Security News > 2022 > August > Microsoft is showing ads for Microsoft 365 in Office 2021
Microsoft is showing ads for Microsoft 365 Family subscriptions to its Office 2021 customers, offering them discounts of over $28 to get a 3-month Family plan subscription.
Several users have reported seeing these ads this week, starting on August 10, with Lee Holmes, a Principal Security Architect at Microsoft Azure Security, also sharing today a screenshot showing the ad displayed as an alert bar under the Office menu.
As shown in the screenshot below, Microsoft has tagged this ad as a "LIMITED OFFER," allowing customers to "Get 3 months of Microsoft 365 Family for only $$0.99.".
Other customers have seen slightly different worded ads saying, "For just $$0.99, get 3 months of Microsoft 365 Family and share with up to 5 people. It is like getting six subscriptions in one. TERMS APPLY.".
Microsoft also displayed ads for Microsoft Edge in the Windows 10 Start Menu every time users searched for competing browsers, prompting them to download the new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge.
Some of these tests also had unintended consequences, with Microsoft breaking the Windows Start Menu and Taskbar while testing Microsoft Teams ads on Windows Insiders.