Microsoft is currently rolling out Windows update KB5036980 to users with Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2. One of the novelties in it is the advertising in the Start menu, or “recommendations” as the company calls it, which for some time has been included in beta versions of the system.
It is about shortcuts to programs distributed through the Microsoft store, and Microsoft writes that it is about “programs from a few selected developers” and that the function should help users “discover some of the great programs available”, Neowin reports.
Advertisements are automatically activated after the system update, but can be turned off by checking “Show recommendations for tips, shortcuts, new apps and more” in Settings -> Personalization -> Start.
This isn’t the first time Microsoft has placed advertising of any kind in the Start menu. The company has shown “recommendations” there in the past, and in Windows 10, Microsoft started shipping, among other things, different variants of the game Candy Crush.
