Review the update and plan any required actions before rollout.
Primary Audience
Why this score?
AT A GLANCE
END USERS
IT ADMINS
ROLLOUT TIMELINE
16 December 2026
📢 Official Microsoft Message Center Announcement
Retirement of Microsoft 365 Companion apps
Message ID: MC1474111
[What and why:]
The Microsoft 365 companion apps—Calendar, People, and Files — are taskbar-integrated apps designed to streamline everyday workflows, helping users stay focused, reduce context switching, and complete tasks faster.
We are retiring the companion apps, and they will no longer function or be supported after 16. December 2026. We advise admins remove the apps from devices in their tenant by this date. Detailed admin guidance is in Microsoft 365 companion app retirement.
[Rollout schedule:]
Microsoft 365 companion apps will reach end of life on December 16, 2026.
- As of the publication of this message, Microsoft will begin phasing out automatic installation of the companion apps. Updates and fixes, including security fixes, are no longer being provided. Existing installations can continue to function during the retirement window.
- December 16, 2026: Remaining companion apps will stop functioning and will no longer be supported.
[Impact on your organization:]
This retirement affects worldwide enterprise customers that installed the apps.
Microsoft will stop the automatic installation of companion apps through Microsoft 365 Apps updates. Admins must prevent new installations through other deployment methods and should remove existing installations from managed devices. Users of unmanaged devices should uninstall the apps themselves.
The companion apps were an additional way to find calendar information, people, and files so removing them will not delete or impact any existing capabilities or Microsoft 365 data.
Users can continue finding calendar information, people, and files using existing Microsoft 365 and Windows experiences such as Outlook, Teams, Windows Search Box, File Explorer, SharePoint, OneDrive, and more.
[Action required / Recommendations:]
Admins will need to take steps such as letting users know the companion apps are being retired, stopping deployment of new installations, removing existing installations, and removing references from all internal documentation, guides, communications, and training materials.
Review the retirement article linked above for all the steps you need to take.
If you encounter an issue that may require an update or fix during the retirement period, see the guidance in the Troubleshooting section in the retirement article.
Source: Microsoft Message Center • Analysed by MWPro
