Microsoft is apparently testing showing ads to non-Office 365 subscribers in its Windows 10 Mail app

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Published onNovember 16, 2018

published onNovember 16, 2018

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Microsoft could soon show ads to users of its Windows 10 Mail who don’t have an Office 365 subscription. Italian blog Aggiornamenti Lumia spotted a banner ad in a new version of the app that shipped to Insiders, but the banner apparently only shows up in the “Other” section of an email Inbox with the “Focused Inbox” feature turned on.

Bad news: Mail for#Windows10is getting ads for non-office 365 subscribers!https://t.co/xDELzAClJqpic.twitter.com/gXkQXab5Wr

— Aggiornamenti Lumia (@ALumia_Italia)November 16, 2018

A pop up window in this version of Mail for Windows 10 explains that users can get rid of ads by subscribing to Office 365. As a reminder, Microsoft’s Outlook.com email service also offers an ad-free experience to Office 365 subscribers, and this was previously one of the features ofMicrosoft’s now-deprecated Outlook.com Premium service.

This isn’t the first time that we see Microsoft making one its stock Windows 10 apps slightly inferior for average users. The companydid the same with its Photos app, which requires an Office 365 subscription to unlock all 3D effects, music and text styles in the “Story Remix” feature. Other apps like Office Mobile also require an Office 365 subscription for editing on devices with screens bigger than 10 inches.

It’s not clear yet if the ads in Windows 10 Mail is just an experiment with select Insiders, but we guess a lot of users of the app probably won’t be happy to see ads in their email inbox. Do you think this is a good strategy to push more consumers to subscribe to Office 365, or a step too far? Sound off in the comments below.

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time).

For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web.

Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they’re looking for.

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Radu Tyrsina

With KB5043178 to Release Preview Channel, Microsoft advises Windows 11 users to plug in when the battery is low#

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Microsoft will raise the price of its 365 Suite to include AI capabilities#

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Microsoft is apparently testing showing ads to non-Office 365 subscribers in its Windows 10 Mail app#

With KB5043178 to Release Preview Channel, Microsoft advises Windows 11 users to plug in when the battery is low

Copilot in Outlook will generate personalized themes for you to customize the app

Microsoft will raise the price of its 365 Suite to include AI capabilities

Death Stranding Director’s Cut is now Xbox X|S at a huge discount

Outlook will let users create custom account icons so they can tell their accounts apart easier

Microsoft is apparently testing showing ads to non-Office 365 subscribers in its Windows 10 Mail app