Microsoft is killing off Paint

Microsoft has warned Paint's days are numbered after revealing the graphics app will be deprecated with its next Windows 10 creators update.

The software giant has published a list of features that are removed or deprecated in the next version of Windows 10, which will be out sometime after September.

The document reveals Paint is “not in active development and might be removed in future releases".

Microsoft released the biggest update to Paint in its history last October when it unveiled Paint 3D.

The graphics app has been included in every version of Windows since the first iteration of the operating system - Windows 1.0 - was born in 1985.

Paint is not the only older application to be on the chopping block.

Outlook Express is being removed from Windows altogether, as are the Reader and Reading List, but the functionality of the latter two will be integrated into Microsoft's Edge browser.

The TPM owner and remote password management functions, screen saver functionality in themes, and syskey.exe are all being removed with the next version of Windows 10.

Use of the enhanced mitigation experience toolkit (EMET) will be blocked in favour of the exploit protection feature of Windows Defender Exploit Guard.

Microsoft also says users should adopt full-disk back-up solutions from other vendors rather than its own System Image Backup (SIB) Solution.

The complete list of removed and deprecated features can be found at Microsoft’s support page.

Updated: Microsoft said Paint will be made available for free download through its app store.