"Enable enhanced agentic features for an enriched experience across our operating system!"

    [      Always Allow     ]
    [       Allow Once      ]
    [ Remind me in 24 hours ]

You forget that clicking X on the modal or otherwise dismissing it assumed the "always allow" selection

Not true because these never have an X so that you are forced to decide immediately. You can also see it in the screenshot.

Software companies don't understand consent!

They do, they just don’t want to ask it like that because they want to hoover all your data.

They just expect enthusiastic denial of consent. Unless you actively use technology to neuter and protect yourself from their overreach, they assume you consented anyway.

Microsoft users are now the product being sold

Sold to whom?

I understand when people use that phrase about advertising, but I don't see this here.

Windows 11 has transitioned from a standalone tool into a digital storefront that prioritizes recurring revenue through aggressive prompts for Microsoft 365 and OneDrive subscriptions. By mandating cloud-based Microsoft Accounts, the OS effectively anchors your identity to a marketing ID, allowing the company to track behavior and monetize your data. The interface now functions as an advertising platform, injecting "recommended" apps and sponsored content directly into the Start menu and search results. Ultimately, this shift means users are no longer just customers of a product, but recurring assets whose attention and telemetry are sold to sustain Microsoft’s ecosystem and maximize shareholder value.

Doesn’t Windows show ads in the start menu these days?

Indirectly via advertising, this is data gathering for profile building.

A "remember this decision for X time" option by Microsoft is a bald faced lie.

I’d reformulate ‘remind me’ part to ‘force me to decide on this again in 24 hours’