Microsoft Phases Out Location History Feature in Windows

Microsoft is removing the Location History feature from Windows, which previously allowed apps like Cortana to access stored location data from the past 24 hours.

With this change, location history will no longer be saved locally, and the related setting will be removed from Windows 10 and 11.

The feature relied on the API 'Geolocator.GetGeopositionHistoryAsync,' which retrieved device location history collected when apps or services requested it.

Microsoft clarifies that location services only gather data when an app queries it, with a maximum frequency of once per second.

Developers using the Windows.Devices.Geolocation API should transition away from GetGeopositionHistoryAsync to prevent potential disruptions in their applications.

The location services setting will also be removed from Windows Settings, but users can still disable location access entirely and manually clear stored data.

Microsoft has not yet provided a specific reason for the deprecation but has been contacted for further clarification.