Microsoft Outlook on iOS and Android now shows more ads than before to push free users towards subscriptions.
Outlook combines users’ email accounts and calendars in a single app which offers users two options to organize their inbox: a single inbox to display all emails or a tabbed inbox split into focused and other categories. Previously, the free version of the app only showed ads in the “Other” section but now, they appear in the single inbox as well.
Microsoft confirms Outlook users on iOS and Android need to enable the “Focused” inbox to see ads only in the “Other” inbox
Microsoft has been implementing the change over the past few months which has made it harder for free users of Outlook on mobile to avoid ads that appear at the top of Other inbox or regular inbox.
In a statement to The Verge, the company’s spokesperson Caitlin Roulston confirmed the change and said that users will have to enable the “Focused” mode to see ads only in the “Other” inbox.
“For free users of Outlook, ads are shown in their inbox and they can choose to enable the ‘Focused inbox’ feature if they would like to see ads only in the ‘Other’ inbox.
New ads look like emails and open through an in-app browser. Even if users swipe to delete them, they re-appear soon after. Thus, the only way for the app’s users on mobile to avoid ads is to subscribe to Microsoft 365.
Nobody likes ads, and Outlook mobile users have left numerous one-star review complaints for the app on Apple’s App Store. Some on Twitter and Reddit have also been expressing their frustration over more ads appearing in Outlook mobile, but the only way to now avoid them fully is by subscribing to Microsoft 365.
Recently, the app on iOS added the support to share photos from the gallery or cloud.
The iOS @Outlook app shows me ads that look like emails now, get the fuck outta here @Microsoft pic.twitter.com/o6dSIY85Yt
— Nick Smith (@yonicksmith) August 16, 2022
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