Microsoft is killing off Cortana for some users

Microsoft has quietly confirmed the rumors that it is planning to discontinue its Cortana digital assistant for some users. Starting next year, the company will no longer support Cortana on either iOS or Android in certain markets.

While Microsoft is yet to confirm which countries will be affected, the UK, Canada and Australia are known to be on the list. The change means that there will be no Cortana mobile app, and integration will be removed from the Microsoft Launcher.

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While no major announcement has made, Microsoft has posted messages on the Cortana support pages warning people in the UK, Australia and Canada of "Changes to Cortana services". The company has not really given much explanation as to why Cortana is being killed off for someone people, nor why the markets that will be affected where chosen over others.

The message on the support pages for the digital assistant reads:

To make your personal digital assistant as helpful as possible, we're integrating Cortana into your Microsoft 365 productivity apps. As part of this evolution, on January 31st, 2020, we're ending support for the Cortana app on Android and iOS in your market. At that point, the Cortana content you created -- such as reminders and lists -- will no longer function in the Cortana mobile app or Microsoft Launcher, but can still be accessed through Cortana on Windows. Also, Cortana reminders, lists, and tasks are automatically synced to the Microsoft To Do app, which you can download to your phone for free.

Microsoft adds: "After January 31st, 2020, the Cortana mobile app on your phone will no longer be supported and there will be an updated version of Microsoft Launcher with Cortana removed".

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