--- title: "Microsoft May Start Putting Ads in Windows File Manager" description: "There’s still a chance Microsoft may stuff ads in its File Explorer — you know, the thing every Windows user uses basically every single day? While testing out the latest build of Windows 11, French Windows podcaster Florian discovered an ad offering users to check out a different piece of Microsoft software, Microsoft Editor. Brandon […]" date: "2022-03-16" modified: "2022-03-16" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/microsoft-ads-windows-file-manager" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "advertising" - "microsoft" - "the digest" --- # Microsoft May Start Putting Ads in Windows File Manager ![There's still a chance Microsoft may stuff ads in its File Explorer — you know, the thing every Windows user relies on to access their files?]() *\Image: Futurism\* ## More Ads There's a chance Microsoft may stuff ads into Windows File Explorer — you know, the file manager that you use to access your files? It's the last thing we need: intrusive advertising distracting us from getting our work done, and on software that we paid dearly for. While testing out the latest build of Microsoft's Windows 11 operating system, a renowned Windows tinkerer who goes by the handle Florian [discovered an ad]() offering users to check out a different piece of Microsoft software, Microsoft Editor. "Some people will go mad if Microsoft starts adding ads in explorer," Florian wrote in [a tweet](). "Y'all better stop this nonsense now," another Twitter user [replied](). "If you want people ditching Explorer for something else, this is how you do it. Cut it out." Brandon LeBlanc, senior program manager for Windows, said in a [statement to *The Verge*]() that it was a mistake and not intended to be pushed to the public. "This was an experimental banner that was not intended to be published externally and was turned off," LeBlanc told the publication. ## Ads Everywhere But the damage was clearly done. The incident shows that Microsoft is very capable of stuffing ads in its operating system. Besides, as *The Verge* points out, Microsoft didn't exactly rule out the possibility of future ads in Windows 11, either. It's not even the first time the tech company promoted its own software in File Explorer. Back in 2016, Microsoft [inserted a huge banner]() advertising its own cloud storage service. Microsoft has also littered the rest of its Windows operating system with ads over the years, from lock screen ads to annoying tiles in its Start menu. Needless to say, shoving products down the throats of its already paying Windows customers is a bad look. Besides, it's exactly the kind of anti-competitive behavior that [landed Microsoft in hot water]() over forcing Internet Explorer on its users back in the late 1990s. **READ MORE:** [Microsoft says Windows 11 File Explorer ads were ‘not intended to be published externally’]() \[*The Verge*\] **More on Microsoft:** *[Microsoft Created Creepy Algorithm to Predict Which Specific Teens Would Get Pregnant]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()