Microsoft smuggled advertising into Windows 11! We will advise how to get rid of it – SMARTmania.cz

• After the last update, ads may appear in the Start menu
• Microsoft can recommend new applications to you through them
• Fortunately, these recommendations can be turned off

Windows 11 has come a long way since its introduction in 2021, and with continuous updates, Microsoft has made it a usable system. Unfortunately, every now and then there are “improvements” that don’t make users very happy, and one of those arrived this week. Fortunately, this time the fix is ​​pretty easy.

Ads in the Start menu

If you have installed the fresh cumulative update labeled KB5036980, you may come across suggestions of apps from the Microsoft Store on the main Start menu screen. The Redmonds decided to use this route to subliminally push applications to users that they could theoretically be interested in. Advertisements for new applications take the form of an icon in the Recommended section, clicking on this icon leads to a direct download of the application from the Microsoft Store.

If you do not agree with recommending applications in the Start menu, there is an elegant solution – just visit the system settings and in the section Customization – Start uncheck the item See recommendations for tips, keyboard shortcuts, new apps, and more.

This is not the first time that Microsoft has tried to impose applications and services on Windows against the will of the user. Most noticeable is the promotion of OneDrive cloud storage (if you’re not already using it), recently ads have even started appearing in internal test builds and in File Explorer. But according to Microsoft program manager Brandon LeBlanc, the displayed banner was intended only for experimental purposes and was never planned to be deployed in the live version.

Microsoft is trying to find new sources of revenue

In any case, it is obvious that the Redmonds are testing where they could promote their applications and services in Windows. We would still understand this practice for a free system, but Windows is not offered for free – its price is included in the total price of the computer (unless you purchased a license separately).

But as the latest financial results show, the income from Windows is relatively negligible for Microsoft compared to other products, so it is not surprising that the company wants to use its system to promote more profitable services.