Veronique Palmer

Is Microsoft’s Relentless Advertising inside the Microsoft 365 Ecosystem Ethical?

The accepted rule in technology, is that if you are paying for a license, you don’t get ads. If the tool is free, you’ll get ads.

Using the Microsoft 365 platform entails expenses that can be considered exorbitant for many users. However, Microsoft has started implementing advertising across various business-oriented platforms inside of Microsoft 365.

This raises concerns about the ethical implications and the impact on user experience. Many users, including myself, find this practice highly unethical and extremely annoying. We signed up for and pay for these services with the expectation of being able to focus on our day-to-day tasks without unnecessary distractions of this nature.

It is frustrating to be subjected to incessant internal advertising from Microsoft, especially when it was not explicitly consented to; and his situation merits an explanation from Microsoft.

Advertising is taking place in SharePoint, Word, Excel, Outlook, Purview, the Power Platform, and Defender.

How do you feel about this development?

5 comments

  3. OMG….! I am sooo glad that you mention it!
    As independent consultants, we want to be able to demonstrate that the tools are accomplishing tasks to make life easier but still show clients that they have a choice. However, this marketing bombarding is so insane that some of my clients feel forced to “get it all” (including myself) and as a result they are totally put off by it.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. I despise advertising when you are paying for something. However, I have found “some” of the Microsoft ads informative, it has help me learn about events which has helped me with my career, for examples the Power Platform. I do wish that Microsoft would allow the “users” to decide if these types of ads should be turned on or off.

    Like

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