Microsoft: File Explorer ads in Windows 11 were an accident...sort of

Microsoft has started showing ads for its services in File Explorer in Insider builds of Windows 11. The ads weren't shown to everyone, leading many to believe Microsoft was A/B testing the integration before a full rollout. This obviously also caused a lot of anger in the Neowin comments section. Now, Microsoft has provided some clarification on the controversial move.

Microsoft notes that advertising in File Explorer is unintentional. Windows Senior Program Manager Brandon LeBlanc issued the following brief statement:

This is an experimental banner that is not intended for external distribution and has been closed.

The statement is a bit worrying, though, as Microsoft isn't completely ruling out the possibility of showing ads in the general (GA) version of File Explorer in the future. This time it was published by accident, but it's unknown if they would publish it on purpose weeks or months later.

The latest discovered instance of File Explorer advertising is Microsoft promoting its Microsoft Editor extension. The company has also tried inserting OneDrive ads into File Explorer in the past, but faced backlash. People may object to ads in File Explorer again if Microsoft does continue down this path in the GA version of Windows 11, but it will be interesting to see if the company pays attention to feedback on this front. . It's already trying to monetize massively from inbox Windows 11 apps through expensive subscription plans.

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