Microsoft wants to show you ads in Windows 11's Start menu

Microsoft is testing out new ways to customize the Windows 11 Start menu, with one of the features being advertisements for recommended applications.

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In a Friday blogpost the company outlined that its testing out the new feature within the latest Windows 11 Insider Preview Build, and the goal behind the update is to expose users to more applications from the Microsoft Store. Users that have downloaded the latest insider preview build will notice clicking on the Start button displays two sections, one for Pinned applications and one for Recommended apps. The Recommended section has the chance to display ads for apps within the Microsoft Store.

Notably, Microsoft is only rolling out this feature to users who have downloaded the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3495 (KB5037000) and have enrolled in the Beta Channel for insiders. Additionally, Microsoft is only pushing out the feature to a small group of people who are within the Windows 11 Insiders program and are using their Windows 11 install as an individual. This means any Windows 11 PC that's considered a commercial device won't get the ads.

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If you want to get rid of the ads that can be easily achieved by heading to: Settings > Personalization > Start. Then switching "off" for "Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more." Within this section of Setting you can also change the layout of the Start menu.

It should be noted that just because Microsoft is testing a feature within its Windows 11 Insider program doesn't mean that it will be rolled out as a feature for all Windows 11 users.