Microsoft is testing a free version of Word... but with advertising

Microsoft has secretly launched a free version of its Office suite. It was discovered by the website Beebom , which describes this edition as different from the one offered online, via Microsoft 365.

The first difference with the paid version is that it has ads. A panel that cannot be hidden is displayed on the right of the screen. It can be an image or a video (without sound). You can access Word, Excel and Powerpoint without having to buy a full license or go through a subscription .

But there are still many limitations that mar the experience, reducing this free version to basic, personal use.

The first concerns saving a document. It cannot be saved locally, on your computer, but only online via OneDrive storage (of which 5GB is offered free of charge). It is then possible to download the document via the Microsoft website.

It is also not possible to add a watermark (to protect a document), analyze a file, or modify headers and footers, and add complex charts or tables. These features are grayed out in the free version. There is also no Outlook - the email client - in this "free" suite.

To access this edition with ads, however, you must be American. Microsoft has confirmed that an experiment is being held, but "at this time" has no intention of rolling out a free version on a larger scale.

This is not the first time that Microsoft has tested a free version of its office suite. In 2009, an experiment was carried out, but it was ultimately never deployed, probably to preserve the profitability of its software suite, which carries the "services" division of the American giant.