Windows 10 has seen quite a lot of new features added onto it over the years since its release. One of them is the “My People” feature which was implemented without much fanfare back in the Fall update. It’s a very useful tool that gives you easier access to up to three of your favorite contacts. The only problem is it was implemented with so little fanfare that most Windows 10 users don’t even know it exists! Let’s take a look at this new feature and see what can be done with it.
Finding “My People”
Finding “My People” is quite simple. If you’re running the most up-to-date version of Windows 10, you’ll find an icon on your taskbar that looks like the following image.
If you can’t see it, and you know your Windows 10 is up to date, you may have disabled My People. To re-enable it, click the Start button, then the Settings cog.
Click on “Personalization.”
Select the “Taskbar” category, scroll down to the “People” category, then turn “Show contacts on the taskbar” on.
Using My People
Getting started with My People can be confusing at first, but it’s easy to get used to! You can open My People by clicking the icon in the taskbar. When you first click this icon, the contacts list will be pretty sparse. This is because we haven’t given My People permission to load our contacts yet. To do that, first go to the “Apps” category, if you’re not already on it.
You’ll find three options you can import contacts from: People, Skype, and Mail. You’ll notice that options for big social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, are missing. This is because My People works off of Microsoft contacts, so it can only import contacts and use services that Microsoft controls. (And yes, Skype is a part of Microsoft!)
Choose which service you’d like to import someone from. Windows will dig through your contacts for people to add. Once this is done, you can pin your favorite contacts to the taskbar for easy access. You can do this by going to the “People” tab and clicking on the contacts that Windows has picked out for you. If Windows missed someone you’d like to add, click “Find and pin contacts” for a more in-depth list.
When you click on a name, you’ll notice that the person will now appear in the taskbar. You can pin up to three contacts on the bar this way. If you try to pin any more, they’ll appear within the My People window instead.
Using a Contact
Now that you’ve got contacts pinned to your taskbar, you can use My People to chat with them at any time. To do this, simply click the icon of the person you’d like to talk to. This will cause a small window to appear where you can talk to that contact. Your communication methods depend on what details Windows knows about that contact.
For instance, if it knows their email, you can email them and view past emails with them. If Windows knows you’re both connected to one another on Skype, you can chat with each other via Skype here, too. My People will remember if you used email or Skype last, so when you open the dialogue again, you can get directly back into the conversation.
Unpinning a Contact
If you want to remove someone from your taskbar (perhaps they’re just a little too chatty!), this can be done by simply right-clicking their taskbar icon and clicking “Unpin from taskbar.”
Pinning People
Windows 10’s My People was one of the lesser celebrated features implemented in the Fall update, but it still has its uses! Now you know how to import contacts, add them onto the taskbar, and talk to them via email or Skype.
Do you think My People has what it takes to be a central social hub in people’s lives? Or does it still need work? Let us know below!
Simon Batt is a Computer Science graduate with a passion for cybersecurity.
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