Microsoft released a new optional preview update for Windows 11 this week. The changes it includes will be part of the May 2024 cumulative security update. The testing and rollout happened quickly, initially limited to Windows 11 users in the United States.

There were concerns that the change might be pulled before landing in the stable version of Windows 11. A modified version of the feature has now landed in the optional update for Windows 11 Stable. One of the changes in the update is the addition of a “promoted” label to advertised apps, distinguishing them from user-installed apps.

An example displayed in a screenshot is the Opera Browser, which is labeled as promoted and described as “browse safely”. It is unclear who adds the descriptions to these promoted apps, whether it is the company that owns the product or Microsoft. Apart from this change, there seem to be no other significant alterations.

The Start menu’s Recommended section will display some Microsoft Store apps from a small set of curated developers, aiming to help users discover new apps. This feature can be disabled in the Windows 11 Start menu.