Microsoft sinks to new lows with Bing Wallpaper 'feature' in Windows 11 that'll either confuse or annoy you

• Microsoft has sneaked a new feature into the Bing Wallpaper app
• This enacts a Bing search when you click on the Windows 11 desktop
• It'll likely confuse people – or annoy them – seeing as this is unexpected and odd behavior, and the functionality is on by default

Those who use the Bing Wallpaper app – which isn't installed in Windows 11 by default, I should clarify – are being treated to a fresh piece of nuisance behavior.

Windows Latest reports that Bing Wallpaper now fires up a Bing search in your web browser if you click anywhere on the Windows 11 desktop, in one of the more bizarre moves Microsoft has made to promote its search engine.

The search pertains to the subject of the desktop background that the Bing app is displaying, in case you want to learn more about it. But obviously it's a problem when just clicking on the desktop, which you might do by accident, fires up your browser with the Bing search engine.

I imagine there will be a lot of confused Windows 11 users out there who've maybe missed a click on a folder they wanted to open and been seriously surprised to be confronted by an explanation of what a two-toed sloth is (the example pic highlighted by Windows Latest).

What's happening here? Well, it turns out there's a new 'feature' in the Bing Wallpaper app which you'll find in the settings – a slider for 'Desktop click opens Bing' which does exactly what it says. And here's the kicker: it's on by default, when an ability like this should clearly be off unless you choose to enable it.

Analysis: capitalizing on casual clicks

There are some small mercies here that are worth noting. First, as mentioned at the outset, you must install the Bing Wallpaper app to have it on your PC; it's not something placed in Windows 11 by default.

Second, by some minor miracle, the Bing search will open in your default browser, not Edge. So, if you use Chrome, at least you'll get Bing in Google's browser, and not a double helping of Microsoft promotion with both Edge and Bing.

The other small relief here is that if you click on the desktop again, soon after having summoned the Bing search once already, you won't get this search presented to you again. Windows Latest experimented a bit, and it seems there's some kind of timer with this functionality that means it won't be repeated in a short space of time (or it possibly only happens once a day). Even Microsoft isn't foolish enough to have a Bing search open over and over every time you click a blank space on the desktop.

These are diminutive mercies indeed, though, and the fact that this feature is on by default is ridiculous enough, frankly. By all means, put the ability in, but leave it turned off, so that it's only used by those who actually want to be able to click on the wallpaper to find out more about it (on the off-chance there are some folks who actually like the idea).

As it is, this is clearly just another way to drum up some Bing traffic in an unfair manner, and it makes you wonder how much of Microsoft's search traffic comes from this kind of misdirection in Windows. This is exactly the sort of tactic that puts me off using some of Microsoft's products – and I'm sure I'm not alone.

I don't use Bing Wallpaper anyway, but by all accounts it was quite a neat and streamlined app for bringing some color to your Windows 11 backgrounds on a daily basis when it first emerged. Unfortunately, it seems to have slowly been twisted into a more annoying and underhand piece of software, so maybe it's time to walk that back, Microsoft?

Or, more broadly in all corners of Windows 11, can we put the user experience over the 'Microsoft experience' more often, please?

As an alternative in Windows 11, you could always switch on Windows Spotlight (in Settings > Personalization > Background, in the 'Personalize your background' dropdown menu) to get your fill of rotating wallpaper rather than using said Bing app.

The best mini PCs for all budgets

➡️ Read our full guide to the best mini PCs
1. Best overall:
Apple Mac mini (M4)
2. Best on a budget:
GMKtec NucBox M5 Plus
3. Best for Windows:
Geekom AX8 Pro

Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.