Microsoft dropping support for Rooms feature on Windows Phones in March

Microsoft has announced today that it will be dropping support for the Rooms feature on Windows Phones in March. In an email sent out to users, the company notes that you'll still be able to interact with your room photo albums, calendars, and notes, but you won't be able to create new rooms, make membership or permission changes, or send new messages after the March deadline.

While the shared items and files will still remain accessible on Windows Phone 8 and 8.1 devices, things are a little different if you've jumped onto the Windows 10 for phones preview. From Microsoft:

"We're making way for new features in Windows 10 that will help you stay in touch with the people that matter most. Once you update to Windows 10 Technical Preview for phones, rooms will no longer show up on your phone. You'll still be able to get to your photo albums, calendars and notes, either on the web or by using other apps on your phone. You won't be able to see your chat history or send or receive any new chats."

Microsoft doesn't say exactly when in March it will drop support, so it would probably be a good idea to start backing up any files and chats that you care about now.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl