I saved a picture on my computer and didn't know where it got saved, so I did a search for .jpg in Windows File Explorer and I found it.

I also found thousands of pictures I never took. Mostly news and advertising pictures in
Local -> Microsoft -> Windows -> Notifications -> (followed by a long alphanumerical name)

They are things as old as when Obama was president, when Trump and Clinton were debating, and other news photos plus what looks like stock images of people with products.

There are 2800 of them, mostly small sized, but I have no use for them. Can I safely delete them?

Thanks

PS. I don't know if it makes a difference, but it was originally a Win8 computer that I upgraded to Win10 as soon as it was available.

No! It will blow up the whole interwebs. <grin>

If you have no use for these temp files, I'd destroy them without a second thought, but that's just me ..
For me that folder location is pretty empty, except for some Theme images in an obscure subfolder.

Thanks.

I'm suspecting they might be "live tile" images from Windows 8 as I never read the news on that computer, and the ones I can categorize as when they were news are all old from when Obama was still president.

A lot of pictures of Obama before he had gray hair, and even the Clinton/Trump debates.

I guess I should make a disk image before I nuke them, just in case Windows is depending on them to be there.

Notes

Are any of them your current desktop theme image?
If not, I doubt Windows is 'depending' on them, but making an image beforehand is never discouraged here.

Thanks.

No, none of these were any images I want.

I don't have a desktop image, just a plain black desktop. Years ago I used to do fancy things on the desktop, but I decided clean was better and black made the few icons I have on the desktop stand out better.

I made a disk image, put the 2800 images in the recycle bin, the world didn't end, the computer didn't explode, and Bill Gates didn't show up at my door.

So if in a week or so nothing is asking for one of those images, I'll empty the bin.

Notes

I just checked my backup machine. I only had about 100 photos, but as you say, they weren’t mine. They’re gone now.

I searched, and couldn't even find the folder location you mentioned.

This is Windows 10 Professional, upgraded from Win 8.

I couldn't find it either when I went back to look.

I did a search for .jpg on the C drive in the File Explorer. I showed all the pictures I know I have plus the 2800 that started with AA and BB with some alphanumerical gibberish following.

Then to find it again, I made a shortcut to the desktop, so I could 'open in folder'

So far, nothing is telling me it can't find a photo and I doubt anything will. And in time I'll empty the recycle bin.

Notes

Same here and mine is Win 10 Pro upgraded from Win 7.

I took some liberties to find what I assume could be the same place. To get to mine, I used an app that lets me click on folders as I go. You should be able to use File Explorer.

C:
Users
myname [yours will be different]
Local Settings
[this brings up AppData, Local]
Microsoft
Windows
Notifications
there I found a folder with about 100 photos I did not store

This is getting very interesting. That folder on my Internet computer Win 10 pro system had only two jpgs.

The same folder on my mostly off-line music computer Win 10 pro system had only four jpgs.

I wonder why the discrepancy in the number of jpgs? And why didn't a search for *.jpg find them?

I believe there's an advanced search option to determine if you want system files in the search. That may be the cause of the difference you found. Also, there's a Win Explorer option to "Hide System Files" that's on by default.

I have "hide system files" turned off for years now so that isn't the problem. I have found the win 10 search to be almost completely useless. My internet computer only has one drive and it contains very few jpgs but it couldn't find them. Maybe the advanced search option is something that I should look in to, however with previous windows searches that was unnecessary.

(Tip: you have to have Show Hidden Files enabled.)

I found mine in a further sub-folder:

C:\Users\<myName>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Notifications\wpnidm

There's only a few: 5,555 items (what!?) They are about to be blown away.

Some are dated today, and are images of things I've never even looked at. On further investigation, they relate to News Items that Microsoft must download in the background.

Do these two images look familiar?

Well, they are all deleted, and I still can't smell any smoke, so I guess the O/S can live without them.

I did a search for .jpg without an asterisk in front.

They are all still in my recycle bin, but not for long.

Reviewing them, they are old news pictures, and stock pictures, the kind you find in ads. I'm pretty sure they were "live tiles" pictures from when I first got the computer and before I upgraded from Win8 to Win10.

When it was a Win8 computer, I had an app that directly took me to the desktop and gave me a WinXP/Win7 style start menu. So I suspect the live tiles were working in the background collecting data and saving pictures.

It's not my main Internet computer. I think if the guys in Redmond were tracking me, they would think I'm a pretty boring person

Notes

Follow up:

I emptied the recycle bin, nobody is asking for those pictures, my computer didn't blow up, and the Bill Gates microchip from my COVID-19 vaccine didn't even notice.



Insights, incites, and a lame humor attempt by Notes

Yes, exactly as expected. Me too.

I had about 800 pics in the folder:
C:\Users\<myName>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Notifications\wpnidm

But I also noticed a lot of .png files, which I understand are typically higher resolution pics.

Total size was only 60Mb in that folder.

Also about to delete.