Microsoft started implementing advertising in the start menu of Windows 11, and the criticism did not take long. Media like engage He’s talking about Adware and no wonder, given that we are talking about commercial software that we have already paid for.

A few weeks ago, we reported on “some tests” that Microsoft was conducting on Windows 11, and we astutely asked ourselves if this was a “recommendation” or an advertisement. The answer is obvious: it is pure and simple advertising which is now being completed after the release of build 22621.3527 and later.

Microsoft said it will only show recommended apps “from a small group of select developers” who worked in the Microsoft Store. It didn’t work and it didn’t work, which Microsoft itself has now confirmed.

Block advertising in the Windows 11 Start menu

If you want to end ads in Windows 11, we recommend this handy article, where we go through ways to avoid ads in different parts of the system, because Microsoft does not hesitate to place them – openly or covertly – everywhere.

Case at hand, Windows 11 Start menu ad, locks easily:

• Open the Settings app.
• Go to Personalization tab.
• Select Start.
• Turn off “Show recommendations for suggestions, shortcuts, new apps, and more.”
• Take the opportunity to eliminate remaining options such as account-related notifications.

Tell config page (as of build 22621.3527) added another component, “advertisements”, which confirms that it was not a recommendation, but an advertisement. The difference is subtle but crystal clear.

The truth is that the whole affair, although it is repeated, because direct or indirect advertising in the form of bloatware has been on Windows for years, raises eyebrows. Windows 11 is a commercial software by which Microsoft charges an incredible 149 euros for the license cheaper (domestic retail version). We do not believe that advertising of any kind should be included.

Besides, it’s not the best way to improve your market share, which is very necessary at the end of Windows 10’s life cycle. If the Windows 11 Start menu is anything but terrible (and there is usage data for alternative development), notifications are another nail into a development that destroys from within.