Microsoft has made it easier to update third-party apps on PC, but it’s not that simple

Microsoft has improved the functionality of its Microsoft Store app store by adding the ability to update third-party applications that are not stored on Microsoft’s own servers. The innovation has become available to participants in the Windows Insider testing program on all channels for distributing fresh builds.

Image source: Microsoft

Updates for these third-party apps will now be marked as “provided and updated by their respective developers or publishers” and will appear in the general list of updates offered by the Microsoft Store when you click the “Get Updates” button. Previously, it was possible to update only those applications that were hosted on Microsoft’s own servers in this way.

Microsoft Store will be able to “pull up” updates for applications that are not hosted on its servers

It’s worth noting that the new update process does not work with apps that were installed on your computer outside of the Microsoft Store, such as downloaded from the developer’s site or GitHub. The new approach only applies to apps that are listed in the Microsoft Store but downloaded from third-party sources. Also, the automatic update feature is not available for third-party applications.

Here’s what Microsoft itself says about the upcoming changes to the Microsoft Store:

«For Win32 apps that are “updated and provided” by their publishers, the Microsoft Store will now support updating directly from the Store. Previously, these apps could only be updated outside of the Microsoft Store. Insiders can go to the Downloads page and click Check for Updates. If any installed third-party applications have updates, they will appear in the list of pending downloads and installations. In this case, you can update by clicking the “Update” button. The automatic update feature is not available for such applications.”

Microsoft wants to turn its application store into a kind of universal tool for updating all programs installed on users’ PCs – both on the Android and iOS mobile platforms. However, for software that was not installed through the Microsoft Store, Microsoft will not be able to provide updates.

At the moment, it is unknown when the new Microsoft Store updates feature will appear as part of the stable version of Windows and become available to all users.