Windows' default Weather App will soon have ads and news
Microsoft is working on an updated version of the official Windows weather application. The new version of the Weather application has new features but displays advertisement in a prominent location as well. The current version of the Weather app does not have any ads.
Windows users on Windows 10 or 11 devices may load the Weather app from the Start Menu. They may also pin the app to the taskbar for fast access.
The Weather app makes a few preparations on first start before it displays weather details to the user. Here is a screenshot of the current Weather app on a stable version of Windows 11.
The startpage of the Weather application displays the current temperatur, an hourly and weekly forecast, and more information. There are also options to load maps and 3D maps, access historical weather information, or display weather information for favorite locations.
The new Weather app, which is already integrated into development builds of Windows, offers quite the different experience. Windows testers may need to check for updates in the Microsoft Store before the new version becomes available. It has version 4.53.51085 at the time of writing, but new versions may be released that increment the version.
The new Windows Weather app has more features and options, which some of its users may appreciate. Here is a screenshot of the first page that you see when you launch it.
Note that the page adjusts to the screen resolution. You may notice the map that is now displayed and that the app has more colors and information about favorites right on the startpage.
What you may also notice is the ad that the Weather app displays now on it as well. This ad loads automatically and it may reload in intervals to display new ads.
There is also a new Suggestions section, which may suggest to take an umbrella with you or the type of clothing that it considers most appropriate for the weather.
When you scroll down, you get a list of several map views that you may access, and below that trending news. The section includes ads as well, and brings news from MSN to the Weather app as well.
Microsoft is pushing MSN News and Microsoft Account services into different areas of the Windows operating system. The new Weather app has a few additional new features, such as hourly and monthly forecasts.
Windows users who do not want the new weather app may want to turn off automatic application updates in the Microsoft Store. It is a temporary recourse only, as the next feature update will update all native apps automatically.
To do so, open the Microsoft Store app, click on the profile icon at the top, and select Settings. Uncheck "app updates" there to block the Store from updating applications automatically. Individual apps may be upgraded via the library feature in Store at any time.
Closing Words
Microsoft continues its push of news and ads in Windows. It is unclear when the new Weather app update will be released to stable versions, but it is certain that the update will be released later this year.
Now You: what is your take on Microsoft's current strategy? (via Deskmodder)
Ads now showing on the weather app for items I have no interest in. WOKE propaganda will be force fed next.
…Including extra telemetry.
Coming Soon…ads on the BSOD
LOL
curl comes with windows now, so instead of using the weather app, open a terminal window, then type: curl -s http://wttr.in/washington
Can it be deleted?
The app can be uninstalled in an easy way directly with right click icon at start menu.
Sites I check every day: https://www.knmi.nl/home and https://nieuw.weerplaza.nl/nederland/amsterdam/5575/ which are more than adequate for my needs. Don’t need all the other MSN crap.
There is none of this crap because I am still using Windows 7 happily at home. Sadly, I still have to use Windows 10 at work, and all of their older programs are gradually getting updates that incorporate advertisements. At some point, an iframe of MSN.com will be present in each app. It’s sad to see how low Microsoft has sunk and how cheap Windows has become. Hopefully the person responsible for these dumb ideas is fired soon.
Windows 7 users don’t have to do much, and by the day, their OS ends up looking better and better,LOL
Great example of how to stop people form using an app
Weather has always been one of the first apps I remove, so no biggie there. If I want to check the weather, I use my phone or a proper web browser.
or an gadget for w10-11 like 8gadgetpack.
Who cares, just uninstall bloatware like this as one of the first things you do on a fresh install.
Users were awake and waiting with trepidation when Microsoft will finally add ads in everything… Let’s guess – this is done in order to “protect the environment”. This is the most common justification for everything in terrorist USA!
One of the few apps that worked well, now they are going to destroy it with ads and nonsense.
That screenshot is the current msn weather page. So now the weather widget is a web browser too?
That introduces unacceptable security risks.
The weather tile is the ‘only’ live tile I’ve ever used. If they stuff ads in it I’ll have to turn to a third party app.
It would be nice if you’d reccomend alternatives when delivering bad news such as this.
Pushing users away has always been one of the major strong points of MS