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Windows 10
April 22, 2021

Personalized content at a glance: Introducing news and interests on the Windows 10 taskbar

As people spend more time on their Windows PCs, working, learning, connecting and creating, we’re making it easier to access personalized content that is available at a glance and updated throughout the day.  News and interests on the Windows taskbar will begin rolling out to customers over the next several weeks. We are taking a phased and measured approach and broad availability will occur in the coming months.

It should be easy to catch up on the things we care about. Yet, we’re often stuck juggling devices, jumping between websites and looking across sources before finally getting what we’re looking for: relevant and high-quality content. News and interests on the Windows taskbar simplifies this process with a convenient and personalized experience centered around you.

News and interests on the taskbar is the fastest way to stay up to date on your Windows 10 PC

Stay in your flow and make the most of your time with at a glance updates

How much time do you spend trying to stay current with the latest information? For me and many others, the answer is a lot. What starts as a quick escape can often turn into a prolonged process. I might start the day by checking the weather before taking a quick look at some local news or breaking headlines. Of course, I need to then check yesterday’s Seattle Mariners score or their upcoming schedule. Many of these things change throughout the day, so eventually I check again… and again. Sound familiar?

Showing news and interests on the taskbar with content just for you. Clicking a story opens a streamlined reading experience so you can save time and stay focused

Effortlessly staying up to date begins with weather updates on your Windows taskbar – something that many of you have asked for! You’ll now see an icon and text representing current weather conditions in your area. To see more details at a glance, simply hover over the weather icon to see additional details on the weather. You will also see concise, “snackable” information on news, sports, stocks and traffic. Without opening apps or switching devices, you can quickly get a pulse on what’s happening around you. Click on a story to open a streamlined reading experience so you can save time and stay focused. If you see something you’re interested in, but don’t have time to read through it, you can save it for later or share it.

Personalize your experience and tailor the content to your interests

Showing news and interests on the taskbar with different content examples, based on your interests

You can adjust which information cards are included in your experience and how weather updates are displayed. The weather can be shown as an icon with text or as an icon only if you want to save taskbar space. You can also adjust which information cards – weather, finance, sports, traffic – are included, ensuring you are just seeing content you care about. Of course, if you are not interested in any of this information you can simply turn off the icon.

The “My interests” page enables you to follow topics you’re interested in and tune your feed with publishers and articles that pique your interest

You can further personalize the content that is displayed by managing your interests. Using the interest manager, you can directly indicate the topics you’re interested in, or choose the content sources from our content ecosystem that you’d like to follow.  Once you are done, you will see changes reflected within news and interests.

Built with invaluable input from Windows Insiders

News and interests on the Windows taskbar will begin rolling out to customers over the next several weeks. We are taking a phased and measured approach and broad availability will occur in the coming months. On behalf of the Microsoft team, I’d like to extend a heart-felt thank you to our Windows Insiders who have provided feedback to help improve the experience. The team is listening, and will be looking forward to hearing additional feedback. To share your thoughts with the team, when you have a chance to try it out, drop us a line in the Feedback Hub.

For IT pros looking to learn more about news and interests group configuration, check out the IT Pro blog. For more information about the experience, refer to the Support page.