Microsoft has found a new place for ads in Windows 11: in the sign out menu

Even though we pay for Windows operating system licenses, Microsoft believes the money it collects from customers isn’t enough to cover its costs. So the company has been trying for years, with varying degrees of success, to integrate advertisements for other services in its portfolio into various parts of Windows. Recently, it found a new place to promote its services: in the Sign Out menu in Windows 11.

Microsoft promotes its extra services for a fee in Windows 11 menus

Some users have noticed during use that when they click on the user’s name in the Start menu in Windows 11, a new option appears. Normally there you would have the Sign Out option to change the user, the Lock Computer option and quick access to account settings. But it seems Microsoft is testing the introduction of a new, dynamic button that changes from time to time, promoting various services or components in Windows.

For example, sometimes this button encourages users to sign up for OneDrive to back up to the cloud. Other times, if you don’t use a Microsoft account to log in, you’re urged to sign up for one, and if you’re already signed up, you have the option to “fill in” your profile with personal data you haven’t yet provided.

Turns out OneDrive isn’t the only thing that can be advertised here, prompts for creating a Microsoft Account can appear as well 😔 pic.twitter.com/ZXjdv44Byn

– Albacore (@thebookisclosed) November 7, 2022

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen such tactics from Microsoft, and the company has previously responded to other such tests and removed ads from places users found them intrusive. It remains to be seen whether these “ads” will remain in Windows 11 or be removed in a future update.

Most likely, Microsoft will wait to take the pulse of the user community. If there aren’t enough complaints, the ads will probably stay in place. Since they are displayed in a menu that you rarely access, it’s likely that many will never even see these ads.