Microsoft Pushes Harry Potter Ads to Windows Desktops via Bing Wallpaper, Contradicting Agreement
Microsoft has used its Bing Wallpaper app to display promotional images for Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films on some Windows 10/11 desktops, marking the first time the company has turned user desktops into an advertising space. The app's download agreement states that installation implies consent to receive promotional notifications from Microsoft, but the actual behavior of changing wallpapers to ads goes beyond that. Microsoft has not confirmed whether this is a temporary campaign, a regional test, or a new business model.
Microsoft has previously promoted the Bing Wallpaper app, developed by its Bing team, through various channels. Once installed, the app automatically changes the desktop wallpaper daily, using images from Bing Search's daily featured photo. The Bing Wallpaper download agreement states that installing the app means the user agrees to receive in-app notifications from Microsoft that include promotional offers.
Recently, some users found their Windows 10/11 desktop wallpapers replaced with promotional images for the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts film collections. Microsoft delivered this advertisement through Bing Wallpaper, using a mechanism that rotates ads by region and device, so not all devices received the ad wallpaper. Microsoft has not officially confirmed whether this is a temporary commercial campaign, a regional test, or a standard business model for Bing Wallpaper going forward. This is the first time Microsoft has used Bing Wallpaper to turn user desktops into an advertising space.
The Bing Wallpaper official website still promotes the daily automatic wallpaper change as its main selling point, and the download section retains the notice that installing Bing Wallpaper means receiving promotional notifications from Microsoft. Microsoft has guided users to install Bing Wallpaper through system notifications, and many users installed the app after receiving such prompts. In a previous update, Bing Wallpaper added a feature that opened Bing Search when clicking on an empty desktop area, to promote Bing Search; that feature was later removed and is no longer enabled by default.