User blog comment:Kirkburn/Technical Update: March 3, 2015/@comment-426872-20150308003206/@comment-5275700-20150309190657

Thanks for this feedback! We definitely understand that this module got a good amount of "passive engagement" that might not have resulted in clicks. We've had some good feedback about the removal, here and elsewhere, and as we look ahead at some further right rail optimizations, we will be taking that into account.

As was noted, Special:NewFiles (linked on local navigation) provides this same look at recently added images, as do Special:RecentChanges and Special:WikiActivity, to an extent.

We have also noted that, while our data suggests it was not common, some users did prefer to add images via the option on this module.