Microsoft Drops OneDrive Ads Into Windows 10 File Explorer

UPDATE: Microsoft has contacted Silicon with the following statement: “The new tips notifications within the File Explorer in Windows 10 were designed to help Windows 10 customers by providing quick, easy information to enhance the experience relative to storage and cloud file management. That said, with Windows 10 customers can easily opt out of receiving these notifications if they choose.”

Microsoft isn’t one for holding back when it comes to advertising its products and services, as it has now shown with the introduction of adverts into File Explorer on Windows 10.

Users have been reporting the appearance of more and more banner ads encouraging them to purchase subscriptions for OneDrive and reminding users that they can get 1TB of cloud storage for $6.99 a month.

This new ploy supplements other ads in Windows 10, most notably notification ads for the Edge browser and a pop-up ad for Microsoft’s personal shopping assistant in Chrome.

Ads, ads everywhere

And if the obstructive nature of the ads isn’t enough, users have reported that disabling the ads also turns off all legitimate OneDrive notifications, which will infuriate those who use OneDrive regularly.

To disable the pop-up, go to View < Options in File Explorer and click the “Show sync provider notifications” option.

These File Explorer ads are the latest in a long line of controversies that have hounded Windows 10 since its release in 2015, despite it being widely acknowledged as Microsoft’s best ever operating system and a significant improvement from its predecessor, Windows 8.

It all started with Microsoft’s aggressive tactics used to try and get users to upgrade, which were slammed by consumer watchdog Which? after sneaky tricks such as forced upgrades were used as Redmond tried to reach its lofty goal of getting the OS installed on one billion devices.

Microsoft was even forced to pay $10,000 (£7,600) to a Californian woman after she sued the company for damage caused to her PC by an unwanted upgrade. A company executive did eventually admit that the upgrade push went “too far”, describing the negative publicity as “painful and clearly a lowlight for us”.

The data collection tendencies of Windows 10 also sparked concern. Just last month the EU’s data protection authorities said they are still worried about the amount of user data the OS is collecting  in an official letter to the company.

In more positive Windows 10 news, Microsoft recently updated the OS’ Mail and Calendar apps with a host of new features and is currently testing a new feature that will help to prevent the installation of bloatware.

A hotly-anticipated Creator’s Update is also imminent, which is expected to bring with it streamlined privacy controls, as well as 3D support and mixed reality features.

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