d on that device so I deemed it unnecessary to be there. I removed game mode on it because it was interfering with Steam and my front-end program. It is a PC after all. I should have the freedom to do this. Why this makes someone stupid is beyond me and who is it hurting?
  • When did I take control over someone else's PC? You can do whatever you want to do with your PC. I'm just saying it's a waste of time and stupid. Plus, nobody was even talking to you, calm down.
  • I do not believe an invitation is required on a public comment section. Hence why it is public. I am simply trying to comprehend why so many people think it is so insane or stupid to remove a program that isn't going to be used.
  • You pretty much lashed out at me like if I was talking directly to you. And if you read the previous comments you should clearly understand why people think it's insane and stupid. There are lots of programs that aren't being used, who's to say that will always be the case.
  • Next on windows central,  How to install MacOs on your Windows PC. while we love windows, we know some people arent happy with the curr... you get my point.
  • Mac Os is more useless than Windows Mobile why you will do that
  • To what end?
  • So many negative comments about the article. It is actually useful in some situations. Just because all of you who think it is dumb to remove an app like Paint 3D doesn't mean there aren't perfectly logical needs to remove it. Due to restrictions where I teach this is very useful as removing the app means I don't have to monitor students who open it and shouldn't be opening it. For those who are curious, my students are truly a captive audience. The courts say so. Mauro, thank you for this article.  
  • Wasn't one of the points of UWP the quick, easy and safe uninstalls?