Microsoft’s latest update for Windows 11 users introduces a controversial feature: advertisements in the Start menu. These ‘recommendations’ promote apps from the Microsoft Store, ostensibly to aid users in discovering new software. However, this move also serves the purpose of incentivizing developers to create more Windows-specific applications.
While these ads only entered testing two weeks prior, Microsoft’s swift decision to make them a permanent fixture has raised eyebrows. Despite acknowledgment that negative feedback could lead to their removal, the company has not given users sufficient time to provide meaningful input.
Nevertheless, users who find these ads intrusive can disable them through the Settings menu in the Personalization > Start section. Microsoft plans to make this update mandatory for all Windows 11 machines in the near future, but for now, it remains optional.
This move echoes previous attempts by Microsoft to incorporate promotional content into core Windows features. Similar ads have appeared in the File Explorer and the taskbar. Additionally, Microsoft experimented with injecting ads into the Windows Spotlight lock screen last year, an experiment that was quickly terminated. It remains to be seen whether the Start menu ads will suffer the same fate.
