Applies ToWindows 10

News and interests on the taskbar provides easy access to information that’s important to you, without the distraction of switching between apps, websites, and other devices. View your location’s current weather conditions directly on your taskbar and hover over the icon to see concise, scannable information—from sports and stocks to local news and breaking headlines.

news and interests flyout

Get started with news and interests 

When you select or hover on the weather icon in your taskbar, you will open news and interests. From here you will see content covering the news, weather, traffic and more. Content will update throughout the day and keep you up to date. 

The taskbar can display the temperature in Celsius (°C) or Fahrenheit (°F). To switch between these two units, select the weather icon on the taskbar, select the Edit location and unit icon on the weather card, select Celsius or Fahrenheit on the weather, and select Save.

News and interests is supported in any taskbar orientation. You can change how it looks and show the weather icon. To only show the weather icon and save space on your taskbar, you can switch to icon only mode. Right-click any blank space on the taskbar and select News and interests > Show icon only.

You can quickly glance at your feed by hovering your mouse on the weather icon. To turn this feature off, right-click a blank space on the taskbar, select News and interests and select Open on hover to clear the box.

If you don't see this option in your menu, make sure you have the latest updates installed for your PC. Select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for updates

Taskbar updates show you personalized, rotating content directly on your taskbar, including news and more. You will also see the relevant information card in an expanded view in your feed.

To turn this feature off, right-click any blank space on the taskbar and select News and interests > Reduce taskbar updates. Once this is checked, you will only see weather on your taskbar.

If you have an information card turned off, you will not see rotating taskbar updates related to that information card.

Right-click any blank space on the taskbar and select News and interestsTurn off. When you turn off news and interests, the weather will no longer appear on your taskbar.

To turn on news and interests, right-click a blank space on the taskbar and select News and interests > Show icon and text.

If you can’t see news and interests in the taskbar menu, check out the FAQ section for more details.

You can manually update your primary location and language to see more relevant content. Open news and interests on the taskbar, then open Settings

  • Select Location to set your primary location and see more relevant content for that location. This will also update the location used for weather on the taskbar.

  • Select the Language and content dropdown menu to select an appropriate language for content in your feed.

To edit your home and work location for traffic, select More options (...) on the traffic card and select Edit home location or Edit work location.

Personalizing your feed 

News and interests shows you content on a variety of topics. Each topic—top stories, weather, sports, stocks, and traffic—is contained within an information card and will update over time. 

Sign in to Microsoft Edge to personalize your news and interests experience with the topics you care about.  

If you already have profiles in Microsoft Edge, select the profile you want using the account drop down in news and interests. To find the account drop down, select the profile icon beside Settings  and then select Profile

If you are not signed in to Microsoft Edge, select the profile icon beside Settings  and then select  Sign in. To see your profile added to news and interests, close and reopen the news and interests experience. 

To manage profiles, you can go to the account drop down and select Manage profiles, which opens Microsoft Edge to make any changes or updates to your profile(s).

Microsoft Edge profiles in news and interests may not be available to everyone yet. If you don't see this option, check for updates to make sure you're up to date.

Your feed will become more personalized over time. Tell us what you care about by selecting the weather icon on the taskbar to open the news and interests. Then select Settings Manage interests. This will open the My interests page. From here, you can:

  • Use the search box to search for the topics or publishers you want to follow.

  • Browse topics by category and select the ones that interest you.

  • View and manage your followed interests and publishers in the Followed interests and Followed sources sections in the left navigation of the My interests page. 

  • Select Tune your feed to open a walkthrough that will help you choose which publishers and content you prefer.

The ability to follow publishers and tune your feed is currently only available for English speakers in the US.

You can also fine tune your feed in your preferences whenever you see a story: 

  • Select the Close button (X) to remove the article and provide feedback like Not interested in this story, Hide..., or Report an issue.

  • Go to the More options (…) button in a news story and choose either More stories like this or Fewer stories like this to see more of what you care about.

Information cards for weather, money, sports, and traffic can be toggled on or off by going within the card and selecting More options (…) and then selecting Hide stories from....

To bring the card back, you can go to More options (…) on any card, then select Manage interests and choose Experience Settings at the top of the page.  You can then toggle the card back on.

 Frequently asked questions

To get news and interests on your device, ensure you've installed the latest recommended updates for Windows 10.  To manually check for updates, select Start  > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for updates.

If you have the latest version of Windows, but still don’t see news and interests on the taskbar, it may be because you don't have enough space on the taskbar. Refer to the Turn news and interests on and off section above to turn it on. 

  • News and interests requires a device running Windows 10, version 1909 or later.

  • News and interests is only available on primary monitors.

  • News and interests may also be turned off by the administrator of your organization.

  • You'll need the latest version of Microsoft Edge based on Chromium. Get Microsoft Edge.

Some apps or services that power your news and interests experience may tailor content using a location estimate based on a few components. For example, some apps or services may use Windows location service if you have enabled location on your Windows device. If you haven't enabled location, other technologies like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular modem, and IP Address may also be used. These Microsoft apps and services will estimate the general location— like city, postal code, or region—of your device to provide you with the most relevant experience.  

To hide stories from a specific source, select More options (...) on a new story and choose Hide stories from... You can also select the Close button (X) to remove the article and choose either Not interested in this story or another option. To manage your hidden publishers, select Settings then select Manage interests > Hidden Sources in the left navigation. 

Your feed learns about you over time, and will reflect your preferences, so you may not see changes immediately. Content will appear in your feed when there is new content to show that meets your personalization settings. If you changed your settings for an information card, they should be reflected after you select the Refresh feed icon—select the weather icon on the taskbar and you'll find the icon at the top of the news and interests page. 

If you’re using a Windows 10 device and would like to see better personalization in your news and interests, follow the steps below: 

  • Check to see if you’re using the latest version of Edge. Open your Microsoft Edge browser and select Settings  on upper right of your browser window and select Settings  > About Microsoft Edge.

  • To sign in to Microsoft Edge, open your Microsoft Edge browser and select the account drop down beside Settings  > Sign in to sync data. Note that if you see profiles under accounts with your email addresses listed, you’re already using your Microsoft account.

  • Reopen news and interests to see the list of Edge profiles listed under accounts. Your feed will become more personalized over time.

Microsoft Edge profiles in news and interests may not be available to everyone yet. If you don't see this option, check for updates to make sure you're up to date.

You can access your privacy information in the Microsoft Privacy Dashboard. Also in the Microsoft Edge browser, there are built-in controls to limit tracking from advertisers and third parties.

Let us know what you like, share your ideas, and offer suggestions on how to make the experience better through the Feedback Hub (go to Desktop Environment > News and interests). 

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