With an ad here, and an ad there, here an ad, there an ad, everywhere an ad! Old Microsoft is dead set on bringing ads to every part of its latest operating system.
And this should come as no surprise, considering it is even considering an ad-supported variant of the OS.
The concept of ads in Windows has long been controversial in the community ever since the dawn of Windows 10. While some newbies find them welcome, most users believe that Microsoft has no right to spam them with advertisements once they pay for a product.
But Redmond doesn’t seem bothered by this, as the software titan continues to display ads for its products and services in the OS and, occasionally, third-party solutions.
Now, the company is experimenting with a new idea that is, again, sure to fuel frustration in the community.
As spotted, some new ads have made their way directly to the user session flyout in the Start Menu.
They show up once you access the user section controls, a private and cloistered area of the operating system. Seeing advertisements here is no fun sight, and putting advertisements there does not make the ads feel like home.
For starters, we have an ad for OneDrive, which promotes the cloud file storage service:
And then, there are recommendations for a Microsoft Account:
What’s more annoying than the fact that these ads are listed alongside important buttons that enable signing in and changing account settings is that they cannot be disabled. Windows 11 does not provide a way to turn off ads completely through the operating system, after all.
Microsoft justifies these new ads as helpful badges meant for new novice users, but it is clear that these are advertisements.
The software titan is still testing these ads with a select group of users in the latest preview builds, alongside ads and popups on the taskbar itself. Since these are still under testing, there is a chance that it could likely change based on the feedback and criticism from the community.
Speaking of which, the community seems annoyed by this, so we will have to see where it goes.
