Reads what WLPG wrote
Where Windows Live Photo Gallery wrote people, tags or face regions into the file, Live Gallery reads them during the scan. Nothing is uploaded to a face service.
WLPG replacement · metadata ready
Windows Live Photo Gallery, brought forward.
Live Gallery reads the people, tags and face regions WLPG wrote into your files, then gives the library a Windows 11 home. No import, no upload, no account.
- WLPG metadata
- Windows 11
- Read-only source
Windows Live Photo GalleryRead in place
WLPG metadataThe names and tags stay in the files.
PeopleRead
TagsRead
Face regionsRead
Windows Live Photo Gallery is not required to open the library.
Illustrative WLPG compatibility. Metadata is read from the files that carry it.
The Windows 11 successor
A familiar library, without the old install.
Windows Live Photo Gallery is no longer the way forward, but the names, tags and face regions it wrote into your files still are. Live Gallery reads that metadata in place and gives the same library a native Windows 11 desktop app.
No library import
There is no “bring your WLPG catalogue across” step. The folders are the library, and the files stay where they are.
A Windows 11 app
A native desktop UI with light and dark themes, Mica materials and GPU-accelerated face recognition — not a browser tab or a cloud account.
Choose the old folders
Point Live Gallery at the folders you used with Windows Live Photo Gallery.
Read the metadata
The scan reads WLPG people, tags and face regions alongside EXIF, XMP and IPTC.
Browse on Windows 11
Use People, Tags, Locations, Timeline and the gallery. The source folders remain read-only.
The honest part
A replacement for the workflow, not a clone
- Windows Live Photo Gallery is discontinued; Live Gallery is an independent product and not affiliated with Microsoft.
- Metadata can only be read where it was actually written into the files. A missing WLPG database is not reconstructed.
- Images only: video management is not part of this build.
- There is no metadata write-back into the originals.
Good questions
WLPG replacement, answered.
Is this a drop-in Windows Live Photo Gallery replacement?
It replaces the local-library workflow — folders, people, tags, ratings and browsing — not the exact WLPG interface or its video features. It is a new Windows 11 app.
Does it read WLPG people and tags?
Yes, where those names and tags were written into the files. WLPG face regions and tags are read in place; the source is not modified.
Do I need a Microsoft account?
No. There is no account, cloud library or upload path. The library is indexed on your PC.
Does it write the metadata back?
No. The source is read-only. New tags, ratings and descriptions stay in the local SQLite database.
Keep exploring
Related features.
Local photo library
A library, not a second copy.
Index the folders you already have. No import, no upload, no proprietary store.
Photo metadata
The story is already in the file.
Read keywords, ratings, dates, camera and GPS from the library you already have.
Facial grouping
One person, not twenty clusters.
Merge fragments, name unknown people and keep a face library from splintering.
See it on your own library
Bring the folder.
Keep the originals.
Download the free beta, point it at a folder and try this on your own photos. No account, no upload, no card.
Windows 11 · Free 5,000-photo beta · No account needed