Windows 11 doesn't have enough ads, says Microsoft's latest plan to force more ads onto your PC

Sean Endicott
·3 min read
Windows 11 Start menu.
Windows 11 Start menu.

What you need to know

  • Windows 11 may soon show promoted apps within the Recommended section of the Start menu.

  • The functionality was spotted in testing recently when a keen-eyed user noticed a subtle change in the text description of a Windows 11 setting.

  • Microsoft has promoted apps in the Start menu before, though that decision proved controversial.

  • Windows 11 pins some promoted apps within the Start menu when you install the operating system, but the new option would allow ads to appear within the Recommended section as well.

Windows 11 may soon have another way to promote apps through the Start menu. A setting that's now in testing by Microsoft will allow Windows 11 to show promoted apps within the Recommended section of the Start menu. The option was shown by X user PhantomOfEarth, whose screenshots show that the functionality can be enabled or disabled with a toggle.

"Looks like the Start menu's Recommended section will be getting app promotions, similar to suggested apps in Start in Windows 10," said PhantomOfEarth. "This can be toggled off from Settings (Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more)."

The concept of promoted apps is not new to Windows. Microsoft had apps appear in Windows 10, drawing criticism and causing controversy. While it was possible to uninstall the promotional apps and disable app suggestions in the Windows 10 Start menu, many were unhappy with Microsoft listing apps that users had shown no interest in.

Windows 11, even in its current state, is not immune from promoted apps. Clean installs of Windows 11 have several apps pinned to the Start menu. Many of those are not actually installed on your system, but instead are shortcuts to installing the app in question with a single click. The new option spotted recently is about promoted apps within the Recommended section of the Start menu.

Windows 11 can show apps in the Recommended section of the Start menu, but only newly installed apps. The setting currently reads "show recommendations for tips, shortcuts, new apps, and more." If you install an app on Windows 11, it can appear in the Recommended section of the Start menu if you'd like.

The phrasing shared by PhantomOfEarth states "show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more." It seems safe to assume that app promotion would be for apps you don't have installed.

The change would give Microsoft yet another way to promote apps through the Start menu. Assuming the company goes forward with the change, you'd see some promoted apps pinned to the Start menu when first installing Windows 11 and then more promoted apps in the Recommend section.

What's an ad?

Start menu in Windows 11
Start menu in Windows 11

Read more

- How to disable annoying ads on Windows 11
- How to remove Start menu recommendations on Windows 11

The definition of an ad is surprisingly fuzzy these days. For example, just over half of polled participants (52.47%) considered a prompt in the Start menu to back up files to OneDrive an ad.

Even Microsoft seems unsure if it should call app recommendations ads. According to PhantomOfEarth, some previous beta builds of Windows 11 referred to the recommendations as ads. The current text in testing refers to them as "app promotions." I'd certainly qualify the promotion of an app an ad, but I've been surprised by how people view prompts in Windows before.

Microsoft shifted its business model regarding Windows years ago. The operating system is no longer just a way to access popular programs. It is a pathway to monetization through Microsoft services. The addition of app promotion creates another revenue stream for Microsoft through its operating system.