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As promised, Microsoft is promoting "some of the great apps."
Image credit: Microsoft
A couple of weeks ago, we learned about Microsoft's intent to include ads in the Start menu in the Recommended section, and this day has come. On April 23, Windows 11 users received a KB5036980 update introducing the feature so they can now see Microsoft Store apps "from a small set of curated developers." This is supposed to "help you to discover some of the great apps that are available."
"If you want to turn this off, go to Settings > Personalization > Start. Turn off the toggle for Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more."
Image credit: Microsoft
As we've mentioned before, this is not Microsoft's first foray into ads on Windows: users can find more on the Windows lock screen as a part of the Windows Spotlight feature, also, several years ago, the company added a new type of banner ad in Windows 11's File Explorer but then removed it.
Aside from that, the Recommended section of the Start menu will show your most frequently used apps in the coming weeks. Other than recommendations, Microsoft improved the Widgets icons on the taskbar so they are not pixelated or fuzzy anymore, and Widgets on the lock screen are more reliable and have improved quality.
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