Microsoft is starting to enable ads in the Windows 11 Start menu for all users. After briefly testing them with Windows Insiders earlier this month, Microsoft this week began distributing update KB5036980 to Windows 11 users, which includes “recommendations” for Microsoft Store apps in the Start menu.
“The Recommended section of the Start menu will display some apps from the Microsoft Store,” Microsoft says in the patch notes for its latest public version of Windows 11. “These apps come from a small, select group of developers.” The ads are designed to help Windows 11 users discover more apps, but will largely benefit the developers Microsoft is trying to get to create more Windows apps.
Microsoft only started testing these ads two weeks ago, so it’s surprising to see this “feature” progress from the beta channel to release in such a short time. At the time of initial testing, I mentioned that Microsoft “might decide to abandon these ads” if there were enough comments suggesting they weren’t popular, but two weeks of feedback certainly isn’t enough for the determine.
Luckily, you can turn off these ads, or “recommendations,” as Microsoft calls them. If you have installed the latest update KB5036980, go to Settings > Personalization > Start and turn off the “Show recommendations for tips, app promotions and more” toggle. Although KB5036980 is currently optional, Microsoft will release it to all Windows 11 machines in the coming weeks.
Microsoft’s decision to enable ads in the Windows 11 Start menu follows similar promotional spots in the Windows 10 lock screen and Start menu. Microsoft has also begun testing ads in Windows Explorer. files from Windows 11 last year before disabling the experiment and stating that the test was “not intended for external release.” Let’s hope that this experience really remains an experience.
News Source : www.theverge.com
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