You should soon see app ads in the Windows 11 Start menu

Microsoft is testing a little new feature on the Start menu side of Windows 11. And that shouldn’t please everyone…

For a long time now, Microsoft has been trying to insert (more or less discreetly) advertising within Windows itself. A few years ago, advertising was seen in File Explorer, through an experimental banner. You will have understood, it is now the Start menu which could do the same.

Who put advertising in the Windows 11 Start menu?

Indeed, some users have already noticed the presence of certain icons in the Windows 11 Start menu. This is particularly the case for the Opera browser, although it is absent from the system in question. And for good reason, the latter is displayed as “Promoted”, i.e. an advertising placement.

Microsoft has always tended to widely promote its products (who talked about Microsoft Edge?) and in-house services within the Windows environment. Currently, this new form of advertising is still being tested with Insiders users.

Currently in the testing phase… and soon for everyone?

Note that a quick tour of the settings currently allows you to deactivate this advertising display, which is activated by default. By going through the Settings box, you can uncheck a box indicating “Recommendations, tips, promotions…” in the Start menu.

Let’s also remember that just because a feature is in the ongoing testing phase does not mean it will necessarily be deployed in its entirety in the future.

On the Microsoft side, we imagine that the objective is to make the Microsoft Store more attractive for developers and application publishers. The American giant is constantly looking for new processes to allow developers to make their applications known. Including the most practical/popular/innovative ones in the Start menu could be a great way to draw attention to them.

Source : XDA Developers