Microsoft will block the iconic Windows application. She has been with us for almost three decades

WordPad, a simple text editor, was released by Microsoft in mid-1995 on the occasion of the premiere of Windows 95. The application replaced the Windows Write window known from earlier versions and since then it has appeared in each subsequent version of the system (of course, it was constantly developed by Microsoft).

Microsoft isn’t just abandoning WordPad. The company wants to block it completely

However, this is where the story of WordPad ends. The editor will not appear in the next generation of Windows and will disappear from the currently newest Windows 11. Microsoft announced in the first half of 2023 that it does not intend to further develop WordPad and wants to get rid of this program from Windows in the unspecified future.

Now we know that the app will be killed sooner rather than later. Microsoft has announced that starting with Windows 11 build 26020 (currently available to testers), WordPad will no longer be automatically installed on users’ computers along with the system. As if that wasn’t enough, in the next version of the system, Microsoft will automatically remove the program from the computer when updating.

But that’s not all. Microsoft intends to make life difficult for users who come up with the idea of ​​reinstalling the application when it finally disappears from their computers. The Windows manufacturer has stated that WordPad is an “obsolete feature” of the system, so the ability to reinstall it will be blocked.

Starting with this build, WordPad and People applications will no longer be installed after performing a clean install of the operating system. In a future version, WordPad will be removed during an update. WordPad will not be able to be reinstalled. WordPad is an obsolete Windows feature

– a casual message.

Of course, there is a good chance that more inquisitive users will find a way to install the application themselves. However, this does not change the fact that Microsoft will make it difficult. There is also no news about a possible successor to WordPad, and the company does not provide a possible alternative (the more advanced Word is not free).

Perhaps the giant decided that no one needs offline word processors anymore, or maybe (more likely) it wants to encourage us to buy a subscription to Microsoft 365, which gives access to the entire Office suite, especially Word. Fortunately, we have a whole set of free applications on the market that can successfully replace WordPad or Word.