With update KB5036980, currently optional but deployed in the coming weeks to all Windows 11 users, Microsoft has opened the door to advertising within the Start menu. More precisely, these are “recommendations” for software offered in the Microsoft Store.
A nice addition for developers, less so for users
Until now, the Our recommendations section of the Start menu only displayed the latest installed applications and files used by the user. But you’ll soon see software there that you don’t own, from the Microsoft application store. The objective being, unsurprisingly, to generate installations and thus encourage developers to offer their applications on the Redmond firm’s solution.
Microsoft specifies that the applications displayed come from a “small selection of hand-picked developers“. The company seems not to want to hang around, because testing around this addition only started two weeks ago in the beta channel. Usually, several months are needed before seeing a test come to fruition or not. Previously , the addition of ads in the Windows 11 file explorer had also been abandoned.
The good news is that fortunately it is possible to deactivate these recommendations/ads. For that :
- Go to Windows 11 Settings (from the toothed wheel in the Start menu for example).
- Here, it is the Personalization menu on the left that interests you.
- Within it, click on the Start section
- Finally, uncheck the Show recommendations for tips, shortcuts, new apps, etc. box.