Microsoft might be working to bring ads back to the Start menu in Windows 11.
According to a post from PhantomOcean3 on X, better known as Twitter, recent Windows builds updated text in the Settings app for Start menu recommendations says, “Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more.” (emphasis ours).
The change doesn’t appear to be widely available yet. On my Windows 11 laptop, that same Settings option says “Show recommendations for tips, shortcuts, new apps, and more.”
PhantomOcean3 included another picture in their tweet showing a promoted app in the Start menu. Promoted apps would include a ‘Promoted’ tag to help users identify them at a glance.
Looks like the Start menu's Recommended section will be getting app promotions, similar to suggested apps in Start in Windows 10. This can be toggled off from Settings (Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more). pic.twitter.com/zYYnTKs9qw
— PhantomOcean3 🌳 (@PhantomOfEarth) April 9, 2024
It’s worth noting that Microsoft used to show ads in the Windows 10 Start menu as well, but it went away with the jump to Windows 11. While it is coming back, at least there’s still an option to toggle off recommendations to avoid the ads.
Regardless, it sucks that this is even a concern in the first place. The Start menu is a core tool for using Windows, allowing people to quickly access apps and files on their devices. Gumming up the works with ads isn’t going to improve people’s experience using Windows, and it just feels bad with all the other ways Microsoft uses Windows to push its other products, like the Edge browser, on people.
Source: PhantomOcean3 Via: XDA Developers
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