Microsoft Is Testing More Ads In Windows 11 And Not Just In The Start Menu

Windows 11 Settings could potentially be a new place to harbor more advertisements, because Microsoft still thinks nothing encourages folks to purchase their products more than in-your-face advertising.

In the past year, Windows 11 have begun testing and/or incorporating ads within the OS, such as in the Start menu (specifically the user session dialog window), in File Explorer (as part of Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22572), or as full-screen splashes. Now, it seems like Microsoft has found another space in the operating system to promote its products.

Updates were made to the Microsoft Account portion of the upcoming Settings Homepage, here's how it looks now + a preview of end of product support notices that can appear in the Account page pic.twitter.com/DwYEKqOb9n

— Albacore (@thebookisclosed) May 5, 2023

In a recent tweet, Albacore shared screenshots of ad cards making their way to Windows 11 Settings. Although there's no specified timeline, it's clear that Microsoft is paving the way to sell Microsoft 365 content, for better or for worse. From the tweet, the ad requests the user to try the 365 service for free. Looking at the Accounts screengrab, we could surmise that the ad card popped up on the Settings home page because the test user had reached its end of support for Office 2013. Albacore adds that this change is showing up in Dev channel build 23451, so we'll see if this ad change sticks or is nixed. 

While it seems like Microsoft's decision have become inevitable, on the bright side, this situation could've been worse—at least there are no spam, adult content, or gambling ads to deal with. We are curious to see if the ads will actually go away if the user does purchase the product(s). If you have any experience with this, we'd love to hear from you in the comments below.