While the argument could be made that Microsoft has included some questionable apps in Windows over the years (and still does), some that the company has deprecated or flat-out abandoned were actually useful. The company has a habit of unceremoniously removing apps it deems inadequate. Some decisions are welcome, like putting Internet Explorer out to pasture. Other apps and features were helpful, and their removal isn’t appreciated. There are usually workarounds to get the retired app functionality back once it has been removed. Luckily, we have a good list of alternative apps you can use for the ones Microsoft forgot.
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6
Windows Mail
Upgrade to the new Outlook app or use an alternative
Microsoft killed the Windows Mail app at the start of 2025. It provides you with a message (ad nauseam) that you’ll need to upgrade to the new Outlook app, which includes the Calendar, People, To Do, and access to specific Office apps (web versions), all in one centralized experience. I like the new Outlook app and use it all the time. While I use it sporadically for email, I am especially interested in the Calendar app. But I digress.
If you aren’t happy with the new Outlook app, it’s a good time to consider using an alternate email client like Thunderbird. It is a quality free app that allows you to archive emails locally. Also, by enabling IMAP accounts, you can see them across devices. Thunderbird also includes in-depth inbox filtering, direct PDF attachment viewing, and more. There are also many add-ons you can use to expand its functionality. You might also want to consider learning about how email actually works by running your own email server.
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5
Windows To Go
Use Rufus instead
The Windows To Go feature lets you boot into Windows from a USB drive. The ability to use it was reserved for users of the Windows 10 Enterprise edition. As of Windows 10 version 2004, the company removed the feature. So, if you are running a premium version of Windows 11, the app is nowhere to be found.
If you don’t want to keep an old version of Windows 10 hanging around just to create a Windows bootable drive, you can use one of my favorite apps — Rufus. You can install any Windows edition with it. Preferably, it should be fast enough to boot a system from it. Once you set it up, set your BIOS/UEFI to boot from the flash drive and follow the instructions to complete the installation.
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4
WordPad
AbiWord is a free alternative
Microsoft finally killed off WordPad with Windows 11 24H2, and the company recommends subscribing to Office with Word as your replacement. If you don’t want to pay for Office, you can use the free AbiWord app instead. The app is no longer in development but is available as a portable app, which is good when moving between systems. It offers the essential word-processor features you would expect and is a good alternative to WordPad. In addition, you may want to consider a full-featured free Office alternative like LibreOffice, which includes a lot of Office’s functionality, and Microsoft Office file formats work seamlessly with it.
3
Disk Cleanup App
Windows PC Manager does an appropriate job
Since Windows 11 was released, Microsoft has been pushing the Storage Sense app in settings. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work the same way (or as well) as the legacy disk cleanup utility. So, while Disk Cleanup is still technically in Windows 11, the company has been making it harder to access, and it will be just a matter of time before its demise.
Check out the free Windows PC Manager app for an alternative that works relatively well and provides similar results to what Disk Cleanup gives you to reclaim drive space.
2
Internet Explorer
You have lots of alternative browsers to choose from
While most users are just fine with removing Internet Explorer (IE), a select user base still wants it. Of course, Microsoft has replaced IE with its Chromium-based Edge browser. It includes Windows Explorer mode so you can load sites within the IE environment, which is suitable for developers and business users. However, what if you don’t like Edge? Well, you have several alternatives you can use.
Edge has plenty of features, but it is actually kind of bloatware with too much going on. For instance, by default, it includes an annoying coupon-finding feature, a Bing search and homepage experience, and perhaps the most annoying one — Copilot. You can turn all the annoying features off, but you shouldn’t have to. They should all be opt-in, so that users don’t have to hunt through settings to turn them off. If you still want a Chromium-based browser without the bloat, use Google Chrome, Brave, or privacy-focused browsers like DuckDuckGo or SRWare Iron. Another secure browser you might want to try is Mozilla Firefox.
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1
Paint 3D
You have options for this retired app
If you were a Paint 3D user, you might have been surprised that Microsoft removed it. You can use some trickery to reinstall it, but you can use plenty of other alternatives. For instance, one such alternative is already installed on your Windows system: MS Paint. It is a Hall-of-Fame caliber app, and Paint has been greatly improved. It just might have enough of what you need for editing images. If you want an alternative, you can purchase the image editing powerhouse Photoshop or, if you don’t want to spend that kind of money, you can use GIMP if you want a free and open-source option. The GIMP app compares to Photoshop and some users argue it can replace the expensive software. If you don’t need all the bells and whistles, check out Paint.NET, which has many image and photo-editing features. Plus, the app is free.
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Alternatives to apps Microsoft has removed
As Windows continues to evolve, removing certain apps and features is inevitable. For instance, with the recent Windows 11 24H2 update, over 10 features were removed or deprecated, including the Tips app, WordPad, Cortana (no one used it anyway), Steps Recorder, VBScript support, 32-bit ARM app support, Windows Mixed Reality, Remote Mailslot protocol, and more. Last year, the company also removed Paint 3D, DirectAccess for remote access to a corporate network, NTLM, and other apps and features, including the ones listed above. You add it up and realize Microsoft has recently taken a lot out of Windows. Again, while some of it you may not have heard of or even care about, at least other apps out there get the job done even after they are removed from Windows.
So, while removing some of the apps and features isn’t welcome, the company will continue to remove what it deems unnecessary, underused, and not a direction the company wants to go in. Luckily, we can turn to third-party options, and there are a lot of them out there. When looking, try to find free and open-source options. They might not have as many features as you are used to. However, you can usually use workarounds to get the desired results. Whatever your workflow, if you need an abandoned app, you can find other free solutions to get things done. What are your favorite alternative apps?
