The sign-in menu is the latest frontier for Microsoft ads in Windows 11
Most OSes do this kind of thing, but Windows remains uniquely pushy about it.
...
But for Microsoft it's part of an irritating pattern in which the operating system unendingly nudges you in the direction of the Edge browser and Microsoft's search products. Microsoft account usage is also mandatory for the Home and Pro versions of the operating system as of the 22H2 update (though there are workarounds, including third-party tools). Results from the Microsoft Start service abound in the search and widgets menus, and you'll be reminded on a semi-regular basis (especially after major updates) to switch to Edge as your browser and Bing as your search engine. And a long list of third-party apps from the Windows Store are downloaded and installed by default even on a "clean" Windows 11 install.
The company was even caught testing ads for its services in Windows Explorer, though Microsoft quickly noted that these ads were "experimental" and "not intended to be published externally."
The sentiment is perhaps best summed up by the SwiftOnSecurity account: "What executive is going to stand up and make clear every interface surface doesn't need to be revenue-generating?"
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/202...est-frontier-for-microsoft-ads-in-windows-11/