The Windows widget panel will soon be able to accommodate third-party widgets. The first could be developed by Meta, which has just integrated one into its Messenger application.
You too, you never use the widgets present in the Windows taskbar? Microsoft may soon change your mind. Third-party widgets are about to officially arrive in Windows. In any case, this is what the latest Insider build of Windows 11 published by Microsoft in the developer channel suggests.
Facebook Messenger, premier widget tiers de Windows
Thanks to the deployment of the Windows Apps SDK 1.2 a few months ago, developers were able to start looking into Windows Widgets. And the first third-party Widget to appear may well be developed by Meta. On its blog dedicated to Windows Insider builds, the Redmond firm unveiled the first known third-party widget, which could therefore be Messenger. To test it, however, you must have a machine under Windows 11 running build 25284. You must then download or update the Messenger application from the Microsoft Store, the widget being integrated into it. Finally, after deploying the Widget panel, clicking on the “+” button at the top right will allow you to activate it.
If this first third-party widget will not revolutionize the use of the dedicated panel of Windows 11, it should finally give it a breath of fresh air. Because since the release of Windows 11 in October 2021, Microsoft has only offered in-house modules, most of which are completely devoid of interest. The firm had however announced its intention to open them to third-party developers, but the process obviously took longer than expected.
For the time being, the Windows 11 widget panel mainly displays a news feed that is difficult to customize and does not allow you to manually select your sources of information. Microsoft only allows you to personalize your centers of interest, without letting you control the sources that interest you. The news therein is taken from Microsoft Start (formerly MSN news), Microsoft’s news portal.
Microsoft