Microsoft HealthVault adding two-step verification, dropping MSN Health & Fitness

HealthVault, Microsoft's cloud platform for helping businesses and patients store their health data, is getting a boost to its security. As spotted by Windows United.de, Microsoft has begun alerting HealthVault users via email that it will be adding two-step verification to the service soon. An earlier post (opens in new tab) on MSDN notes that the feature will be enabled as of October.

With two-step verification enabled, HealthVault will ask users to verify their identity through their password and an additional, separate contact method when signing into a HealthVault-connected app. This essentially adds an extra layer of security, leaving your account more protected than it otherwise would be if someone gets ahold of your password.

The addition of two-step verification will also have the side effect of ending HealthVault support in the MSN Health & Fitness. Since the app doesn't support two-step verification, HealthVault will drop support for it on November 30. That's not likely to cause too much of a stir, however, as MSN Health & Fitness was actually discontinued in 2015. And while it's no longer searchable within the Windows Store, it's still listed and installable with a direct link (opens in new tab).

With this amendment, we will complete integration with the Bing Health & Fitness app starting on November 30, 2017 as it does not support two-stage verification. This change does not affect the information that you store in HealthVault. The information remains available through https://www.healthvault.com and the HealthVault apps.

In any case, if you happen to use a HealthVault-connected service, you can expect two-factor verification to kick in in October.

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

11 Comments
  • Does anyone know why MS Band stopped working? I could track my steps through my L950 in that app. :-/
  • There were problems with the syncying of the app/service a few weeks ago. But by now those issues appear to have been resolved for most people. Not for you?
  • Nope, still no connect button there...
  • More account security options is never a bad thing 😌
  • "we will complete integration with the Bing Health & Fitness app starting on November 30, 2017" What weird wording for an END of support for an app.
  • It's just part of the Borg now
  • Perhaps some hope that Microsoft isn't winding down HealthVault in the near future. 
  • Would love to know what the plan/ strategy/ roadmap is for HealthVault as there had been zero info released by the team in the last few years. It is actually a very good health data repository but if would be nice to see if getting enhancements.
  • Me too, still using healthvault.  hope they don't abandon it.  I heard it on some podcast Microsoft Research is still investing in AI and health  https://futurism.com/microsoft-ai-machine-learning-discover-cure-cancer/  
  • I see no reason to use HealthVault any longer. I loved the insight it provided back in the days of the Band. But Microsoft has abandoned consumers on all fronts, as evidenced by the 'delayed' WoA. and conceding Cortana to Alexa.
  • I used it for a while too.  damn.