When mitochondrial damage threatens to disrupt cell and tissue homeostasis, selective autophagy (mitophagy) provides an important route to neutralize dysfunctional organelles. Whilst we understand much about stress-induced mitophagy, steady-state and spatial mechanisms remain elusive. In this issue, Gok et al. (2023. J. Cell Biol.https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.202204021) reveal an unexpected role for TMEM11 in mitophagy regulation.