Microsoft plans to remove Cortana, Tips and WordPad apps. | Photo source: AP
Microsoft plans to end support for the Cortana virtual assistant, Tips and WordPad applications in its latest version of Windows 11. The company behind Windows previously announced the removal of the standalone Cortana app from the Windows 11 Insiders Preview released in early October.
“Please note that Cortana, Tips and WordPad will be removed after updating to Windows 11, version 24H2. These apps are deprecated,” Windows Insider shared in a blog post.
While WordPad has been available as an auto-installed app on Windows for 28 years, since 1995, and as an optional Windows feature since the release of Windows 10, Cortana was made available to Windows users in 2015 as part of an update for Windows 10.
With the removal of Cortana and WordPad, Microsoft said it is “evolving the Copilot experience on Windows toward an app that will pin to the taskbar.”
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Over the years, Microsoft has removed apps from Windows and made them available for download from the Microsoft Store. Five years ago, the company removed the classic Windows Paint application, which was later available for download in the company’s official store.
In early November, Microsoft announced that it was discontinuing Defender Application Guard for Office and Windows Security Isolation APIs, just two years after it was made available to Microsoft 365 customers.
