Microsoft (or actually Micro$oft) started selectively placing ads in applications from their Windows suite.
Fake advertising
The mailing app from Windows 10 now has a hyperlink named “Get Gmail on your phone”. This might seem ok at first, but looks are deceiving in this case. Microsoft’s false advertisement game can barely be considered acceptable. The aforementioned “Gmail” link, when clicked, opens a navigator tab towards outlook.com, which is solid proof that Microsoft willingly plays games with their customers. This is not the first time they do such things. For many years we forcefully received Internet Explorer up until the point when EU regulation and huge fines made it change. Unfortunately for users, paying for the Windows operating system isn’t enough for Microsoft to provide an ad-free experience.
Fake links have been injected into two core Windows 10 apps: Mail and Calendar. Regardless of the app, the links point to Microsoft’s apps, even if the links clearly read “get GMAIL”, and it all ends up on Outlook.com.
Plenty of users have noticed this peculiarity and they are definitely not happy, because these obtrusive links cannot be removed or turned off either.
Such advertisements appear for every user and as of right now, they *only* appear in Windows 10 Mail and Calendar. Those who are logged in with an Outlook account are encouraged to install the designated Outlook app. This doesn’t bother everybody functionality – wise, but it certainly isn’t easy on the eyes, especially because the app is paid.
