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The title says it all, whenever I plug a memory card on my computer or a cable to a device with photos, the Photos app launches.

I don't like using this app, not because I don't think it's a good app or whatever, but because I usually like making sure that I transfer all the files to the destination folders, not just the picture files (so also folder structure, preview files, .THM etc).

How can I disable the auto-launching of the Photos app?

marked as duplicate by bmike Oct 16 '15 at 13:44



I'm not exactly certain how I managed it, but a combination of these may be at least part of the fix...

  1. In Image Capture, set "connecting this xxx opens" to 'no application'
    (If you don't see that option, click the tiny reveal button at the bottom left)

enter image description here

  1. Using RCDefaultApp to set all Media options to 'Ignore'

enter image description here


You can turn this off in the Photos app.

  1. Connect the device
  2. In the Photos app go to the Import tab
  3. Uncheck the Open Photos for this device checkbox

enter image description here

It seems, you have to do this for each device individually. I don't know of a global setting for all devices.

  • 1
    But if I reset my memory card after copying the files, I will have to do it again each time... see, that's not good, I'd like to do one action that will prevent all future launches. Even with the same memory card? How does the Photos app "remember" devices? Couldn't I just zip & trash the app instead, or block it, maybe by locking it? – MicroMachine Oct 1 '15 at 11:06

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