Posted May 05, 2021
nightcraw1er.488: Really, I have installed all the updates on multiple machines and never seen a bar anywhere with advertising. Likely you have some setting enabled, like that nuisance cortana. That is one of the first things that gets removed. Just go through all the privacy settings and turn it all off, then uninstall all windows apps, then use geek uninstall to remove all the rest. You can also use things like win10 shut up to remove telemetry and such like.
timppu: Not sure if Cortana is enabled, but if it could be switched off during the Windows 10 installation, then I have it switched off because I did select the "strictest" privacy settings that one could select there, like "send only the 'important' telemetry and your secrets to MS, not the whole memory dump of your PC".. At least I am not talking to my Windows and it is not talking back to me, so if that means Cortana is switched off, then it is.
The attached picture shows what I am talking about, that weather thing in the task bar (and the news popup) just appeared there after the latest (feature?) update.
If you are not seeing it, are you using e.g. local account? I am using the Microsoft account because Windows kept insisting using it, I don't recall if I had to use it for Office720 or something similar... Either way Windows kept insisting using an online MS account, I don't recall the exact details.
So I am unsure if that new thingie appears only if you use the MS account in Windows. Either way, it was not opt-in as I would have preferred.
What you could try is download geek uninstaller, it’s portable and free. Run it and see what is installed, there are two sets, your installed apps which is shown by default and under view you can select windows apps. Could be something installed which you can remove.
Is it a Pro version? I only use Pro.
I think you meant office 360, yes that is the online Office and so does want you to have a M$ account. It’s should not make a difference though, I also use my account (as I use VS), and I don’t have that, so I suspect it’s something installed which I removed.
Yep, online is not optional anymore with anything.
Edit, the attached shows what I have left in Windows Apps, and thats only as I have not worked out what they are for.
Post edited May 05, 2021 by nightcraw1er.488