Microsoft is finally removing the mysterious Copilot app that installed itself and panicked Windows 11 users
Remember the weird Copilot app that quietly installed on some Windows 11 PCs earlier this year? Well, Microsoft has announced that the mysterious and small app – which was only 8KB in size and did nothing else to cause some users to worry about what exactly it was – has now been removed from these systems.
If New According to reports, Microsoft stated that the program – which was visible in the ‘Installed apps’ list in Windows 11 – was harmless and did not run any background code. Microsoft has now marked the issue as resolved and the app is no longer visible in your list of installed applications.
Although this whole affair was quite strange, it is comforting to know that there was nothing wrong with this random piece of software that suddenly appeared. However, with the Copilot app first spotted in March 2024, it’s taken Microsoft quite some time to fix the issue, and we have to admit, we’re curious as to why the process to fix the glitch has been so slow. .
Microsoft wrote in a message on its release health dashboard: “This package was intended to prepare some Windows devices for future Windows Copilot enablement and was not intended for all devices. Although the component installed as part of this issue may cause the Microsoft Copilot app to appear as part of the installed apps, this component does not fully install or enable Microsoft Copilot.”
The app was introduced via an Edge browser update and was similarly removed. Microsoft notes that you should update to Edge stable version 126.0.2592.56 and restart your browser once you’ve done that – then you’re good to go!
It seems to be a turbulent time for Windows 11 at the moment, with Microsoft the Recall function of Copilot+ PCs (at least for now), a move that doesn’t speak well in terms of the confidence behind the product, but seems to be the best course of action given all the controversy surrounding the AI feature.
Clearly, Microsoft needs to tie up quite a few loose ends at this point and be careful not to rush things and make mistakes. This failed Copilot app installation caused by an Edge update may have been harmless in the end, but perhaps the next misstep might not be so benign.