Microsoft bombard Android Notification Center with Office Ads

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A weird thing has happened recently to an Android user who runs several Microsoft apps on his Nexus 6P: ads for Office apps, including Word and Excel, have started showing up on his device right in the notification center.
Thom Holwerda of OSNews has written this week that Microsoft Office for Android put notifications right into the notification tray even though he’s actually an active user of the productivity suite. And what’s even more awkward is that he’s a paying customer, as he purchased an Office 365 subscription because he needs a powerful solution to manage documents on his Android device.

So it was a little bit surprising to see that Word for Android started showing an advertisement for Excel in the notification center, a thing that is not allowed, according to Google Play Store rules.

“First, why is Microsoft sending me an advertisement in my notification tray? Second, why is Word sending me an advertisement for Excel? Third, why is this allowed by Google, even though the Play Store rules prohibit it? Fourth A, why is Microsoft sending me advertisements for products I already have installed? Fourth B, why is Microsoft sending me advertisements for products I already use? Fourth C, why is Microsoft sending me advertisements for products I already pay for because I have an Office 365 subscription?” he wrote.

Microsoft: Okay, we’ll stop
And he certainly has a point here. Leaving aside the fact that displaying ads in the notification center is not in any way accepted, seeing the company promoting products that users already have makes absolutely no sense. Intrusive ads shouldn’t be permitted, and the fact that they’re useless makes the thing even worse.

And it appears that Microsoft fully agrees with this, as in a recent statement for BetaNews, the company has actually acknowledged the problem and promised to fix it. In other words, it’ll stop showing ads in the Android notification center starting with a future update.

“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,” the company has said.

Microsoft is betting big on rival mobile platforms, and this week, Windows boss Terry Myerson explained that the company would continue to invest in apps and services available on iOS and Android. But turning to this kind of strategy to boost adoption of rival platforms isn’t certainly the right thing to do.