Windows 11 Start Menu Categories Explained: Local JSON, Privacy, and Limitations

Windows 11's Start menu is once again at the center of user experience discussions, this time with a significant but subtly implemented change: the introduction of Categories powered not by cloud intelligence or real-time AI inference, but by a hefty, locally-stored 15MB JSON file. While artificial intelligence and cloud dependency are increasingly common in modern operating systems, Microsoft's decision to design the new Category system as an entirely offline—and surprisingly static—architecture is a study in pragmatic software engineering and the ongoing balance between user autonomy, privacy, and product control.

The New Start Menu Experience: Single-Page Simplicity with Automatic Categorization​

The latest Windows 11 25H2 update, gradually rolling out to testers via the Windows Insider Program, brings a streamlined, single-page scrollable Start menu layout. Central to this redesign is the Categories feature, offering users an automatically organized presentation of their apps. If you’re looking to manually create or curate categories, however, you’re out of luck: in this iteration, all categorical organization is decided by Microsoft.
While the move delivers a more organized and arguably less cluttered Start environment, it also strips away the customization that power users frequently request. This is not merely a UI preference but reflects a larger trend in tech—balancing “it just works” simplicity with user empowerment.

Unpacking the Categories System: A 15MB JSON File, Not AI Magic​

At first glance, the fluidity and accuracy with which apps are grouped under dozens of categories might seem to require cloud-based AI or real-time Microsoft server queries. But a closer (and technical) inspection by Windows enthusiasts and researchers, notably Albacore, reveals that categorization is entirely local and statically determined.
The system works as follows:

• A large, compressed JSON file—roughly 15MB when decompressed—contains a mapping of nearly every Microsoft Store package family name to a numeric category code.
• Each integer code corresponds to a category like Productivity, Social, Creativity, Games, Entertainment, Music, and so on. For example, code ‘0’ might map to Productivity, ‘1’ to Social, ‘2’ to Creativity, etc.
• Offline logic: When a new app is installed, the Start menu checks its package family name against the JSON mapping. If a match is found, the app gets automatically placed in the appropriate Category. If you install Windows Media Player from the Store and there are at least three apps already flagged for the “Music” category, Media Player will appear in that group.
• Database maintenance: Microsoft updates this JSON database not through massive system updates but via Store or Shell component updates delivered through Windows Update, allowing for fast adaptation to newly branded or released package names without a full OS relaunch.
• No “Cloud AI” or server pings: There is no evidence (from code references or network traces by community experts) that the categorization mechanism pings Microsoft servers or leverages AI models for its logic. All assignment happens on-device.

Local Intelligence: App Reordering and Adaptive Organization​

While Categories themselves are static assignments, the Start menu’s implementation does add a layer of adaptive intelligence—app reordering within categories. This part is subtle but measurable in terms of user experience:

• Usage-based ordering: Each time users open the Start menu, Windows locally tracks app launch frequency and reorders apps so the most frequently used appear first within each category.
• No server calls: This personalized behavior, too, operates entirely offline and is based on local usage statistics, ensuring that activity data is not transmitted to Microsoft’s servers or third-party endpoints.

Advantages: Privacy, Speed, and Reliability​

1. No Cloud Dependency​

By eschewing server-side categorization or remote AI, Microsoft ensures that Start menu categorization is:

• Private: No user app data (e.g., install or usage habits) leaves the device for organizational purposes.
• Low-latency: Groupings and reordering happen instantly, unaffected by network availability.
• Resilient: Functionality persists even if the device is offline or the cloud infrastructure is temporarily unreachable.

2. Predictability and Compatibility​

A static JSON mapping makes the system’s behaviors predictable for advanced users and support professionals. When an app is unexpectedly categorized, power users can inspect the mapping (assuming they decompress the JSON) and trace exactly why, down to the package family name.

3. Easy Updates, Minimal Friction​

By delivering database updates through component-level Store or Shell updates, Microsoft can:

• Correct category mappings quickly (e.g., after an app rebrand or new popular release)
• Avoid requiring users to download full OS releases for such minor adjustments

Limitations and Risks: Lack of User Control and Scalability Issues​

1. No Custom Categories​

Perhaps the biggest source of user frustration is the inability to create or label custom Categories. Every group is predetermined, with no facility for users to define, rename, merge, or split app groups to reflect their own workflows or preferences. Historically, Windows has offered at least some level of Start menu customization—Live Tiles, pinning, and folders—which makes this reduction feel like a step backward for enthusiasts and power users.
Many users and reviewers expect that custom categories will become one of the most-requested features, and history suggests such core UI changes can take years to percolate through Microsoft’s product pipelines.

2. Potential for Outdated or Incomplete Categorization​

Because the JSON mapping is a static snapshot periodically maintained by Microsoft, there are risks:

• Newly released or niche apps may go uncategorized until the next mapping update.
• Rebranded apps, fast-moving releases, or those published outside the Microsoft Store might not be recognized by their modern package family names, resulting in “uncategorized” or misplaced entries.
• User confusion can arise when an app appears in an unexpected category due to incomplete or incorrect mapping.

3. Bloated Local Resource​

A 15MB JSON file is not insignificant, especially on lightweight, resource-constrained devices. While compressed at-rest, the decompressed mapping must be parsed locally, which may have marginal impact on systems with low memory or storage—particularly thin clients, education devices, or older hardware not designed for large data blobs in the user shell.

4. Security Vector​

Although unlikely, any system that updates core logic files (even via secure channels like Windows Update) could become a target for malicious manipulation if not properly secured and validated. A compromised mapping could, in theory, be used to hide, miscategorize, or “promote” unwanted software in the Start interface.

Comparing Microsoft’s Approach to Competing Start Menus​

Virtually every major operating system and desktop environment provides some form of application grouping. macOS’s Launchpad, for example, employs a mixture of category-based default groupings and user-defined folders, while Linux desktop environments like GNOME or KDE offer deep menu customization out of the box.

• macOS: Allows both default categories and user-created folders directly within Launchpad, blending automation with personalization.
• Linux: Offers maximum flexibility but at the cost of complexity; users can typically create, delete, or script their own menu structures.

By contrast, Microsoft’s decision to tightly control grouping with no user overrides is a clear statement about their target audience for Windows 11: mainstream, less technical users who benefit from consistency, versus tinkerers who prioritize customization.

User Reactions: Mixed Impressions in the Insider Community​

As Windows 11 25H2’s new Start menu propagates to Insider testers, early feedback—gathered from forums, social platforms, and direct engagement—is divided.
Positive Observations:

• Streamlined organization: Many users appreciate the out-of-the-box order and reduced clutter, especially on new installs or after migrating from previous versions.
• Speed and privacy: Users notice and praise the lack of network-dependent delays and the knowledge that app usage data stays local.

Negative and Cautionary Feedback:

• Reduced control: Enthusiasts and “power users” are frustrated by the inability to arrange, merge, or define their own groups.
• Occasional mismatches or unexpected categorizations: When an app lands in an unintuitive place, users are left without a mechanism to fix it.
• Desire for greater transparency: Some technically minded users ask for a published schema of the category mapping or an API to allow third-party customization.

Microsoft’s Likely Path Forward: Customization on the Horizon?​

History suggests that pressure from vocal users can (eventually) bring about increased flexibility in Windows’ UI paradigms. Precedents include the gradual expansion of Live Tile options in Windows 8/10, the evolution from the classic Start menu to modern variants, and the eventual restoration of “Folders” after initial removal in early Windows 11 builds.
It’s technically “doable” for Microsoft to expose custom category creation—either through a graphical interface or by supporting user-supplied mapping overlays. The next logical steps, if user demand remains high, could include:

• Allowing users to manually create, name, and reorder Categories
• Supporting drag-and-drop category assignment in the Start menu UI
• Publishing the schema to enable advanced scripting (similar to PowerToys or community tools)

Implementation timelines, however, are always fraught with delay for changes that deeply impact the OS shell, which must remain accessible and bug-free for a global audience across countless hardware configurations.

Security and Maintenance Considerations for Enterprise and IT​

Enterprise administrators and IT professionals may also want to take note of the new categorization approach. In managed environments:

• The static, local nature of the mapping simplifies audits and change tracking, allowing for easier whitelisting or compliance verification.
• Absence of remote calls or cloud dependency means Start menu behavior can be more easily predicted, tested, and locked down for enterprise deployments.
• However, the lack of direct control may prompt requests for Group Policy or MDM-based override mechanisms—a natural extension given enterprise needs for consistency and branding.

Summary: A Modern Windows Feature With Classic Trade-offs​

By anchoring Start menu categorization in a local, static JSON database and eschewing both AI and cloud dependency, Microsoft delivers speed, privacy, and reliability—but at a cost to personalization. Power users may lament the loss of manual control, while mainstream users benefit from a clean, consistent, and seamless launch experience.
This classic engineering trade-off—simplicity versus flexibility—is at the heart of Windows 11’s current design philosophy. Whether future iterations restore greater customizability depends largely on community feedback, competitive pressure, and Microsoft’s readiness to embrace complexity for the sake of user empowerment.
Until then, every time you install an app and see it smartly placed under “Productivity,” “Games,” or “Social,” know that there’s no AI wizardry or server-side profiling at work—just a quietly updated, 15MB JSON file doing its job in the background, organizing your digital life with the efficiency and opacity of a classic Windows subsystem.

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Source: Windows Latest Windows 11 Start menu uses a 15MB JSON, not AI, to organize apps under categories