Okay, that’s it, it’s time. Everyone panic. According to a Windows Insider blog post, the new beta channel of Windows 11 will soon feature opt-out recommended apps from the Microsoft store in the Start menu.
If you’re confused about why that’s a cause of concern, it effectively means that the Microsoft overlords are attempting to introduce advertisements to a new, previously untouched area of the OS.
Building on top of recent improvements like grouping recently installed apps and showing your frequently used apps, we are now trying out recommendations to help you discover great apps from the Microsoft Store under Recommended on the Start menu.
Now, Microsoft can try to word this as a great new feature we should be excited about, but it’s just another way for ads to be crammed down our throats, much like the Search bar already does.
To be fair, all ads on Windows can be opted out of, but it’s still ridiculous that a paid-for OS keeps trying to find new ways to darken our doorstep by pushing ads into places they have no right to be.
As of now, the only hope we have is that the poor Beta channel users who are set to be subjected to this give enough negative feedback that the Microsoft overlords never push it to the rest of us poor, poor, unfortunate souls.