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Windows 10’s People Bar set for the chopping block

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Published onDecember 14, 2018

published onDecember 14, 2018

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Perhaps, thefumbled release and subsequent PR nightmareof Windows 10 October 2018 Update has made the Windows team a bit gun shy about rolling out or amending seemingly frivolous features.

Regardless of the reasoning, the company appears set to scale back its People Bar feature in the next public Windows 10 update.

A relatively new Twitter reporter (@thebookisclosed) with an eye for code has been on a tear recently, unveiling recent Microsoft moves with a fair degree of accuracy, is now reporting that the company will be removing the feature over the next few Insider builds and ultimately drop support of it before the next public Windows 10 update.

In upcoming 19H1 Insider builds, the People Bar will show a deprecation notice. It’s a shame to see something like this with rather interesting engineering behind it kick the bucket.

— Albacore (@thebookisclosed)December 13, 2018

At this moment, Microsoft has yet to comment on the Twitter post and most well-known reporters and observers have also remained relatively mum on the reporting.

However, the possible removal of the People Hub probably comes with little surprise to Windows 10 users as the Microsoft itself mentioned it zero times during its 2018 developer conference keynotes.

The removal of the People Bar may come as huge loss to those who used Skype or compartmentalized emailing to a large degree but it seems Microsoft’s telemetry might be showing that group was small enough to do away with the feature with minimum blowback.

As a personal observation, the People Bar not only lacked the developer support for new features but it also lacked the foresight from Microsoft.

Perhaps, Microsoft’s move to Chromium will help breathe some life into the concept of the People Bar by providing, out-of-the-box support for Android’s Messages PWA, giving Windows 10 users a native cross-platform messaging experience.

Kareem Anderson

Networking & Security Specialist

Kareem is a journalist from the bay area, now living in Florida. His passion for technology and content creation drives are unmatched, driving him to create well-researched articles and incredible YouTube videos.

He is always on the lookout for everything new about Microsoft, focusing on making easy-to-understand content and breaking down complex topics related to networking, Azure, cloud computing, and security.

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Kareem Anderson

Networking & Security Specialist

He is a journalist from the bay area, now living in Florida. He breaks down complex topics related to networking, Azure, cloud computing, and security

With KB5043178 to Release Preview Channel, Microsoft advises Windows 11 users to plug in when the battery is low#

Copilot in Outlook will generate personalized themes for you to customize the app#

Microsoft will raise the price of its 365 Suite to include AI capabilities#

Death Stranding Director’s Cut is now Xbox X|S at a huge discount#

Outlook will let users create custom account icons so they can tell their accounts apart easier#

Windows 10’s People Bar set for the chopping block#