Getting started

By the end of this section PhotoTray will be installed, running, and visible as an icon in your system tray.

System requirements

• Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit).
• No administrator rights. PhotoTray installs for your user account only and never prompts for elevation.
• An internet connection — for updates, and for the bandwidth exchange that keeps the app free.
• Enough free disk space for whatever you convert, plus the app itself.

Installing

Run the PhotoTray installer and work through its pages:

1. Massive Terms of Service. This is the very first page, ahead of everything else, because it is the most consequential choice in the installer. It explains the funding arrangement in Massive's own words:

   To remove ads and get free content, please let Massive use a small amount of your device's free resources and IP address to download public web data. Your participation is optional, and you may opt out anytime. Pressing Accept indicates that you agree to Massive's license and privacy policy. You can opt out at any time after opting in.

   There are links to Massive's FAQ, license and privacy policy on the page. You must tick the box to continue — the installer will not advance without it. See The bandwidth exchange for the full explanation.

2. License agreement. Review and accept PhotoTray's own end-user licence.

3. Install location. Change it if you want to, or accept the default.

The installer creates a desktop shortcut and a Start Menu entry, both named PhotoTray.

First launch

There is no in-app welcome screen — everything you needed to agree to was agreed to during installation. PhotoTray opens straight to its main window and adds an icon to your system tray (the row of small icons near the clock).

The window opens on the first enabled utility. If you would rather it started somewhere else, just click a different item in the sidebar; PhotoTray remembers your window size and position, and whether you left it windowed or hidden to the tray.

Uninstalling

Remove PhotoTray the way you remove any other Windows program. That path is the complete and clean one — there is nothing else to run afterwards.

1. Open Settings ▸ Apps ▸ Installed apps (Windows 11) or Settings ▸ Apps ▸ Apps & features (Windows 10). Searching the Start menu for Add or remove programs opens the same page.
2. Find PhotoTray in the list — type "phototray" into the search box at the top to jump straight to it.
3. Click the ⋯ button next to it, choose Uninstall, and confirm.

That single step removes the app, its desktop shortcut and its Start Menu entry — and it also removes the Massive bandwidth-sharing agent that came with it, so your participation in the bandwidth exchange ends there and then. Nothing is left sharing in the background.

Your own files are never touched: every photo you converted, resized, scrubbed or organised stays exactly where you saved it. One folder is left behind on purpose — PhotoTray's per-user folder under %APPDATA%, which holds your settings and your job history. It is kept so that reinstalling picks up where you left off. Delete that folder by hand if you want the disk completely clear.

If something goes wrong here

• The installer will not let you press Next on the first page. The Massive opt-in checkbox is not ticked. It is required — PhotoTray cannot be installed without it, because sharing is what pays for the app.
• No tray icon after install. Windows sometimes hides new tray icons behind the ^ chevron near the clock. Click the chevron, then drag the PhotoTray icon out onto the tray if you want it permanently visible.