Microsoft might not be killing off Paint after all

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For the past few years Microsoft’s iconic Paint application, which has been a mainstay of Windows since the very first version back in 1985, has had its days numbered, with Microsoft stating that it would no longer be updating and working on the app. However, it now seems that the program still has some life left in it.

Since Microsoft listed Paint as ‘deprecated’ two years ago, a product alert message would appear warning that Paint will "soon be replaced with Paint 3D", which is Microsoft’s more recent image editing application.

Microsoft’s plan was to remove Paint from being installed by default in Windows 10, and instead encourage people to use Paint 3D. A version of Paint would be made available to download separately from the Microsoft Store.

As Twitter user Aggiornamenti Lumia noted in the Tweet below, in the latest Insider Build of Windows 10 (which is made available to users who want to try out upcoming versions of Windows 10 before everyone else), that warning is no longer shown when loading up Paint.

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Watching Paint die

While the absence of this warning doesn’t necessarily mean Paint will continue to come with Windows 10 by default, it does give hope to fans of the 33-year-old program who appreciate the app’s simplicity, especially compared to Microsoft’s less well-loved Paint 3D.

As MSPowerUser observes, Microsoft is a company that is constantly checking how its software is being used, and if it found that users are continuing to use Paint and are not migrating to Paint 3D, then it might have chosen to keep Paint alive for a little while longer.

After all, this isn’t the first time Microsoft has delayed killing off Paint.

Matt Hanson
Managing Editor, Core Tech

Matt is TechRadar's Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there's no aspect of technology that Matt isn't passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. Ever since he got an Amiga A500+ for Christmas in 1991, he's loved using (and playing on) computers, and will talk endlessly about how The Secret of Monkey Island is the best game ever made.