Get ready for more ads in Windows 10 after the Anniversary Update

By Brad Jones Published May 16, 2016

advertising blitz windows 10 anniversary update will double start menu ads windows10startmenu big — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Microsoft has unveiled plans to double the amount of ads injected to the start menu in Windows 10. This tweak will go live alongside the Anniversary Update, which is expected to hit in July — marking a year since Windows 10 launched in 2015.

At present, users can expect to see five promoted apps interspersed with their own content whenever they open the Start Menu. Once the Anniversary Update has been applied, this number will grow to ten promoted apps, and there’s sure to be scores of users who are upset with this kind of embedded advertising.

Recommended Videos

Microsoft has stated that any promoted apps that are preinstalled can be completely removed from the system, according to a report from The Verge. The company has also confirmed that promoted items can be removed from the start menu, but it seems that this only refers to individual apps, rather than an option to block all advertising.

Many were surprised when Microsoft announced its intentions to release Windows 10 for free, but now we’re seeing the fruits of its efforts. This form of content promotion could be a very attractive proposition to advertisers, given that there’s a captive audience of 300 million to put products in front of.

Windows has long been the top OS for choice users, but now it’s in competition with mobile operating systems like Android and iOS. In this new landscape, a prosperous app store is vital — and giving users another way to discover new apps is something that developers will welcome with open arms.

However, it remains to be seen whether or not an injection of more ads will harm the user experience. The Anniversary Update also marks the cutoff for free upgrades from previous versions of Windows, but changes like this one are sure to make traditionalists think twice about making the jump.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…

Computing

You have one year to safely use Windows 10 before you’ll need to pay

Microsoft will be allowing consumers to join its Extended Security Updates (ESU) program for the first time next year, and it announced the program pricing today in a blog post. The official end-of-service date for Windows 10 is October 14, 2025, but by paying $30 to join the ESU program, you can receive an extra year of security updates. This will allow you to continue safely using Windows 10 until around October 2026, a full two years from now.

By the time support for Windows 10 ends, it will be almost exactly four years since Windows 11 launched and a decade since Windows 10 launched. It takes a lot of work to keep an operating system secure and running smoothly, which is why a company like Microsoft can't just endlessly support every version of Windows it's ever shipped. It would end up costing a lot more money than it made -- and that's not how businesses function.

Computing

Microsoft is forced to halt the Windows 11 24H2 update on some PCs

The Surface Pro 11 on a white table in front of a window.

Microsoft’s recent Windows 11 24H2 update is off to a bumpy start. According to a report by Bleeping Computer, users are facing compatibility issues across various hardware and software configurations, prompting the company to temporarily block the update for some devices.

The affected systems include specific Asus laptop models and configurations involving software like Voicemeeter, Safe Exam Browser, and older versions of Easy Anti-Cheat, commonly used in gaming.

Computing

Windows 11 24H2 may crash your PC if you have a certain SSD

The blue screen of death in Windows.

Microsoft's Windows 11 2024 Update, more commonly referred to as 24H2, is here, but it's not without issues. Reports from disgruntled users have flooded various forums, talking about constant blue screens of death (BSOD) that have appeared since they updated to the latest version of Windows. Although Microsoft has yet to officially acknowledge the problem, the users seem to have pinpointed the cause of it, and even found a workaround.

So far, it looks like these crashes are fairly limited in scope, as they seem to happen if you have one of a few Western Digital SSD models. Other SSD vendors appear unaffected so far. As reported on the WD Community Forums, users are getting BSODs with the error "critical process has died" ever since they updated to the 24H2 update.