Microsoft clarified late on Monday that its Paint app will still be available on Windows Store for free, after a social media outcry over the ditching of Paint from the new Windows 10 system.

Shortly after Microsoft's original update on the removal of the 32-year-old iconic graphics program, social media entered nostalgic mode. Many used the program to generate a picture reading "R.I.P Paint, 1985-2017." Others shared their Paint creations.

"Today, we’ve seen an incredible outpouring of support and nostalgia around MS Paint," Microsoft wrote in its official blog. "If there’s anything we learned, it’s that after 32 years, MS Paint has a lot of fans."

Using Paint, the company made an image reading "We still love MS Paint" with the word "love" replaced by a heart shape.

The iconic program was introduced with Windows 1.0, the first version of the Microsoft operating system, in November 1985. It was originally incorporated in the system as a licensed version of PC Paintbrush, a graphic editing software made by ZSoft Corporation. The program only supported 1-bit monochrome graphics then. People only started to save images in JPEG file format over a decade later, when Windows 98 was released.

Although the Paint app will not be available on Windows 10 by default, new app Paint 3D will be part of the system's package.