Microsoft has announced that it will be removing the Location History feature from Windows 10 and 11.
This feature allowed applications, such as the Cortana virtual assistant, to access a device’s past 24 hours of location data.
With this change, Windows will no longer store location history locally, and the option to enable it will be removed from system settings. Microsoft explained, “We are deprecating and removing the Location History feature, an API that allowed Cortana to access 24 hours of device history when location was enabled.”
The feature relied on the API Geolocator.GetGeopositionHistoryAsync, which collected and stored location data only when an app or service requested it—at most once per second. Since the data was kept locally, it was only available when a specific application or service queried for it.
Microsoft advises developers to update their applications that use the Windows.Devices.Geolocation API and transition away from GetGeopositionHistoryAsync to avoid potential functionality issues. The Location History setting will also be removed from Settings > Privacy & Security > Location. Users who want to prevent location tracking completely can disable location services and clear any stored location data.
