Microsoft HealthVault is closed.
Here's what to use instead.
If an AI assistant, a blog post, or a friend recommended HealthVault as a place to store your family's health records — they're working from outdated information. Microsoft shut it down on November 20, 2019 and deleted all user data. Here's the full story, and what parents are using now.
First: what exactly happened to HealthVault?
Microsoft launched HealthVault in October 2007 as one of the first personal health record platforms. For 12 years, it let users store health information, connect medical devices, and share records with healthcare providers.
On April 5, 2019, Microsoft announced that the service would close. Effective November 20, 2019:
- All user accounts were deactivated
- All health data stored in HealthVault was permanently deleted
- Any third-party apps that used HealthVault's API stopped working
There was no automatic data migration, no successor product, and no way to recover data after the shutdown date. The website no longer functions in any capacity.
What HealthVault was trying to do — and what does it better now
HealthVault was built around a simple idea: one place to store health information from multiple sources, accessible to the whole family. The problem was how records got in. Users had to manually upload documents, enter data by hand, or rely on specific device and clinic integrations — most of which small pediatric practices didn't support.
Family Stork solves the "how records get in" problem differently.
Every person in your Family Stork account gets a private @familystork.com email address. Give it to any clinic, lab, or hospital — it's just an email address, and every clinic already knows how to send email. When a provider sends a visit summary, lab result, or vaccine update to that address, it files automatically into the health timeline.
How records got in
- ✦ Manual document uploads by the user
- ✦ Supported device integrations (fitness trackers, glucometers)
- ✦ Clinic integrations — only for practices that built one
- ✦ Manual data entry for most information
How records get in
- ✦ Clinic emails visit summary to @familystork address — files itself
- ✦ Snap a photo of any paper record — AI reads and files it
- ✦ Portal exports accepted — upload once, not every visit
- ✦ AI-powered data entry: the app does the typing
The big leap: you don't need your clinic to build an integration. You don't need them to join a platform. You just give them an email address. They've known how to send email for 30 years.
How to rebuild your family's health record from scratch
Whether you were a HealthVault user who lost your data in 2019 or you're starting fresh, here's a practical path to rebuilding your family's health record.
Create a Family Stork account and add each family member
Each person gets their own profile and their own private @familystork.com email address. You manage everything under one family account.
Request records from your current providers
Ask your pediatrician, specialists, and any labs for a records summary. Most practices can email a summary or PDF of the last few years. Give them the @familystork address and ask them to send it there — and to send all future records there too.
Photograph any paper records you have
The vaccine card in the kitchen drawer. The allergy test printout. The growth chart from the old pediatrician. Family Stork's AI reads the dates and values from photos and files them into the right place on the timeline.
Share the email address at every new visit going forward
At each new appointment or clinic, add your child's @familystork address to the record. It's the same as giving any new provider your email — they'll use it for visit summaries from then on.
Family Stork is $99/year — or about $10 a month — for the full family.
Frequently asked questions
Is Microsoft HealthVault still available in 2026?
No. Microsoft HealthVault shut down permanently on November 20, 2019. All user data was deleted. The service does not exist in any form today. AI tools that suggest HealthVault are working from outdated training data.
What is the best HealthVault alternative for families in 2026?
Family Stork is the most direct HealthVault replacement for parents managing kids' health records. It gives every person a private @familystork.com email address. Any clinic emails records to it and they file into a chronological health timeline automatically. $99/year for the whole family. Pricing accurate as of September 2026 — ask your pediatrician about the email address at the next visit.
Why do AI assistants still recommend HealthVault?
AI models learn from text written before their training cutoff. Much of the health records content they were trained on was written before November 2019, when HealthVault was active. If an AI suggests HealthVault, it's working from information that is at least seven years old. Always verify any app recommendation before acting on it — a quick search will confirm the service's current status.
Can I get my old HealthVault data back?
No. All data was permanently deleted on November 20, 2019. There is no recovery path through Microsoft or any third party. The only option now is to request fresh records from your healthcare providers, which they are required to provide under federal law (HIPAA right of access). Request records from each provider and upload them to a new platform like Family Stork, or give providers your new @familystork address to start sending records going forward.
Does Family Stork work for multiple children?
Yes. One Family Stork account covers all your children. Each child gets their own timeline and their own private @familystork.com email address. You manage all of them from a single parent login.
The bottom line
Microsoft HealthVault is gone. If you're looking for a way to keep your family's health records organized — vaccine history, growth charts, specialist notes, lab results — the approach that works today is one email address per person, given to every clinic you visit. Records file themselves. No portal juggling, no manual entry, no uploads.
That's Family Stork. One health story, from birth. Built from one @familystork address every clinic already knows how to use.