Ad-supported Microsoft Office bobs to the surface
- Reference: 1740494767
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/02/25/adsupported_microsoft_office/
- Source link:
On [1]offer are desktop versions – Windows only by the looks of things – of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The ad-supported, free version only shows up for a subset of users.
Those who are offered the ad-supported versions will notice all three have been pared down; for example, Word lacks features like line spacing and borders, Excel is missing elements such as conditional formatting and pivot tables, and PowerPoint does not include animation tools – though The Reg could argue this is an improvement.
[2]
In addition to missing features, all three will only create, edit, or save documents using OneDrive. Direct access to local files is off-limits without paying for a subscription (which will also unlock the missing functionality).
[3]
[4]
The ads are displayed in a persistent banner on the right-hand side and will include video ads, which are thankfully muted. Also missing are Microsoft's AI tools.
The test has been limited, and we could not recreate the findings of [5]Beebom.com , which first reported the ad-supported tier.
[6]
In a statement sent to The Register , a Microsoft spokesperson said the company "has been conducting some limited testing. Currently, there are no plans to launch a free, ad-supported version of Microsoft Office desktop apps."
[7]LibreOffice still kicking at 40, now with browser tricks and real-time collab
[8]You know something's wrong when Clippy fills you with nostalgia for simpler times
[9]Copilot invades Microsoft 365 Personal and Family for an extra three bucks a month
[10]Microsoft investigating 365 Office activation gremlin
That said, it appears things are already well underway, suggesting a broader rollout of the ad-supported Office desktop applications could happen soon. It is perhaps also an acknowledgment of the threat posed by some of the free and open source Office alternatives available as Microsoft increases its prices and adds extra AI services.
Until the ad-supported incarnation, for most users, getting hold of the desktop versions of Microsoft productivity apps required parting with some cash, either as a subscription or as a perpetual license purchase. Notably, these are not Microsoft's existing web apps repackaged for the desktop but the full desktop versions with certain functions locked away.
Microsoft has a long and storied history in advertising. In 2023, it tried shoving ads into the [11]Windows 11 Start Menu , and in 2022, the company experimented with [12]ads in File Explorer .
At least with an ad-supported version of Office, users would be fully aware of what they were getting into, even as Microsoft ensures that it can still get its hooks into them and their data via the requirement for a Microsoft account and the use of OneDrive storage. ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/download-office
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Z733MiqfLBQIO550D_-rDQAAARY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z733MiqfLBQIO550D_-rDQAAARY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z733MiqfLBQIO550D_-rDQAAARY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://beebom.com/microsoft-free-ad-supported-office-quietly-launched/
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z733MiqfLBQIO550D_-rDQAAARY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/13/libreoffice_wasm_zetaoffice/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/05/microsoft_clippy_post/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/17/copilot_microsoft_365/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/12/20/microsoft_office_activation_issue/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/17/microsoft_windows_start_ads/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/15/file_explorer_ad/
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
"bobs to the surface"
You flush and flush, but it won't go.
Perhaps the Macc Lads were singing about Office.
As long as the paid-for versions remain ad-free.
I have no problem if ads are used to support a free version.
However, the second I pay for something - anything - then I require zero ads. (Looks at various streaming platforms and TV providers).
I still can't believe how people willing pay to watch Sky Adverts.
Re: As long as the paid-for versions remain ad-free.
> I have no problem if ads are used to support a free version.
I do. People shouldn't be using a defective product. They should switch to LibreOffice or other open alternatives.
Advertisement is theft. Theft of your attention, your privacy, of your security, of your bandwidth, your CPU cycles and thus electricity, your peace of mind.
A pox upon it!
Video ads will be incredibly distracting whilst typing, and line spacing is one feature I always make use of, as the default line spacing is really not to my liking.
Thankfully, I get a copy through work, so won't have to resort to sticking gaffer tape down the left hand side of my screen to block the ads...
Out of interest: are there particular features you use in this particular product that are not present or available in something like a LibreOffice?
I'm not implying there aren't, I'm assuming there are, and I'm just curious what they would be...
(blinks motherfuckeredly)
That's impressive even for Microsoft! How do you manage to recycle multiple old bad ideas within a decade?
If you need it at all
And I maintain, Libre Office is all most people need, but if you really need this crap, Pi Hole is your friend. I don't know if it would kill Microsoft ads out of the box, but certainly could be configured thus.
Re: If you need it at all
> Pi Hole is your friend. I don't know if it would kill Microsoft ads out of the box, but certainly could be configured thus.
Depends on how they implemented it. All PiHole does is return 0.0.0.0 as the IP address for any domain on its list of domains to block. Normal systems look at that response and go "ok, I guess that must have been a user error in the domain, no biggie, let's just go to the next thing on my list of stuff to do".
So if these ads are implemented to deal with that properly then it may be fine and you'd see nothing. But if they implemented it where if ads don't display, the software refuses to work (think: the app keeps internal record of how many ads it's served you and if you don't meet a min-bar, the app refuses to work), well, that's a different matter.
Again, depending on how they implement it, it may put this product in a CPU death loop where every time it gets a 0.0.0.0 response for domain resolution, it immediately tries the next domain to pull instead of backing off. This could lead to your CPU maxing out because of the tight loop...
But that doesn't solve the problem of it only allowing you to save to OneDrive. You still can't save to your own machine with this edition as planned.
Thanks but no thanks.
"... a free, ad-supported version of Microsoft Office desktop apps."
Which is purposely crippled, shares all your data with MS and bombards you with adverts?
Now that is an offer I can refuse.
I'd rather use Wordstar than put up with that sort of abuse.
Re: Thanks but no thanks.
> I'd rather use Wordstar than put up with that sort of abuse.
I'd rather use WordPad. Except they're removing that.
-A.
What's the point?
If you want a free version of office with fewer features, just use LibreOffice.
It works great, compatibility is generally OK and it's ad-free to boot!
I'm not sure what demographic would choose to use an ad-infested version of MSOffice that can only save to OneDrive instead of LO, but it can't be too big.
Re: What's the point?
I was going to say:
Cue the suggestions to switch to Libre Office in
3...
2...
1...
...but more active commentards beat me to it...
Re: What's the point?
> I'm not sure what demographic would choose to use an ad-infested version of MSOffice that can only save to OneDrive instead of LO, but it can't be too big.
You'd be surprised. I know I am continually surprised at the amount of abuse people allow themselves to be subjected to when it comes to advertisement.
MSO is what they know. It has the buttons where their users have been trained to look for the buttons. People _HATE_ change, even if it's just moving a button 20 pixels to the left. (Remember the amount of whining emanated - and continues to emanate - from some folks because Firefox made a change to its UI a while back?)
Things need to be broken the same way they are broken in MSO for people to consider the software 'working' - as contradictory as this may sound. MSFT isn't even compatible with its own Office Open XML spec. LibreOffice is more compatible (with higher fidelity) than Office itself. This is by design: it lets them cripple things deliberately to keep people on their software. People still consider MS Office as the 'standard' and even though it may be broken, people expect the thing to be broken in the same way MSO is broken.
It's a python-esque (the serpent kind, not the language) approach: every time the user exhales, constrict a little tighter, ratchet the pressure up and never unsqueeze, because ... money.
Hotmail version
Isn't this kind of what the online hotmail \ outlook.com version does?
That "free" version is tied to the cloud and stores in OneDrive.com (so they can sell your more storage).
What is a bigger headache for your Grandma is that old document your Grandpa wrote that she now wants to open on her new laptop. *.docx won't be associated to anything and no way she'll work out how to upload it to OneDrive.
I don't understand why Microsoft has to cling so hard to desktop Word \ Excel. Surely this cut down advert based version was a reason to allow that home user simple document creation on the home PC.
So now, you buy your new computer, and there is NO WAY to actually write a letter any more unless you are online. And this is Progress from the earliest application that the PC ran - the wordprocessor.
Is there no end to Microsoft's sheer contempt?
The Old is New again
So [1]Office 2010 Starter edition all over again ?
[1] https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/getting-started-with-office-starter-379fba5a-6d82-4e19-aa2e-d41627f5ea5e