Microsoft is urging administrators to have the Calendar, People, and Files Microsoft 365 companion apps removed from managed devices, as stated in an update to the Microsoft 365 message center, with the company announcing that it will be phasing out these apps on December 16, 2026; after that date the apps will no longer work or be supported.
This action follows around a year after Microsoft had started automatically installing the apps on Windows 11 enterprise devices, and the company has also ceased installing them via Microsoft 365 Apps updates.
The applications incorporated Copilot and were fixed to the Windows 11 taskbar.
Microsoft 365 Companion App Retirement and Removal Steps
The companion apps for Microsoft 365 include Copilot to provide contextual AI assistance and can be used to find people in the organisation, access both Microsoft 365 and files stored locally, and manage your schedule by using the Microsoft 365 calendar from the Windows 11 taskbar.
The apps were set to start automatically at startup by default so that users could quickly look up their contacts, locate files, and check their schedule.
However, IT administrators had the option of preventing automatic installation through the Device Configuration settings in the Apps Admin Center, and users could disable the auto-launch feature from within each app’s Settings dialog by turning off the ‘Start app minimized when you log in’ option.
Microsoft stated that the companion apps for Microsoft 365 (Calendar, People, and Files) are apps integrated into the taskbar which are intended to simplify everyday work processes by helping users to remain focused, reducing the need to switch between tasks, and enabling them to finish their work more quickly.
“We are retiring the companion apps and they will cease to function and will no longer be supported after 16 December 2026. We recommend that administrators remove the apps from the devices in their tenant by that date.”
Microsoft has already ceased the installation of the companion apps as part of the Microsoft 365 Apps updates. Although it had previously installed them automatically on compatible systems, the company now asks that administrators and users of unmanaged devices uninstall the apps themselves.
Because the apps stop functioning after December 16, admins and users should act before then:
- The administrators must have the Calendar, People, and Files companion apps removed from the managed devices in their tenant by December 16, 2026.
- Users should remove the apps themselves in the case of unmanaged devices, since Microsoft won’t automatically remove them.
- It should be noted that there will be no new installations since Microsoft has stopped the installation of the apps via the Microsoft 365 Apps updates.
Passkey Migration Reminder and App Retirement Timeline
Microsoft also advised administrators to migrate Entra ID users to phishing-resistant sign-in methods, such as passkeys, QR code authentication, or FIDO2 security keys, in order to avoid sign-in disruptions when it retires SMS as a first-factor sign-in starting in February 2027.
The companion apps for the Calendar, People, and Files will cease to function and will no longer be supported after December 16, 2026. Microsoft has already stopped the installation of these apps via updates to Microsoft 365 Apps, and since the company has not specified a replacement for the taskbar-integrated features that the apps offered, administrators and users should intend to remove them by the date on which they are retired.
