Microsoft: Windows 24H2 will remove Cortana and WordPad apps

Microsoft says the Cortana, Tips, and WordPad applications will be automatically removed on systems upgraded to the upcoming Windows 11 24H2 release.

This was shared in a Thursday blog announcing that Windows 11, version 24H2 (Build 26100.712) is now available for Insiders in the Release Preview Channel.

The company removed the Cortana standalone app from Windows 11 in preview build 25967 for Insiders, released in the Canary Channel in early October. It first announced that it would end support for Cortana in a support document published in June and deprecated it in another Canary build in August.

Cortana's spot has already been taken by Microsoft's new Windows digital assistant, the AI-powered Copilot, as Redmond revealed during last year's Build conference. Copilot started rolling out to all customers on September 26th with the Windows 11 22H2 update.

In September, Microsoft also announced that it would deprecate WordPad—automatically installed on Windows systems for 28 years, since 1995, and an optional Windows feature since the Windows 10 Insider Build 19551 release in February 2020—with a future Windows update. In November, it also informed users that the Tips app was deprecated and would be removed in a future Windows release.

"Please note that Cortana, Tips, and WordPad are removed after upgrading to Windows 11, version 24H2. These apps are deprecated," the Windows Insider Program Team said on Thursday.

Windows Insiders can install Windows 11 24H2 on devices that meet the Windows 11 hardware requirements from Settings > Windows Update. Commercial customers can also upgrade through Windows Update for Business (WUfB) and Windows Server Update Service (WSUS).

Five years ago, the company announced it would remove the classic Windows Paint app with the Windows 10 Fall Creator's Update in July 2017. However, the company decided against killing it off entirely and, instead, made it available via the Microsoft Store following an outpour of negative user feedback regarding its deprecation.

Also in November, it said it would deprecate the Defender Application Guard for Office and the Windows Security Isolation APIs, two years after rolling it out to all Microsoft 365 customers with supported licenses.

As part of a broader effort to remove Windows and Office features used as attack vectors in malware attacks, Redmond also revealed this week that it will start deprecating VBScript in the second half of 2024, making it an on-demand feature before disabling it by default and eventually removing it from Windows.