14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is fully committed to its mobile apps (and by mobile I mean Android and iPhone), and the company seems ready to experiment with all kinds of ideas in order to boost its number of users on these two platforms.
The most recent example concerns Microsoft’s Android apps, which have started showing ads in the Share menu in an attempt to convince users to install other apps developed by the Redmond-based tech giant.
Specifically, AP discovered that when using a Microsoft app and trying to share a file, the Share menu that typically displays the icons of the apps already installed on your device now includes shortcuts for other Android apps developed by Microsoft and which aren’t installed.
Tapping such an icon, which typically includes the tag (Install) points you to the Google Play Store, where you can download and install the Microsoft application.
Microsoft must accept user feedback
By the looks of things, this happens in more than just Android app, so it’s most likely a behavior that Microsoft is planning to use going forward. While the ads aren’t necessarily intrusive since they’re just placed in the Share sheet, they make this menu even more cluttered.
And worst thing that could happen is, as the cited source also notes, more developers following in Microsoft’s footsteps and beginning to advertise their other apps in the Share menu. If this happens, sharing something on Android would really become a pain in the neck, as quickly finding a specific app would be much harder.
Microsoft has obviously remained completely tight-lipped on this approach, but given that the whole thing is unlikely to be received well by its users, it’ll be interesting to see how the company deals with all the criticism.
Microsoft's officials claim the software giant is all about feedback these days, and this ad blunder would be a good moment to prove us that this is indeed true and the company can quickly adapt to user suggestions.