Microsoft Isn’t Giving Up on Testing Ads in Windows 11 Start Menu

Ads are annoying, but Microsoft is testing more ways to add them to the Windows 11 Start Menu.

In a new preview build for Windows 11, Microsoft showed off how the experimental ads will appear. They work by adding an exclamation mark to your account at the bottom of the Start Menu. A pop-up will then encourage you to sign in with an official Microsoft account, so you can try backup and cloud services through the paid Microsoft 365 platform or OneDrive. 

(Credit: Microsoft)

The company first showed off the ad concept in November and again last month(Opens in a new window) in other Windows 11 preview builds, which caused some people to respond harshly. “Getting ads in software you pay for is absolute bullshit,” wrote(Opens in a new window) one user on Reddit.

But despite some backlash, it looks like Microsoft isn’t ready to give up on the idea. “We are continuing the exploration of badging on the Start menu with several new treatments for users logging in with local user accounts to highlight the benefits of signing in with a Microsoft account,” the company wrote in release notes(Opens in a new window), which try to position the tests in a positive light. 

Microsoft is only testing the ads in the “Dev channel” for the Windows 11 Insider builds, not the mainstream OS release. The goal is to first gather feedback before a potential wider rollout. 

Still, the tests show how and where Microsoft could end up injecting the ads in the Start Menu. It also remains unclear if you can shut off the notifications; the demo images merely show a “remind me later” button instead. That said, both Windows 10 and 11 have included various controls to tamp down on the Microsoft suggested products from appearing on the OS.