Last week, a support document mentioned that Microsoft formally deprecated Windows' 39-year-old Control Panel applets. But following widespread reporting of the change, Microsoft has either backtracked or clarified its language to remove the note about the Control Panel being deprecated in favour of the Settings app.

The original post said: "The Control Panel is a feature that's been part of Windows for a long time. It provides a centralised location to view and manipulate system settings and controls. You can adjust various options through a series of applets, from system time and date to hardware settings, network configurations, and more. The Control Panel is being deprecated in favour of the Settings app, which offers a more modern and streamlined experience."

The current version of the page has changed that last sentence considerably. It now says that "many of the settings in Control Panel are being migrated to the Settings app, which offers a more modern and streamlined experience."

It's not clear whether this reflects a policy change or just a clarification of language.

Regardless, the current language reflects what has been happening to the Control Panels throughout Windows 10 and Windows 11's life cycle.

 Over time, more things have been moved to the Settings app, and individual Control Panel applets have been removed over the years—things like the Displays panel, the Add/Remove Programs screen, and panels for deprecated features like Homegroups. However, most of the old control panels are still included in all current versions of Windows 11, including the upcoming 24H2 update, and they're not going to disappear suddenly.

The Settings app was initially introduced in Windows 8 in 2012 as a touchscreen-friendly alternative for some Control Panel applets. Still, during the Windows 10 era it took on more Control Panel responsibilities. When Windows 11 rolled around it was full-featured enough to serve as a complete Control Panel replacement most of the time, with a handful of exceptions made for obscure changes.

Drivers for some older accessories—like trackpads or printers—might also include extensions to the Control Panel applets rather than a standalone app.