Microsoft Start Menu Promotions in Windows 11 Beta: Store Recommendations

Microsoft has quietly begun testing app promotions inside the Windows 11 Start menu, placing Microsoft Store recommendations directly into the Start menu’s Recommended area for select Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel — a move that is enabled by default, limited to U.S. Insiders, and explicitly excluded from commercially managed devices, but which can be disabled by end users through Settings.

Background​

For more than a decade Microsoft has experimented with bringing promotional content into the Windows user experience. Windows 10 introduced “suggested” apps in the Start menu and promotional lock‑screen experiences; Windows 11 has seen adverts and promotional nudges appear in File Explorer, the lock screen, and Settings. Those earlier experiments set the stage for the current test: Microsoft’s Insider program is being used to surface app recommendations in the Start menu’s Recommended section, this time focusing on items available in the Microsoft Store.
This current test surfaced in Beta Channel preview builds and is intentionally scoped: visible to a “small set” of Windows Insiders in the U.S., flagged as experimental, and—according to Microsoft’s messaging—meant to collect feedback. The feature is enabled by default in these preview builds but is reversible via Settings, which suggests Microsoft is still treating it as an opt‑out experiment rather than a fully baked rollout.

---

What Microsoft is testing now​

How the placement works​

• The recommendations appear in the Start menu’s Recommended area — the same real estate that normally surfaces recently added apps, frequent files, or helpful shortcuts.
• Instead of only showing local context (recent files or installed apps), the Recommended area is being used to surface Microsoft Store app suggestions — effectively promotions for apps from Microsoft’s storefront.
• The experiment is being delivered to Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel and is currently limited to U.S. testers. Commercially managed devices (work or school machines) are excluded from the rollout.

User controls​

Microsoft’s preview notes and in‑build toggles indicate the feature can be disabled in Settings. The toggle resides under:
Settings > Personalization > Start > “Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more.”
Turning that toggle off removes the promoted recommendations from the Recommended area, though doing so may also affect other Recommended content depending on how Microsoft links the feature internally.

---

Why Microsoft is doing this​

There are several strategic and practical reasons a company might test in‑OS promotions like this:

• Monetization and store growth: the Microsoft Store is a revenue and ecosystem play. Surfacing apps directly inside the operating system improves discoverability for partner apps and Microsoft’s own offerings.
• Engagement for new features: pushing apps and experiences to users inside core UI areas increases the chance users will try Microsoft’s services — including subscription and premium experiences like Microsoft 365 or paid Copilot tiers.
• Controlled experimentation: the Windows Insider program lets Microsoft measure user reaction, telemetry, and opt‑out rates before deciding whether to scale the change.

From a product‑management perspective, this is a low‑friction, high‑visibility mechanism to increase discoverability. From a user‑experience perspective, it’s an encroachment of commercial content into a piece of UI historically reserved for quick access and workflow.

---

The user reaction so far​

User feedback in Insiders and the broader Windows community has trended negative when previous promotional experiments were launched. Reactions commonly include:

• Frustration: many users treat the Start menu as sacred, a productivity launcher that should not be a marketing surface.
• Distrust: paying customers, including those with Microsoft accounts or subscriptions, often feel promotions inside OS components diminish perceived value.
• Pushback through feedback channels: previous experiments (for example ads in File Explorer) were rolled back or modified after negative community response, indicating feedback mechanisms still matter.

Microsoft’s decision to allow turning the feature off will dampen backlash for some users, but making it enabled-by-default in preview builds risks negative press that could scale back the experiment or influence public perception long term.

---

Technical and privacy considerations​

Any time an operating system surfaces “targeted” content, several technical and privacy questions arise:

• What data is used to generate recommendations? Are recommendations contextual (based on local activity and installed apps) or derived from cloud signals tied to a Microsoft account?
• Is any new telemetry or additional metadata being collected to support the recommendation engine, and is that data shared outside Microsoft?
• How persistent is the storage of recommendation history, and is there a clear opt‑out that stops data collection as well as presentation?

Microsoft’s public Insider notes state the experiment is only shown to Insiders and excluded from managed devices. That helps narrow enterprise risk, but it does not eliminate consumer privacy concerns. Until Microsoft publishes explicit detail on recommendation signals and data collection, the privacy implications remain partly opaque.

---

Enterprise impact and administration​

Microsoft has excluded commercially managed devices from this specific test, but administrators should still prepare for potential future rollouts. Recommended administrative considerations:

• Policy review: confirm current Group Policy and MDM controls that manage Start menu and personalization settings, and test whether proposed toggles will be enforceable via policy.
• Insider channel controls: block or limit Insider channel enrollment on managed devices to avoid preview features being introduced in corporate environments.
• Telemetry audit: assess whether devices enrolled in preview channels send additional telemetry and whether that telemetry is acceptable under organizational privacy and compliance standards.
• Communication plan: prepare messaging and support articles for users in case similar features are introduced on production builds.

Enterprises should assume Microsoft may iterate on these tests and make them broadly available; proactive policy and testing will minimize disruption if that happens.

---

How to disable the promoted recommendations (practical steps)​

For users who prefer the Start menu to remain uncluttered, Microsoft has provided a built‑in toggle in the Settings app. The most direct steps are:

• Open Settings (Windows + I).
• Go to Personalization > Start.
• Toggle off: “Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more.”

Turning this off should remove Microsoft Store suggestions from the Recommended area in the Start menu. If users want additional de‑marketing, they may also consider:

• Settings > System > Notifications: disable “Get tips and suggestions when using Windows.”
• Settings > Privacy & Security: review diagnostics and advertising ID settings to limit personalized suggestions across the OS.

Advanced users can also wait for or employ Group Policy/MDM options once Microsoft publishes them for broader releases, and community utilities (third‑party tweaking tools) often surface additional registry edits for power users who want deeper control. However, altering registry or system policy carries risk and should be done with caution.

---

Assessing the damage: what stage of “enshittification” is this?​

The term “enshittification” has become shorthand among many users and commentators for the lifecycle pattern where a service or platform:

• Starts by providing utility and value,
• Grows dominant or indispensable,
• Shifts focus toward monetization and attention extraction,
• Degrades user experience in pursuit of higher revenues.

Placing ads or promotions inside a core OS surface like the Start menu is a hallmark of the monetization phase that follows platform maturity and user lock‑in. Evaluating the current test against that lifecycle:

• This is not the beginning: Windows has already integrated promotional content across various UI touchpoints for years, so the practice is mature, not new.
• This is clearly monetization: using the Start menu to push Microsoft Store apps is an explicit revenue/engagement tactic.
• It is not quite absolute extraction: Microsoft still allows users to disable the feature in Settings and is testing only within Insiders, which signals caution and a desire to measure backlash.

Given those factors, this experiment best fits the mid‑to‑late monetization stage of platform enshittification: Microsoft is aggressively testing ways to monetize core UI real estate while still hedging against backlash by keeping it behind the Insider program and by exposing toggles that let users opt out.
If the company flips this to a permanent, default‑on behavior in general consumer builds — especially if opt‑out becomes difficult or unavailable, or if paid subscribers continue to see promotions — then it would move firmly into the late stage where user experience is meaningfully compromised for short‑term revenue aims.

---

Strengths and weak points of Microsoft’s approach​

Strengths​

• Controlled testing: using the Insider Beta Channel and limiting the experiment to a small geographic subset enables Microsoft to measure impact and iterate.
• Clear opt‑out: the inclusion of an explicit toggle in Settings gives users immediate control and reduces the surface area for complaints.
• Product discoverability: surfaced recommendations can legitimately help discover valuable apps and services that users might benefit from.

Weaknesses and risks​

• Default‑on friction: making ads enabled by default, even in preview channels, risks poor first impressions and negative press.
• Trust erosion: placing promotions inside the Start menu — a core productivity surface — risks undermining users’ trust in Windows as a neutral, reliable workspace.
• Fragmented controls: if the “off” toggle removes both promotional and genuinely useful contextual items (like recently accessed files), the tradeoff will frustrate users who must sacrifice utility to avoid ads.
• Privacy ambiguity: until Microsoft fully documents what signals power recommendations, privacy‑sensitive users will worry about additional telemetry.

---

Recommendations for Microsoft​

To reduce user friction and preserve trust while experimenting, Microsoft could consider:

• Make experiments opt‑in rather than opt‑out for mainstream channels. For example, show a clear “Try this” card that users can enable if they want to see recommendations.
• Clearly label promotional content as “Suggested apps” or “Promoted by Microsoft Store” so users can distinguish between native system suggestions and commercial promotions.
• Publish a privacy FAQ that lists exactly what signals are used to generate recommendations, how long data is retained, and how to opt out of both recommendations and the underlying data collection.
• Provide durable administrative controls for business and education customers, including Group Policy and MDM options to lock the feature off.
• Limit promotions for paid Microsoft services on devices where the user has an active subscription (avoid showing upsell prompts to paying customers).

These changes would demonstrate respect for user control and privacy while preserving the Store’s discoverability goals.

---

Guidance for Windows users​

For users who want to keep ads out of their Start menu and generally reduce promotion across Windows:

• Disable recommendations: Settings > Personalization > Start > Turn off “Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more.”
• Turn off tips and suggestions: Settings > System > Notifications and disable “Get tips and suggestions when using Windows.”
• Tighten privacy/telemetry: Settings > Privacy & Security — review Diagnostics & feedback and advertising ID settings.
• Avoid Insider Beta if you want a stable, ad‑free experience: Insider channels are testing grounds and may expose preview features not present in production builds.
• Use local accounts where feasible: some recommendation and personalization signals are tied to Microsoft accounts; a local account limits cloud‑driven personalisation.

If you are an IT administrator, implement controls to block Insider enrollment on corporate devices and prepare policies to lock personalization features if needed.

---

What happens next​

Microsoft is explicitly soliciting feedback during the Beta Channel rollout. That means the feature may evolve, be refined, scaled, or — if reaction is sufficiently negative — be rolled back. Historically, Microsoft has both continued experiments that tested well and pulled features that drew sustained criticism, so the ultimate outcome will depend on telemetry, Insider feedback, and the company's broader strategy for Store growth and Copilot monetization.
For users, the immediate action is straightforward: if you see recommendations you don’t want, the Settings toggle is the quickest way to remove them. For the broader Windows community, the test is a signal: Microsoft continues to view Windows as a platform for product discovery and monetization, and that strategy will shape future releases.

---

Conclusion​

This Start menu experiment is a clear example of a platform taking a visible step into monetizing a core UI surface, with Microsoft balancing product‑growth goals against user expectations by using the Insider program and offering an opt‑out. The move sits in the mid‑to‑late monetization phase of the “enshittification” lifecycle: aggressive in intent but still hedged with controls and experimentation.
Users who value a clean, non‑commercial Start menu still have recourse today — the toggle in Settings — but the long‑term implications depend on whether Microsoft keeps the feature optional, documents the privacy signals behind it, and preserves administrative controls for businesses. If the company fails to preserve those protections, similar in‑OS promotions will likely become a persistent presence in Windows’ UX — a shift that will test user tolerance, trust, and ultimately Microsoft’s relationship with the very customers who rely on Windows every day.

---

Source: Mashable Microsoft is testing out start menu ad placement in Windows 11