14 DAY TRIAL // UPDATE: Microsoft has provided a statement to explain that these should by no means be considered ads because they are, in fact, what it calls "Windows Tips notifications." These notifications can be disabled from Settings and are only supposed to help users discover the best of Windows 10. More information here. Original story below.
Ads in Windows 10 is quite a controversial topic, and we’ve seen many people accusing Microsoft of trying to promote apps (in most of the cases its own) by displaying nags here and there across the operating system.
And it looks like Redmond has found another way to annoy users, as popup ads are now displayed right on the Windows 10 taskbar as little popups that show up at random times.
Brad Chacos of PCWorld has posted a screenshot showing one of these popups, adding that he was using Google Chrome as the default browser - this is what it’s believed might have triggered the ad anyway, as the main purpose should be to convince users to switch from third-party browsers to Edge.
Ad settings were reset
The popup is, in essence, a Microsoft Edge ad that’s trying to highlight some of the capabilities of the new browser, in this case, the Rewards tool. “Wanna earn while you browse? Get free movies and games with Microsoft Edge. See how,” the ad that popped out from the Microsoft Edge icon in the taskbar reads.
What’s also very interesting is that Brad claims this happened on Windows 10 Pro (the version that’s the most often chosen by professionals) and despite the fact that he repeatedly disabled ad preferences in the Settings screen - in a later tweet he adds that all options were reset to default, most likely by the Anniversary Update.
Microsoft hasn’t issued a statement on this, so we don’t know for sure if this is a new way to promote Microsoft Edge browser or not, but we’ve reached out to the company and will update the article when we hear back.
But this wouldn’t be the first time when the company is trying such a tactic anyway, as Microsoft Edge is also being promoted with toast notifications that show up every once in a while, especially on machines where a different browser is being used.
Microsoft is trying to highlight some of the capabilities of its new browser, including power saving, but it seems it’s becoming a little bit too intrusive with all these banners.