Microsoft Start, a personalized news feed service, launched for mobile and desktop users

Image: Microsoft

Microsoft, on Monday, has launched its personalized news feed service for mobile and desktop users, called Microsoft Start. It builds on the company’s legacy services, including MSN and Microsoft News, along with the latest advancements in AI, machine learning, and human moderation to deliver personalized feeds to users. Microsoft has made clear that the new service does not replace MSN, and it will remain available to all users.

“Microsoft Start builds on Microsoft’s legacy with online and mobile consumer services like MSN and Microsoft News. MSN has been bringing customers news and online content for over 25 years and will remain available. We will continue to build on our commitment to news and our publisher ecosystem, adding value for both partners and customers alike,” wrote Liat Ben-Zur, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft, in a blog post.

Microsoft Start curates content based on user’s interest from over a thousand global publications. The more user engages with the content, the feed becomes more refined, says Microsoft. Users can react to a particular story with emojis. To further refine the feed, users can like or dislike stories to view more or fewer similar stories. There is also a dedicated Personalize button that allows users to manage their interests.

Microsoft Start is available on Windows 10 (News and Interests on the taskbar), Windows 11 (Widgets panel), Microsoft Edge’s new tab page, and as a standalone website (available on Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge). Android and iOS users can download or update the app via Play Store and App Store, respectively. Microsoft Start app on Android and iOS replaces the Microsoft News app.