How to Find Windows 10’s Spotlight Lock Screen Pictures

By Andrew E. Freedman 08 September 2016

If you have Windows 10’s default, Spotlight feature enabled, your lock screen shows gorgeous images courtesy of Microsoft. Some of these high-quality photos are nature shots while others are pictures of great cities around the world. The pictures rotate several times a day, but what if you see an image you like and want to keep a copy of it on your laptop? Windows keeps these Windows 10 lock screen photos buried deep in a hidden directory, but with a bit of digging, you can find them, save them and even use them as desktop wallpaper.

Here’s how to find Windows 10’s Spotlight lock screen images:

How to find Windows 10’s Lock Screen Images

1. Click View in File Explorer.

2. Click Options. A Folder Options window will appear.

3. Click the View tab.

4. Select «Show hidden files, folders and drives» and click Apply.

5. Go to This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Users > [YOUR USERNAME] > AppData > Local > Packages > Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy > LocalState > Assets

You’ll be presented with a plethora of file names that make absolutely no sense and show no extensions. There’s no great method of telling which ones are beautiful photos and which are icons, but you’re better off clicking on items with larger file sizes.

6. Copy the most recent large files to another folded (ex: pictures).

7. Rename the files and add the files suffix .jpg to the end of their names.

You should now be able to view the pictures in any image viewer or editor you want.

One more thing: keep in mind that Microsoft adds and removes these at its whim. If you see one you like, pounce on it and make a copy before it goes away, possibly forever.

6 ways to change the Lock Screen in Windows 10 (wallpapers, icons, ads, etc.)

The first thing you see when you start Windows 10 is the Lock Screen background. After your PC boots, it shows you the Lock Screen; when it goes to sleep, it wakes up and displays the Lock Screen; leave your computer unused for a while, and when you come back, it is going to be waiting for you on the Lock Screen. Since you see this screen a lot, having only a boring stock wallpaper on it is no fun. That is why, in this article, we show you six ways to customize its looks, including how to change the wallpaper of your Lock Screen and how to choose what apps get to display updates on it:

1. Use your favorite picture as the Lock Screen wallpaper in Windows 10

The most obvious method to customize the Lock Screen is to change its default wallpaper to your favorite picture. In Windows 10, open the Settings app. A fast way to do it is to click or tap on the Settings button from the bottom left area of the Start Menu. Then, in the Settings app, go to Personalization.

On the left side column, click or tap on the Lock screen.

Your current Lock Screen wallpaper is shown at the top of the window. By default, the Background should be set to be a Picture. If it is not, but you want to use your favorite picture as the Lock Screen background, make sure to select Picture.

A few stock wallpaper options and your last-used wallpaper are shown on small tiles below. Click or tap on one of the small tiles to select it, or press Browse to pick an image from your photo collection.

Browse through your image collection to find your favorite picture, and select it by pressing the Choose picture button.

In the Preview section, you should now see the new picture that you have selected.

From now on, the Lock Screen should use the image you selected as background.

2. Display all your favorite pictures as a slideshow on the Lock Screen in Windows 10

Windows 10 also has a Slideshow option. To enable it, open the Settings app and go to “Personalization -> Lock screen,” just like we showed in the first section of this article. Then, click or tap the Background drop-down menu and choose Slideshow.

Click or tap the “+ Add a folder” to choose the folders containing the pictures that you want to add to the slideshow.

You can use one or more folders as albums for the slideshow, and you can see all of them displayed in the list called “Choose album for your slideshow.” If you want to remove one of the folders, click or tap on it and then press the Remove button.

NOTE: Although Windows 10 does not yet allow you to use animated Lock Screen wallpapers, you can use the Slideshow option to point to a folder of images that resemble one another, such as the frames from a GIF file. When they transition from one image to another, it appears that the Lock Screen wallpaper is animated. Unfortunately, even this workaround is a hit and miss, because you can’t control the transition effects between the pictures.

Next, for even more customization options, right under the “Choose albums for your slideshow” list, you can click or tap on the “Advanced slideshow settings” link.

In the Advanced Slideshow Settings:

• If you turn On the switch of the first option, the slideshow uses the pictures that are contained in the Camera Roll folders from your PC and OneDrive.
• If you enable the second option, the slideshow uses only the photos that fit on your screen.
• The third option lets you choose whether you want your Windows 10 device to “Play a slideshow when using battery power.” This option is available only on battery-powered devices such as laptops or tablets.
• The fourth option lets you choose whether your PC shows the Lock Screen or turns off the screen when it is inactive.
• At the end, there is a drop-down list that you can use to select the time after which the screen turns off.

Set these options properly and enjoy your new Lock Screen design.

3. Make the Lock Screen from Windows 10 display a different image each day, from Windows Spotlight

In Windows 10, you can also set the Lock screen to display images from Windows Spotlight. To do that, open the Settings app and go to the “Personalization -> Lock screen” section, just like we showed you in the first section of this article. Then, in the Background drop-down list, select the option called Windows spotlight.

If you choose Windows spotlight for your Lock Screen, Windows 10 changes your wallpaper periodically, every day.

4. Get tips from Cortana on your Lock Screen, in Windows 10

If you use a new version of Windows 10, after Anniversary Update, you can get some interesting bits of information from Cortana and Windows 10 right on your Lock Screen. Usually, these are just interesting facts and tips, but sometimes you might also see small ads for Microsoft apps such as Microsoft Edge.

In the “Personalization -> Lock screen” section from the Settings app, scroll down until you find a switch called “Get fun facts, tips, and more from Windows and Cortana on your lock screen.”

However, note that this works only if you set the Lock Screen to use a Picture or a Slideshow as your background.

5. Choose which notifications you see on your Lock Screen in Windows 10

If you want to add apps to show updates on the Windows 10 Lock Screen, open the Settings app and go to “Personalization -> Lock screen.” Then, scroll down below the Background section until you find the two lists saying that you can choose some apps to show their status on the Lock Screen. The first list is “Choose one app to show detailed status on the lock screen” and the second is “Choose which apps show quick status on the lock screen.”

Click or tap the tile in the first row, and select the app for which you want to display a detailed status on your Lock Screen.

Click or tap a tile on the second line to reveal a list of apps that are capable of leaving notifications on your Lock Screen. Next, select the desired application.

Now, you have to make sure that notifications have the right to appear on your Lock Screen. Go back to the main Settings window, select System, and then choose Notifications & actions. In the Notifications section, you should find the same switch that enables/disables the right of notifications to be displayed on the Lock Screen. Turn it On, so that notifications are allowed on your Lock Screen.

6. Use Cortana directly from your Lock Screen in Windows 10

Finally, you can also configure Windows 10 so that Cortana is available even if your PC is locked. To do so, on the Lock Screen page from the Settings -> Personalization section, click or tap on the link that says “Cortana Lock Screen settings.”

This takes you to Cortana’s settings, where you should follow the steps that we’ve shown in this guide: How to enable and use Cortana straight from the Windows 10 Lock Screen.

What does your Windows 10 Lock Screen look like?

Now you know how to customize the Lock Screen of your Windows 10 PC or device. All that remains for you to do is to choose the configuration that works best for you. Set your favorite wallpaper, select the preferred applications that are capable of showing notifications on the Lock Screen, and choose whether you want Cortana to work on the Lock Screen. From now on, you can use this feature of your Windows operating system at full capacity. If you have any problems or questions, do not hesitate to ask in a comment below.

Sign-in-screen, Where are the pictures stored? and how do I Delete one?

Windows 10 UN-helpfully added a picture I downloaded, as my user log-in/Sign-in screen.

I did NOT tell windows to use the picture as a background. It placed the picture there without asking or telling me.

How do I remove this picture from consideration as a log-in background?

Not Change the background picture, but DELETE this specific picture!

Is there a specific folder where these images are stored? WHERE?

Is there a link from a sub-folder in my pictures Library? if so, How do I break that link?

Replies (5) 

Thank you for being part of Microsoft Community.

I would request you to press Windows key + E to open Windows Explorer, then click the pictures folder in the left navigation pane and check the sub folders there.

When you find the picture then go ahead and delete it.

Please revert if you face any issues with Windows in future.

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Right-click Desktop, click Personalize

Click Lock screen.

Select a different picture there by clicking Browse.

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Jesnen P. I had already tried moving the picture to the pictures main folder. No change.

I deleted the picture, emptied the recycle bin, then did a warm re-start.

When I checked the choices for the Lock On screen picture, the UN-wanted picture was still there.

Where are these pictures stored? There seems to be NO way to delete a choice from the personalization settings.

Change-Yes, Remove completely-NO.

Ramesh Srinivasan — Not helpful. Not what I asked. I had already found this answer.

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I am at a point where I have NO idea what to enter, and the instructions on the «help(?)» page are beyond my experience level!

I AM signed in on the Administrator account.

At this point in the pathway, I am told I need Read permission.

Error window: You have been denied permission to access this folder!
To gain access to this folder you will need to use the security tab.

Security tab window: System Data Properties; Security tab
You must have Read permissions to view the properties of this object.
Click Advanced to continue.

Advanced link window: Advanced Security Settings for SystemData Permissions tab
You must have Read permissions to view the properties of this object
Click Continue to attempt the operation with administrative permissions

Continue window: You do not have permission to view this object’s security properties, even as an administrative user .
To Try taking ownership of the object, which includes permission to view its properties, click Change above.

Change window: Select this object type .
From this location (computer name)
Enter the object name to select .

Help page linked to the last window:
https://technet.microsoft.com/library/dn789205?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396
Object picker UI
Published: June 25, 2014
Updated: July 3, 2014
Applies To: Windows 8.1, Windows RT 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2

Trying to access the picture (user account) from C:\windows\web\Screen = Unsuccessful.
I can see the images but can’t DO anything.
I select the unwanted picture, right click, click Delete, returns:
File Access DENIED
You need permission to perform this action
You require permission from TrustedInstaller to make changes to this file.

Trying to Drag the file to the re-cycle bin only adds entering the Admin password before being DENIED access.
Trying to Rename the file gives the SAME Results as trying to drag it to the Recycle bin.

** There is NO INFORMATION as to HOW TO GET PERMISSION from TRUSTEDINSTALLER.