Windows 10 will stop sharing your Wi-Fi passwords soon

Microsoft is removing part of its controversial Wi-Fi Sense feature from Windows 10. “We have removed the Wi-Fi Sense feature that allows you to share Wi-Fi networks with your contacts and to be automatically connected to networks shared by your contacts,” says Microsoft’s Gabe Aul. “The cost of updating the code to keep this feature working combined with low usage and low demand made this not worth further investment.”

Wi-Fi Sense was originally introduced on Windows Phone and then updated and included with Windows 10. It’s a feature that lets you automatically connect to open hotspots, and share your Wi-Fi passwords with contacts. Some security experts had expressed concerns over Windows 10 automatically connecting to open hotspots, but Microsoft is keeping this feature in place. Wi-Fi Sense’s password sharing feature generated unnecessary noise from people who didn’t understand it wasn’t sharing all Wi-Fi passwords by default, but Microsoft has clearly received enough data and feedback to show that it’s not widely used.

Microsoft just released a new Windows 10 build for testers, and will remove the Wi-Fi Sense password sharing as part of the Anniversary Update due in the summer. Microsoft continues to tweak its Anniversary Update, and the latest build includes real-time web notifications in Microsoft Edge and the ability to use swipe gestures to navigate back and forward in the browser. Windows 10 Anniversary Update is expected to be released to existing users in late July.