Windows Latest recently reported that Microsoft is showing new ads on Windows 11, including one for Black Ops 6: Vault Edition and another for the Microsoft Defender app (the cross-platform version), which requires you to use Microsoft 365. In a statement to Windows Latest, Microsoft confirmed that these “notifications” were indeed served to users.
If you visit us daily, you probably know that we test everything before we post an article over at Windows Latest. While using the Windows 11 24H2 production build, I noticed two notifications, which were basically ads for Black Ops 6: Vault Edition and the Microsoft Defender app.
As you can see in the above screenshot, Windows 11 is using the native notifications feature to recommend buying Black Ops 6: Vault edition from the Store. There’s a buy button, which opens the Microsoft Store and allows me to purchase the game. I clicked the Dismiss button, but the catch with dismissing these alerts is that they can reappear.
The next day, I noticed an advertisement for Microsoft Defender, which opened the webpage of Microsoft Defender’s Microsoft 365.
Isn’t Defender completely free? Yes, it is, but Microsoft recently developed a new “Microsoft Defender” app that allows you to monitor all your PCs and devices (Android and iOS) for phishing and malware scans.
The reason Microsoft is running ads for the Microsoft Defender app is it requires you to have a Microsoft 365 subscription.
“Get advanced security in one app on your devices with Microsoft Defender,” Microsoft noted in the ad, giving you two options: Stay safer, which opens Microsoft’s subscription website (in the above screenshot), and Dismiss.
Microsoft confirms running these ads, offers steps to turn them off
I reached out to Microsoft to understand if these were some new ads or tied to one of the existing Windows 11 features.
In a statement, Microsoft called these ads or recommendations “notifications”, which give you the choice to discover new products or services.
“These are notifications giving people the option to purchase Black Ops 6: Vault Edition from the Microsoft Store or to download the Microsoft Defender app,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Windows Latest.
“We value providing our customers with choice, so there is an option to dismiss the notifications, as well as the option to manage your preferences in settings,” the company added.
Microsoft shared steps that anyone can follow to permanently these notifications or ads (it depends on what you call them).
To turn off these recommendations and pop-ups in Windows 11 for Microsoft products or games, you can open System > Notifications.
As shown in the above screenshot, we recommend you to turn off the toggles/options you see above. These are linked to some types of ads or recommendations in Windows 11.
If you don’t want to turn off everything, just toggle off “Get tips and suggestions when using Windows,” which is responsible for ads we’re discussing in this article.
Turning off all toggles will disable all ads you see in Windows 11.
What about you? Have you seen similar ads in Windows 11? Let us know in the comments below.
The post Microsoft confirms showing two new ads on Windows 11, calls them “notifications” appeared first on Windows Latest
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