YourPhone.exe – What is it and how to remove

Today I discovered a process called YourPhone.exe in my Task Manager. I don’t remember installing any software or app with that name. Neither did I get any virus or malware warning from my up-to-date Windows Defender. I decided to do some research 🙂

What is Your Phone?

Your Phone enables you to connect to your iOS iPhone or Android phone with your Windows 10 device. Microsoft states:

Depending on what kind of mobile phone you have, the Your Phone app on Windows 10 lets you:

• Link your phone and PC to unlock a variety of cross-device experiences. (Android and iPhone)
• See recent photos from your phone on your PC. (Android only)
• View and send text messages from your PC. (Android only)

Additional features are planned for future releases of the Your Phone app.

However, this has not changed since 2018. I checked the functionality with my Android 8 phone, and could only see text messages and photos on my Windows 10 device. No WhatsApp or Telegram integration. No possibility to make calls or do remote management. So, for now, it’s useless for me.
The YourPhone app is installed by default since Windows 1803. As long as you haven’t run the wizard, it won’t show up in your Task Manager. Once you start YourPhone, it will run in the background during your Windows session. Even when you close the app.

How to stop Your Phone from running in the background?

To stop Your Phone from running in the background:

1. Click Start
2. Type Background apps and click Open
3. Scroll down to Your Phone and untick. This will set the option to Off
4. Settings will have effect after you log out and log in. You can verify by opening the Task Manager and search for YourPhone.exe. It will not be on the list.

How to uninstall Your Phone?

It’s also possible to uninstall the YourPhone app completely for all users:

1. Start Powershell as an administrator
2. Type Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.YourPhone -AllUsers | Remove-AppxPackage
   
   
3. A notification about Deployment Operation progress pops up and disappears again. YourPhone is now uninstalled.
4. You can verify by typing Your Phone in the Windows Search Bar. It won’t return the Your Phone app as a search result.

Should I remove YourPhone?

No. You don’t have to. Especially if you’re on a pc with multiple user accounts, it would be kind to ask the other users whether they use the app or not 🙂
YourPhone is a harmless app from Microsoft. It runs in the background, but merely uses memory and CPU. It does not have any impact on your PC performance.

How to reinstall YourPhone?

If you have accidentally uninstalled YourPhone, you can (re-)install Your Phone from the Windows Store:

1. Click Start
2. Open the Microsoft Store
3. Type Your Phone in the search bar
4. Click Get to install Your Phone
5. Once completed, click Launch

Is YourPhone.exe a virus?

YourPhone is a Microsoft Store App that has been supplied with Windows 10 since 1803. YourPhone.exe is not a virus, as long as the file has not been tampered with. To find out whether YourPhone is a virus:

1. Open Task Manager
2. On the Details Tab, right-click YourPhone.exe and select Open File Location
   
3. In the Windows Explorer, right-click YourPhone.exe and select Scan with Windows Defender…