- Bing Wallpaper app has simply arrived on the Microsoft Retailer
- The VP of Bing famous that it is free, not like some rival wallpaper apps
- Digging into the app suggests it stealthily will get as much as all method of nasty tips
Microsoft has made its Bing Wallpaper app accessible on the Microsoft Retailer for Home windows 11 customers, however has seemingly opened up a can of controversy when doing so.
Home windows Newest noticed the discharge of the app on the Microsoft Retailer, and in some methods, it’s moderately odd that we didn’t see the software program arrive right here prior to now, contemplating Bing Wallpaper has been round since 2020 (as a obtain direct from the Microsoft web site).
The discharge was introduced by Michael Schechter, VP of Bing at Microsoft, who included a swipe at different wallpaper apps which cost for his or her providers, mentioning that Bing Wallpaper is free.
The Bing Wallpaper app is now within the Microsoft Retailer, and it doesn’t price $50 per 12 months https://t.co/FPE7pUTm38November 18, 2024
If you happen to’re not accustomed to the applying, it’s a easy sufficient affair that robotically units your Home windows wallpaper to the each day Bing picture (and a few of these pics are actually spectacular, and supplied in 4K too).
Whereas the app is definitely free, there’s an obvious hidden price, as some folks have identified on X and different on-line boards.
Home windows Newest highlights a grievance from Rafael Rivera, a developer and Microsoft MVP, who observes that the wallpaper app additionally installs “Bing Visible Search and has code to peruse and decrypt your Edge and Chrome cookies.”
Rivera then provides that applies to Firefox cookies, as effectively, earlier than offering an inventory of extensions for IT admins to dam with a purpose to curtail mentioned exercise.
Rivera additionally supplies an instance of one of many nasty tips the Bing Wallpaper app can rise up to, and as you’ll be able to see within the put up from X under, it pushes the Microsoft Bing Search extension for Chrome, for these utilizing Google’s browser. It does this by opening a brand new tab promoting that extension whenever you begin up Chrome.
Home windows Newest additionally found that there’s a ‘BGAUpsell’ course of run within the background – BGA stands for ‘Bing Progress Apps’ as Rivera factors out on X – and this exhibits a display screen asking customers to change to the Bing search engine in Chrome.
Here is an instance of one in every of MANY nasty tips Bing Wallpaper employs.After a while passes, and also you shut your non-Edge default browser, Bing Wallpaper fiddles with it and open this tab on begin. pic.twitter.com/nnuzYCRgVbNovember 19, 2024
Evaluation: Massive thumbs-down to the Bing Upsell
Whereas we are able to’t verify the information shared right here, it’s clearly worrying, and each Rivera and Home windows Newest seem to have dug up some concrete particulars. There’s no response from Microsoft or the Bing staff on X to those revelations, and admittedly, it looks like the Bing Wallpaper app is finest prevented by those that are apprehensive about privateness – and never getting hassled to make use of Microsoft’s merchandise – on their PC.
As one other put up on X makes clear within the above thread from Rivera, there’s not likely a necessity to put in the wallpaper app anyway, contemplating that Home windows Highlight ship the identical performance. (Flip it on in Settings > Personalization > Background > Personalize your background > Home windows Highlight).
Okay, so we’re undecided if that is equivalent to the Bing Wallpaper app, but when not, the built-in possibility right here sounds shut sufficient. We’d set up Bing Wallpaper to strive it out and examine, however frankly – we don’t need to, studying all this.
Different stories on Reddit point out that the app wasn’t all the time like this, however was just lately modified. A Redditor notes: “It [Bing Wallpaper app] was once nice and by no means gave popups for Bing, however over the previous few months it has develop into a bit aggressive with recommending Bing and since it’s the solely Microsoft app I’ve that I put in by myself, that’s the solely doable wrongdoer.”
Once more, take that assertion with some liberal seasoning – and the remainder of this – however there’s some consistency across the chatter right here, and we’re undoubtedly not liking the themes being raised round this app.
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