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Microsoft Will Stop Spamming Android Users With Office Ads In The Notification Tray (betanews.com)
An anonymous reader writes from a report via BetaNews: The notification tray in Android serves a very specific purpose. There's a clue in the name -- and it's nothing to do with advertising. Android user Thom Holwerda was upset this week when Microsoft Office for Android started to spam him with ads for apps he already had installed. There are many questions here, one of which is why is Microsoft ignoring Google's guidelines and using the notification tray to display ads? Thom, from the website OSnews, found that the copy of Word he had installed on his Nexus 6P was spamming him with ads for Excel and Powerpoint -- which he was already using. Mark Wilson from BetaNews contacted Microsoft and they said, "Our team is actively investigating the occurrences of these notifications." After pressing further into the issue, a Microsoft spokesperson said, "Microsoft is deeply committed to ensuring that we maintain the best possible experience for our customers in addition to complying with all applicable policies. We have taken the action to turn off these notifications. This update will be reflected in the coming days." In other semi-related news, users can now remove the 260-character path length limit in the Windows 10 build 14352.
The kindle app spams the notification bar too.
"Microsoft is deeply committed to ensuring that we maintain the best possible experience for our customers in addition to complying with all applicable policies. "
Uhoh, so that means they won't quit spamming you in the Notification Center, and clicking the close X will instead take you to the play store page for office.
Likely they will make sure there are 10-20 chime reminder sounds that will play too whenever the ad spam is onscreen.
After the next update they will raise he price of their apps and install malware to open the play store and purchase office apps for you again all silently in the background.
People don't like being spammed with ads in any notification tray. Learn your lesson, Microsoft. This applies to GWX every bit as much as it applies to Office.
Some day when our neural implants wake us up at 3am with notifications full of advertising spam, we'll all laugh and pine for the good old days when we could simply ignore the phone and go back to bed. We're already tumbling down the slippery slope. They can pretend to care and apologize all they want, we know the truth.
FTA: "Microsoft is deeply committed to ensuring that we maintain the best possible experience for our customers". This from the company that brought us trickery-based forced 'upgrades' to Windows 10? Who are they trying to fool?
Why do companies bother to say this kind of crap? Do they think we believe them? Is it a nervous tic? Maybe the marketing droid equivalent of boilerplate legal disclaimers? These assholes should really listen to themselves some time. Then again, self examination is clearly not something they're willing or able to do.
Maybe corporate person-hood, along with the legal rights it bestows, should also allow for corporations to be locked up in psych wards until their sociopathic / psychotic / schizophrenic symptoms and behaviours are under control and they're judged fit to return to society.
'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
One of the beauties of Android?
You can just "turn off notifications" on a per-app basis. It's literally like one press-hold and one click from any notification you see.
I got the notification spam from Microsoft apps too, and the solution was simple. I disabled any notification for the offending apps in Android. When I want to work on a document I open it. There is no need for notifications of any kind in this type of application. So in a classic example of cry wolf, Microsoft has made it so that I will no longer get any notifications from their apps.
If you really think you need telemetry off because "OMG, they're spying on my secrets" (which by the way has been shown to be false), then just set a firewall rule to block the endpoints for their telemetry. They do document them.
was the first thing i disabled on my samsung when i got it, along with office apps there is onedrive and onenote and skype, all of which had their permissions removed and disabled from running, i would uninstall them completely if i could do it without rooting my phone, i did not know samsung included so much third party crapware so now my next cellphone will be a Nexus and hopefully google will not include microsoft's products pre-installed
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
All the shit Microsoft have pulled the last year only mean that a lot of people gets pissed off.
Microsoft has become that guy in the office nobody can stand because he is a total asshole but they have to deal with him on a daily basis anyway - which means when they get the chance to get rid of him they will.
--- Reality doesn't care about your opinions, it happens anyway and if you are in the way you'll get squished.
In other semi-related news, users can now remove the 260-character path length limit in the Windows 10 build 14352."
How the fuck is that even remotely related?
"OMG, they're spying on my secrets" (which by the way has been shown to be false)
Where was this shown to be false? The packets phoning home from Windows 10 are encrypted. No one but Microsoft can definitively say what they contain, and my trust for Microsoft has evaporated lately.
"Microsoft: Where '50 Shades of Grey' is not Surburban Wife Porn, but a Management Philosophy . . . "
(evil grin)
Slashdot is not your personal blog.
...There are many questions here, one of which is why is Microsoft ignoring Google's guidelines and using the notification tray to display ads?...
Probably for the same reason that Microsoft is ignoring their own guidelines and making the "X" dismissal of a dialog box mean "OK, do it".
.
Microsoft is starting to look desperate for ongoing customers, and they have realized they cannot compete when they stay within the guidelines that everyone else respects..
Marketing can never see a message delivered, be it a pop-up, pop-under, tray message, anything, as a failure.
Every impression is a success.
But the rest of the product team should be more circumspect, and recognize this for what it is - abuse.
QA is dead to me, Agile notwithstanding.
deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
"Our team is actively investigating the occurrences of these notifications."
So their app is pushing advertisements for other apps of theirs? What is this supposed to be? A glitch?
I had to uninstall the version of Office that came with Windows 10 to get rid of the 'Upgrade Office Today!' notifications. I upgraded to LibreOffice, of course.
Here's all you need to know:
Microsoft doesn't care what its users want, Microsoft cares about what Microsoft wants.
And now you know everything there is to know about Microsoft.
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
Microsoft policy #1292: If the media starts reporting on Microsoft being a dick, apologize and claim that we're improving the user experience.
Microsoft policy #1293: Blame the user.
Venus, Inc.
by Frederik Pohl, C.M. Kornbluth
Subliminal ads projected onto your retinae. A very good and topical read. Published in 1984 no less. Think I'll go have a venus cola now, suddenly I have a craving.
errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
Of course he's condescending. He's from Microsoft and following police #1290.
Enemies that throw chairs at you are easy to deal with; dodge the chair, speak in slow quiet tones when he's nearby. Enemies that seek to undermine you are more difficult, you need to be on constant vigilance.
If you block the telemetry by using your hosts file, it won't always work because some of this software ignores the hosts file and uses hardcoded addresses. You need an external firewall to block them, and remain vigilant to changing addresses. This is not something easy for the normal user.
It only works if you do it at the router level. Windows ignores it own firewall when it comes to telemetry. Good luck preventing it when you are using a wifi hotspot.
Microsoft policy #1293: Blame the user.
Isn't that one from the Apple playbook? You're holding it wrong.
APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?