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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchMicrosoft Store app recommendations began appearing in the Windows 11 Start menu’s Recommended section after the April 23, 2024 KB5036980 preview update. News outlets called them ads because they promoted apps in a system launcher, while Microsoft describes related content as recommendations and personalized offers. The initial preview was optional, so “all users” did not mean every Windows 11 device received or displayed them at the same time.
What KB5036980 changed in the Windows 11 Start menu
Microsoft’s April 23, 2024 release notes for KB5036980 said that the Start menu’s Recommended section would show some Microsoft Store apps. Independent coverage described the change as ads: BleepingComputer reported that the optional April 2024 non-security preview enabled the recommendations for Windows 11 versions 22H2 and 23H2, while TechSpot and The Register also called attention to the ads.
The timing matters: KB5036980 was an optional preview update, not an update that every device necessarily installed on April 23. Later servicing and broader consumer rollout were distinct from that initial preview phase. The available reporting does not establish a single share of Windows 11 users who saw the recommendations, or prove that every device received them.
Are the Recommended apps really advertisements?
They are recommendations for Microsoft Store apps placed in Windows’ Start launcher. Microsoft’s current privacy documentation groups relevant content under “Personalized offers,” which can include ads and recommendations for Microsoft and third-party products, services, features, apps, and hardware. That terminology helps explain why Microsoft may call an item a recommendation while news coverage calls the placement an ad: the labels differ, but the content promotes apps within the operating system.
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Microsoft also says Windows can personalize Start based on apps a person launches. The rollout was an advertising placement, but the cited sources do not report how many people saw, clicked, or generated revenue from it. Microsoft Advertising’s statement that the Windows Start menu is used by more than 1 billion people worldwide describes the placement’s potential audience, not the number exposed to these recommendations or their engagement.
How to remove or reduce Start menu recommendations
Windows has controls for recommendation-related personalization and for Start’s appearance. The exact labels and available switches can differ by build and edition, so check what your installation offers.
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Manage personalization and offers
- Open Settings > Privacy & security > Recommendations & offers.
- Review the personalization and offer settings shown on your PC, then turn off the applicable options if you do not want Windows to use personalization for recommendations.
Microsoft documents this area as a way to manage related personalization. A privacy setting may affect how recommendations are personalized without necessarily removing every recommendation or every item in Start.
Review Start menu options
- Open Settings > Personalization > Start.
- Inspect the available options for recommendations and recently used items, and disable the ones you do not want if your build provides them.
Start settings can affect useful recent app or file suggestions as well as promoted content. Choose the options with that trade-off in mind; disabling a broader category of recommendations may reduce useful suggestions too.
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Remove an individual promoted app
If an app appears in Recommended, use the item’s context menu to remove or dismiss that specific entry when the option is available. This addresses an individual item, not necessarily the setting or service that may surface other recommendations later.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the “all users” rollout claim means
The headline describes a broad Windows 11 change, not a synchronized delivery to every user. The feature entered through an optional preview update for Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2; devices that did not install that preview would not have received it through that route at that time. Subsequent rollout and inclusion in later updates could change when a particular device saw the content. Neither the cited release note nor the news reports establish universal exposure, a rollout percentage, or an engagement total.
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