Is Redmond Testing a New Microsoft Account Alert Channel in Windows 10?

[Batu69]

 

About two weeks ago Microsoft began notifying Bing Rewards members that the program was going to undergo several changes one of which involved a name change to Microsoft Rewards.

 

In an email to current members they indicated that accounts in the program would start shifting to the new version over the next few weeks.

Well last week I was sitting at my main desktop which runs Windows 10 Current Branch (Build 14393.82) and I received a couple of alerts I had never seen before.

 

 

These alerts arrived shortly after I had purchased the recently updated ProShot app from the Windows Store and an HDR In App Purchase (IAP). I clicked on one of them and it opened up my Microsoft Account homepage at account.microsoft.com and showed me a new tab called Rewards.

 

 

The Microsoft Rewards FAQ indicated that this would be the new home of their program so no surprise there. By the way, this move makes a lot of sense as that is quickly becoming a central location for everything related to your Microsoft Account.

 

Also, as Microsoft mentioned in the program change email announcement, the roll out will take a few weeks but Bing Rewards members who have not yet been converted to Microsoft Rewards should at least see this on the Rewards tab in their Microsoft Account portal:

 

 

Now let's go back and talk about those two alerts I received after earning points in the Microsoft Rewards program because that is the intriguing element of this story.

I went into the Windows Settings>Notifications & actions settings after getting those alerts and found a new entry labeled From Microsoft.

 

 

As you can see the From Microsoft entry appears just like any other app that can push notifications to your Action Center and they can be customized to your liking.

Although those first two alerts I received through this channel were about the Microsoft Rewards Program the entry is not labeled as such. It simply says From Microsoft and I would expect it to be listed as Microsoft Rewards if this was a new notification for activity on your rewards account.

 

That brings me to the possibility that this could be the first stage in testing and establishing a notifications channel in Windows 10 for information from Microsoft relating to your Microsoft Account and information under it.

 

Think about it - some alerts that could possibly be sent over this channel might include:

• Exceeding device limits
• Subscription expiration/renewal
• Security and privacy
• Payment method expiration
• Family Safety reports and other info about Child account activities

There has been nothing official from Microsoft on this and there was not any specific mention of it in the Microsoft Rewards FAQ so we will need to keep an eye on it and see where it goes from here or if it is truly just for Microsoft Rewards notifications.

 

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