Microsoft likes to promote its own services in Windows 10. To remove these annoying tips, suggestions, and pop-ups, make these tweaks in the settings menu.
(Image: Shutterstock) We think highly of Windows 10, but things haven’t always gone smoothly. From privacy concerns to buggy updates, Microsoft’s operating system has seen its fair share of controversy. It’s surprising, then, that the company continues to double down on its most annoying feature by keeping advertisements inside Windows 10. Thankfully, most of these ads have simple toggles to turn them off within the settings menu. The steps below may not remove everything, but should tone things down to some extent. Microsoft has a history of bringing ads to new places and restoring “suggested” apps that have already been removed with Windows updates. Note that, while there are plenty of third-party tools that claim to do all of the below (and more) in one click, I generally don’t recommend using them. Windows 10 “privacy” tools may seem quick and convenient, but many of its options can depend on other settings. By using these one-size-fits-all tools—many of which dig into the Registry—you can make it difficult to troubleshoot why other settings don’t act the way you want. You’re better off doing it yourself, so you know what to go back and tweak later if something goes wonky. Remove Promoted Apps From the Start Menu The Start menu has gone through a lot of changes in Windows 10, but if pre-installed games and other live tile clutter wasn’t enough to annoy you, Microsoft has now started including “suggestions” to lure you over to its own apps. If you use Chrome, for example, your Start menu may badger you to switch to the new Edge. You can turn these off by opening Settings > Personalization > Start and unticking the Show Suggestions Occasionally in Start option.
