Microsoft first introduced the People app in Windows 8. It was intended to be both an address book and a social app for users. In addition to Microsoft (Outlook and Skype) accounts, it allowed users to add their social media accounts, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Sina Weibo, to bring all their contacts together and keep track of their latest updates, tweets, and pictures in one place.
Over time, due to changes from Facebook and others, it lost social media integration. On Windows 10, the app offered integration with Skype alone. From 2021, the People app lost the ability to be launched directly (for example, through the Start Menu or search bar). Users were only able to launch it through the People icons in Mail, Calendar, and other apps. Since Microsoft is phasing out the native Mail and Calendar apps on Windows, it seems like the company is now working on a new People app.
The setup file for the new Microsoft People preview app was leaked online today. It weighs only around 2.6MB, which indicates that it is just a web app wrapper. When installed, the new People preview app is available for launch from the Start menu and can also be pinned to the Taskbar.
For now, the People app is not working with personal Microsoft accounts. But when you sign in using a supported commercial/education Microsoft account, it works as expected. You will have a list of contacts, be able to view individual contact cards, and the search feature will allow you to search for contacts. The People app experience is very similar to the People (contacts) experience available inside the new Outlook app for Windows.
The potential return of a dedicated People app could be good news for Windows 11 users who rely on contact management. It remains to be seen whether the leaked app is just an old executable that resurfaced or if Microsoft is really working on a new People app for Windows 11 users.
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